Ardminish Bay, Gigha 55:40.54N 005:43.89W
Sunday 11 April
It was the first race day of the season at Howth (Etchells
and J24s) so we took off at 8am and were soon motoring north past Ireland's Eye
and Lambay Island. The winds were forecast light all day - and the 'occasionally
force 5' suggested by the Met Office was a touch of fantasy, as was the force
3-4 for the most part. But the sails went up and moved us along, even if
we had to add some engine revs to keep us at an reasonable speed.
Another clear, sunny day with great views of the Mountains of Mourne and not
too much shipping. This all changed as evening started to fall near Lough
Strangford and streams of kamikaze fishing boats appeared from Portavogie -
great for MARPA practice - we were tracking 9 boats by radar simultaneously at
one point. It is an amazing tool and gives the course, speed and how
close they will come for each target - really invaluable for trying to decide
whether to hold course. The bigger ships are much easier to deal with -
they actually tend to go in a straight line, and show up on the plotter at grey
"sharks" thanks to the magic of AIS.
Sailing out of Howth - Marie Celeste
style
Sharks
in the North Channel
Some planning (plus a bit of luck) gave us great timing on
the East Ireland tides. We managed to be in the strongly tidal areas when
they were running north or slack and not when they were running south. As
the commercial shipping volume died down around midnight we decided the take
the North Channel down the middle, crossing direct from the Maidens, off Larne
to the Mull of Kintyre. This saved a few miles and caught the tide
perfectly - as we tucked round the corner and headed toward Gigha in a helpful
stream, that in the North Channel was reversing like mad and soon flowing at
2kts the wrong way. In fact our progress was so good that we had to slow
down to allow us to enjoy the views of Gigha as the sun rose.
Approaching Gigha at
sunrise
Moored and looking pretty
Unlike Swallow's last visit to Gigha, the sea was flat, the
sky was blue, the wind was still and we had 9 of 11 mooring buoys to choose
from in Ardminish Bay. We were tied on well before 8am and ready for a
leisurely breakfast.
Then it was dingy launching, firing up the outboard (first
time for a few months and no problems) and heading off for a day on the
tropical Island of Gigha - well it looked tropical. Bikes were rented and
the northern extremes explored - the first time I'd ventured more than a mile
or so from Ardminish despite at least half a dozen visits. The views
along and at the end of the road are superb - across to Jura and north up the
Sound of Jura and south to Islay. Then after introducing Martin to Scotch
pies - home baked at the store that morning and the best I'd ever tasted - we
cycled south to Achamore Gardens. Whilst maybe not at their very best,
they looked lovely in the warm spring sunshine, with beautiful camellias and
early rhododendrons. Again, somewhere we've never seen as early as
April. Must make a point of going there at bluebell time - they should be
amazing.
Team Swallow at rest on Gigha
Achamore Gardens - early rhododendrons
Then back to the jetty for a local beer - brilliant Piper's
Gold from Loch Fyne and good, if not stellar Kilt Lifter from the new Oban Bay
brewery. After covering more than 450nm in two passages we have an easy
day tomorrow, with only 35 nm to Ardfern.
Could easily be the Caribbean - only the beer labels and
CalMac ferry give it away
