The Trip south
20 August 2011 | UK, West Coast
GW
Then on southwards. Our last Scottish meal was on the beautiful island of Gigha where we ate local scallops and lobster by the beach, while Barracuda swung on the visitors' mooring. Gigha generates all its electricity from the three community-owned wind turbines and sells excess power to the mainland to make money for the island.
From Gigha to Portsmouth took a total of nine sailing days. We did a few night hours but most of our passages were completed in daylight. We really got into the groove of making long passages day after day, setting off before dawn. On the way down we stopped in Bangor (NI), Holyhead, Porthdinllaen, Skomer Island, St Ives, the Helford River, the River Dart, Poole Harbour and Newtown Creek. Sitting alone at anchor in the south bay at Skomer with the seals on the rocks and seabirds swooping, screeching and diving overhead was an evening to be savoured.
We had fair weather throughout this trip with the exception of one passage where we took a pasting in a southerly gale en route to Holyhead. This is when you discover that the boat is way tougher than the crew. We should have listened to the Irishman in the bar at Bangor who told us to go to Peel instead! Altogether, though, it was a really memorable summer of sailing in new pastures, fulfilling many dreams, and a great opportunity to push our navigation and seamanship skills in new waters. Everywhere we go we learn something new about anchoring and different techniques that work in different conditions.
Thereafter it was back to our Solent weekend haunts for the autumn and winter.