55:37.6N 6:11.3W

Aquila has arrived in Port Ellen, some 36 hrs ahead of schedule to avoid the rain forecast for later today (Friday 15th) and tomorrow.

The last few blogs have been limited to being sent by phone, as wifi connectivity was not available. This has meat that photos have been few and far between.  So now suitably linked, we can give a resume of the past week.

Ron Lansdell (near) and Howard Stevenson (far)(or is it the other way round?  Skipper still getting it wrong after 5 days!!!):

 

 

The 'sou'westers' arrived as scheduled in Holyhead on 9 May, and the skipper cooked a spag bol that evening as a reward.  Everyone survived!  Little did the new crew appreciate that it was an attempt divert attention from the prospect of the morrow’s forecast: SW 7.  

In the morning we duly departed the very good marina with two slabs and a reduced genoa, but patches of blue sky and 7-8 kts through the water kept morale high.  As we got properly clear of shelter the seas began to build, but stugeron did its stuff and everyone retained their normal appetites:

 

 

Meanwhile the motion was getting more lively and soon after lunch Ron opined ‘you’re best off on deck’, whereupon a wave came into the cockpit.

 

 

So time for the 3^rd slab and staysail. As the afternoon progressed, the seas continued to build, and after a further wave or two in the cockpit, the crew said it was time to put the skipper on the wheel.  For the next three hours we enjoyed an exciting sleigh ride, with 11kts being recorded on several occasions as we took advantage of several surfs.   This took us nicely to the narrows that lead to Strangford Lough on the very last of the flood, and once in calm waters we enjoyed a continuing brisk sail to the lovely Audley Roads anchorage.  75 miles in 10 hours, and flat water at last!

Now well ahead of schedule, on 11^th we decided on a diversion and made our way further up Strangford Lough; the skipper chose the ‘needle navigation’ route to keep the crew amused.  Lunch at a buoy, sheltered from the sea and some of the wind:

 

 

 while awaiting the tide to make then allowed us into Down Cruising Club’s charming spot:

 

 

The club was most welcoming, and we also had an excellent meal ashore in ‘Daft Eddy’s’.  Many, many thanks to Brian and Liz Lockett (who we met last year in their SY 340 on the west coast of France) for the above pointers – very sorry that we were unable to meet up on this occasion.   Maybe amongst the western isles?

SW7 then W8 was forecast for 12^th, but as the passage north from Strangford Lough entrance would not be sheltered from the big seas once we past Burial Island this was deemed manageable.  As expected, as we met the seas at the mouth of Strangford Lough narrows , events were of the ‘sporting’ variety, but once we had weathered the Bar Pladdy buoy it was then fast and easy sailing up the NI east coast:

 

 

A fair tide carried us past Belfast Lough under now triple reefed main and 5 rolls in the staysail as the promised W8 came on, but as our course steadily altered steadily to port as we hugged the curving coast and the wind simultaneously backed  WNW and eased to 6, we were eventually hard on the wind and against a by now foul tide.  With progress correspondingly slowed, a cockpit pow-wow had no difficulty in agreeing to abort destination Plan A (Ballycastle, on the north coast of NI), and revert to Plan B (Glenarm, on the NE coast); by 1840 we were all snug alongside in a charming hidehole:

 

 

and Ron’s culinary skills ensured a most convivial evening; he rounded off the 5 star meal with orange flambé:

 

 

Rest assured, the fire extinguisher is only in the photo for added dramatic effect!

With 3 days now in hand, and Howard needing to be back in Newcastle by Friday evening, on 13^th (happy birthday Trisha!) we took advantage of the forecast winds and weather and made our way across the North Channel, leaving the Mull of Kintyre to starboard and Gigha Isle to port before wafting the 5 miles to the head of West Loch Tarbert under asymmetric:

 

 

At the head of the loch we found an idyllic anchorage: very well sheltered from all directions, no other boat traffic and utterly still:

 

 

Howard left us the following morning, with a taxi to meet him at the local quay.  What a crew you are Howard: hugely knowledgeable about all things sailing (except for International 14s!), a dab hand in the galley and above all a highly amusing and forever thoughtful shipmate.  We missed you on the easy sail across the approaches to the Sound of Jura the next day, passing Lagavulin distillery on the way.  Somehow I think we might be paying one or two of these noble establishments a visit over the forthcoming weeks…..

So finishes the delivery trip; 685 miles sailed at mostly over 6 kts in 12 days.  In celebration, Peter and Ron very kindly treated the skipper to a super seafood platter meal ashore last night:

 

 

Afterwards Ron made a guest appearance as an additional singer with the local band while the skipper enjoyed one of the 140 single malts on offer: