54.58.152N  005.57.062W

 

63.1 MILES LOGGED

 

From Ardglass you catch the ebb tide North or South so we left at 0400 on a beautiful morning and were soon sailing at 8 knots in flat water with a 1 1/2 knot tide under us too!

 

A couple of hours later though it was a different story as the wind against tide induced steep seas which slowed us considerably and while the forecast was for Northerly Force 5 we had gusts of 38 knots true and an awful sea. We contemplated going back to Bangor or Carrickfergus but on the basis that it might be the same tomorrow we pushed on and listened to a lifeboat call-out from Portpatrick. It took us 11 1/2 hours to log 63 miles which should have only been 55 but mid afternoon we sailed into little Glenarm Marina to a welcome  ( and deep ) pontoon berth.

 

   

 

 

The sun was out and we washed of salt and showered!. We had not visited Glenarm before but were impressed with the facility and also the friendliness and scenery; the local publican was most impressed that he could see our masthead burgee above the town’s roofline!

For the first time back in home waters we had dinner in the cockpit in warm sunshine and enjoyed the peace and quiet after a wild and noisy day.

We will go back to Glenarm sometime and explore the countryside more.