After a day for final preparations we locked out of Port Dinorwic early Sunday morning, passed through the Swellies and motored up the Straits with the wind NNW1.  The wind picked up to 2/3 around Puffin Sound and a good beat followed with full sail, leebowing the tide up the Irish Sea.  One slab and some rolls were put in the jib by late evening and we passed 2 miles south of Chicken Rock just before midnight.  The wind was down to 3 again by morning and later fell even further, requiring intermittent use of the engine under a blue sky and blazing sun up the west coast of the Isle of Man and past the Mull of Galloway.  That evening the sun dipped into the sea while the full moon rose, casting long shimmering tracks on the water.  The Mull of Kintyre light was left 2 miles to starboard at 0025, with Rathlin flashing brightly to port – amazing how narrow “the gap” is in good visibility.  Another cloudless and rather windless dawn brought stunning views of Islay and Jura sitting like ships on a molten sea.  We spent a few hours drifting while waiting for the tide and then beat through the Sound of Islay with an increasing wind to finally anchor in the upper part of West Loch Tarbert on Jura by mid afternoon.  57 hours for 216 miles. 

Days of sun and blue skies followed one after another.  The next took us to the east of Colonsay, through the Torran Rocks (with a quick visit to the Tinker’s Hole for the crew members who hadn’t been before) and the Sound of Iona and so, under spinnaker, to Cragaig Bay, a stunning old favourite nestled below cliffs and behind an outer ring of rocky defences on the south side of Ulva.   The next lunch was spent anchored off Lunga in the Treshnish Islands (another interesting although on this occasion rather populace location with tripper boats disgorging crowds to view the birdlife) before more following winds round the north of Mull and into Loch Drumbuie at the entrance to Loch Sunart.  The end of the first week saw us in Ardentrive Bay having a five star breakfast ashore with friendly natives in Oban before moving on to Dunstaffnage for a crew change, a Baby Blake rebuild and the arrival of Sally and the two children. 

Another perfect week saw gentle trips to upper Loch Aline, with picnics on the castle lawns, and then Loch Drumbuie for two nights with barbeques ashore and drams and lemonade aboard Starletta, a beautiful wooden sloop once owned by the proprietor of the Mishnish Hotel and of which I have a childhood photograph taken in 1967.  Leaving here we were confronted by the sight of majestic square riggers passing Tobermory as part of “the Tall Ships”, while we headed down the Sound of Mull, fortunately passing a racing mark just before hundreds of boats racing in West Highland week began converging on it.  Subsequent evenings were spent in Loch Spelve (foul with fish farms) and Puilladobhrain, as beautiful as ever.  The last day we returned to Dunstaffnage under a blazing sun, the children thrilled by numerous porpoises leaping from the calm sea all around the boat. 

The final week was homeward bound with a crew of four adults and no children.  The kite was flown down the west of Kerrera and through the Sound of Insh, before hardening up through the Sound of Luing and Dorus Mor to anchor in Gallanach Bay, L Crinan.  The next day it was blowing up a little more to NE4/5 and one crew member, the friendly native from Oban, had to be in a position to get home by the evening.  Port Ellen (Islay) and Gigha were the main options but ferry timetables decreed the latter, an uncomfortable choice given the wind.  Nevertheless mission was accomplished at the cost of only wet trousers and shoes.  A bouncy afternoon was spent on a mooring in Ardminish Bay going half way up the mast to retrieve lazyjacks which had come unravelled (an old climbing harness was not voted a success as a bosun’s chair!) and getting some rest and an early evening meal cooked.  The mooring was slipped late evening and we bucked a weak foul tide to arrive off the Mull of Kintyre at slack water at 0330.  Coming out of the lee of the Mull the wind was a good 5 + over the quarter and the speed didn’t drop much below 7kts even with two slabs and many rolls in the jib - not bad for a heavy displacement cruising boat with a waterline length only a fraction over 21 feet.  A fast reach followed down past the Maidens with one breaking crest setting off an autoinflate lifejacket (thought that was only supposed to happen in the southern ocean!) and causing the navigator some facial injuries on the GPS (fortunately it continued to work).  Moored Bangor Marina mid morning, a safe haven but sad to be back in civilisation again!

The next two nights were spent in the Ardglass and Carlingford marinas and the former of these in particular was pleasant as marinas go, apparently run as a community cooperative and relying very much on unpaid help to run the show.  The intervening passages were blessed with mainly gentle following winds where the spinnaker again proved its worth and allowed us to see off one or two much larger boats (one of the crew normally races dinghies!)  We finally left Carlingford after lunch with the tide and under full sail.  Initially we faced light headwinds, but the first low of the 3 weeks was forecast and duly arrived in the evening.  A wild night followed with heavy rain and winds up to SW5.  The Skerries light was seen occasionally but blotted out for hours at a time.  Progressive reefs were taken in to prevent a predawn arrival on the N Anglesey shore, but the speed just would not drop below 6kts!  Land (the Middle Mouse) was finally sighted through the murk and driving clagg at 0715 and we were safely anchored in Porth Wen half an hour later.  A day of rest and recuperation followed, exploring the brickwork ruins and awaiting Woodbird’s arrival from the Isle of Man (we’d been trying to meet up with her all week but had consistently managed to remain a day’s sail apart).

 Mike and Sue arrived late afternoon and a convivial evening was spent on Woodbird. The night was certainly uncomfortable, as indicated in “Eclipsed in Howth” (from a previous newsletter).  Dawn on Saturday saw more spinnakering round Pt Lynas and down to Dulas Bay when big black clouds suggested a drop.  Then hard on the wind up the Straits with a SW4/5, through the Swellies and moored back in Port Dinorwic at 1300.  740 miles in total.  Can we be as lucky with the weather this year?