Friday 5 June, Holyhead to Howth

We predicted this 54M trip would take 10 – 11 hours (straight ish line.) Having watched the Inshore Waters, Shipping and Surface Pressure Charts since arriving in Holyhead it looked like we had a window of opportunity for a F5-6 from somewhere south of west for the day, before the next low (off the southwest of Ireland) raised its ugly head. Speed Time Distance prediction using Orca suggested a departure around 1100, so we decided to get ahead of the curve and depart at 0800, knowing it would take a little longer. It was a lovely morning when we left…….
Imagine our surprise when the wind kept building and building until, by mid afternoon, we had F6 – 7 gusting F8 (max 38 knots.) We pressed on, keeping the waves off the bow and beam for comfort, maintaining a 270 compass course and using the cross-tidal streams the same way as we would do crossing the English Channel. We motored gently with heavily reefed sails, just to keep our Mean Line of Advance (MLA) reasonable, until the exhaust over temperature alarm started going off. From there on we ran the engine only as needed, and finding a burst of revs made the exhaust spit properly for a while, kept the engine in reserve for berthing. By the time we arrived, 14 hours after departing, the engine was as sweet as a nut. (Still going to give it a stern looking at though.)

Christian (marina staff) had been monitoring us on AIS and after a couple of phone calls and emails, he was waiting outside the harbour in the work launch to escort us in. 2 knackered sailors, we managed the hammerhead berth while being blown off by strong winds. We called Christian in to give us a gentle push on while we secured our stern rope and all was well. Even the engine was behaving itself.

Fortunately the Howth Sailing Club bar was still open, so we had our first drinks on Irish soil before hitting the sack, knackered.

Everyone we have met so far has been very friendly and the marina staff are excellent. Howth is a lovely small town and we would thoroughly recommend it if you choose to cross to Ireland around that latitude.

Saturday 6 June, Howth Marina

On advice from an old friend of ours, who tells us he looks at the jet stream and his barometer and ignores the weather guessers, we decided to add those tools to our weather tool box. So from our estimation, this nasty stuff is going to continue bashing the Irish Sea until mid next week, after which some slightly gentler westerly winds might appear. The local sailing club folk gave us some advice on local tidal effects as well, so we hope to build all that into our navigation plan, while keeping a close eye on Inshore Waters, Shipping and Surface Pressure Charts as usual.

For now, today was a resting day. Lie in, late breakfast, bath and dhoby and a walk along the sea wall to watch the 1900s vintage Howth 17 ft One Design boats racing in the bay.

While wandering through the marina we espied two Fisher 25s, both with tan hulls. Shimna and Sunima. We went and introduced ourselves to the owner of Shimna; he was a bit surprised to see us….. lovely chat. Sadly the owner of Sunima was not onboard. Perhaps we might meet them while we are here. We did check on the FOA website and, happy to report that they are both members.

To this sailor, the hulls look a bit like the Portsmouth Victory Class but they sport a gaff rig and bowsprit and are also equipped with a brightly coloured topsail. It was bright, sunny and a gentle breeze when they headed off around the bay. By the time they were returning, it was gusting winds and poor-ish visibility in pouring rain. We retired to ‘O’Connells’, a pub on the front, to savour Guiness and Beamish, while Barbara enjoyed an Irish cider followed by a Mojito (very Irish!) Met up with a local chap, Gary White, and spent a very pleasant afternoon, chatting with Gary and watching the hurling on TV (what a strange game!)

Early night.Read more