Saturday 12 May, and the start of the Round Britain adventure!  Well, a bit of a half hearted start really from Deganwy to Port Dinorwic ( 53:11.2 N,  4:12.5 W ), to position Moondog better for the ‘proper’ start next week.

After lots of activity preparing the boat it was good to get out for a sail, even if only 20 miles or so. Many thanks to Fred Horrocks for agreeing to join for this short trip, even though we had a 0530 departure to catch the tide out of the marina and river.

Once out of the channel we had a good sail in a nice F4, and tested all the sails and instruments....everything worked apart from the log, which was suffering from a jammed paddle wheel. This is a bit like stopping the milometer on a car, so we were not recording our distance, or ( more importantly) our speed through the water.  In any event, a good sail for a few hours and then into the Menai Strait and a motor down the Strait for a while before anchoring at Friars Bay. We had as good few hours to kill before we could set off to go through the dreaded Swellies between the Menai bridges, so had a rest and food.

We also used the time to fix the pesky paddle wheel for the log. This is an exciting task, since it breaks the first law of sailing...’ keep the sea outside the boat’.  This is because the paddle wheel is in a housing under the boat, and we unscrew this all from the inside and pull said wheel inside to look at it...at which point the sea enters in a troubling fountain from the hole so created.  We have a blanking cap to fix over the hole, and there is no problem, but still feels a little odd.  Then Fred’s moment of inspiration as we looked at the muddy jammed little wheel...let’s brush it with toothpaste. So , out with the spare guest toothbrush and paste and a good thorough brushing...the wheel is now fixed and as a bonus also has fresh breath and protection against cavities. For those of you joining later in the trip, you might want to be sure to bring your own toothbrush.

Jobs done, we left for Menai Bridge and hit the Swellies at the right time, ie slack water, and made our way through, with Fred relating tales of all the ships that had sunk here, and how dangerous the rocks looked at low water. Miraculously we survived, and were soon tucked up safely in Port Dinorwic marina, where Moondog will be for a week until the first big leg over to Arklow.

The pics show Moondog in the dawn light in Deganwy, and the scenery and architecture of the Menai Straits.