Talora Chasing Tides

Vessel Name: Talora
Vessel Make/Model: Sadler 29 Deluxe!
Hailing Port: Shotley Marina England
Crew: Ray and Mary Nash
01 September 2017
31 August 2017 | Shotley, Ipswich
28 August 2017 | Eastbourne
28 August 2017 | Brighton Marina
28 August 2017 | Haslar Marina, Portsmouth
23 August 2017 | Cowes, Isle of Wight
22 August 2017 | Weymouth
14 August 2017 | Padstow
14 August 2017 | Padstow
08 August 2017 | Dale a Bay, Milford Haven
28 July 2017 | Ardglass
28 July 2017 | Ardglass
28 July 2017 | Bangor
28 July 2017 | Bangor
27 July 2017 | Ballycastle
27 July 2017 | Ballycastle, Northern Ireland
Recent Blog Posts
01 September 2017

Home and Together again

It's been a long three months and we missed the dogs dreadfully. Robyn, Ethan and Josh, between them, did a marvellous job of looking after the house and dogs which meant we did not need to worry about them......thanks guys!

31 August 2017 | Shotley, Ipswich

Coming home

We were so excited to get into the lock at Shotley, our home port. Our adventure almost over. This photo was taken by Dad.

30 August 2017 | Shotley

Leg 38 Ramsgate to Shotley, finally home!

So, at 1430 yesterday afternoon we make it into the lock at Shotley to a very noisy reception as the lock keeper let off the siren to signal our arrival, fantastic! My Mum and Dad surprised us by being at the lock to greet us, perfect, as did Brian, our Day Skipper Instructor, and his wife Ann. I had [...]

28 August 2017 | Ramsgate

Leg 37 Eastbourne to Dover which turned out to be Ramsgate!

Sunday 27th August and yet another glorious day. Steve and Hailey had left at 6am to go south back to Cowes. We left the berth at 7.30am to enter the Eastbourne lock at 8am. It was busy. We were in the lock with 9 other boat!

28 August 2017 | Eastbourne

Leg 36 Brighton to Eastbourne

Got up early leaving the boys in bed to nip to the supermarket to stock up on provisions. After a bacon butty breakfast, we said goodbye to Josh at the bus stop; he was heading back to Norwich on the train. We would have loved to have him with us for longer but we're grateful he had made the effort [...]

28 August 2017 | Brighton Marina

Leg 35 Portsmouth to Brighton

We woke up at 5.30am to the most beautiful sunshine over Portsmouth. It was going to be a lovely day. With Josh on board, it was lovely to have his company and with a very slight sea it was the perfect trip. Before we left the harbour we took one last trip past the Queen Elizabeth. Leaving the harbour, [...]

Leg 16 Easdale to Craobh Marina

16 July 2017 | Craobh
Considering where we spent the night and the weather conditions we both slept relatively well but, this morning, lying in bed I could hear the wind and feel the waves and really did not want to have to get up to face what the day might throw at us. I wanted the day to be over and for us to be safely tied to a pontoon in Craobh without having to deal with how we would get there. I didn't want to look out the windows and see those big waves. So it took me a while to surface. When I did look out, although the waves were not as big as yesterday, they were still big but the sun was shining and the rain had stopped.
We had decided to take the short cut through Cuan Sound but first had to head out to sea and face the waves. There were lots of other boats out, obviously mad Scotsman out for their Sunday morning sail. We slipped our mooring line and said our thank you's to Easdale for keeping us safe, and headed for the waves. Ray handled Talora brilliantly and although I was worried, he made me feel that we would be OK. Within 20 minutes we had reached the entrance to Cuan Sound and circled until slack water, which we had calculated would be at 10.15am and in we went. The pilot books warned of cross currents, racing tides and eddies which would catch even the most experienced yachtsman out, but we flew through like a dream, getting some shelter from the wind. On the other side, we picked up the ebb tide to carry us south to Craobh and had feared wind against tide making the sea conditions rough but the height of the mountains around us sheltered us from the wind and the journey was very pleasant. By 11am we reached the entrance to Craobh Marina in the sunshine, very pleased with ourselves that we had escaped another night at Easdale and navigated our way through Cuan Sound. Craobh was very welcoming with lovely facilities. Having been on Talora since the previous morning, we felt the need to get off and get some exercise so we walked the 2.5 miles over the hill to the other side of the peninsula to Ardfern, which had another Marina we had considered visiting. It was nice but we had definitely picked the right Marina.
We have just enjoyed a meal in the Marina pub "Lord of the Isles" and are on the boat with the heater on trying to dry out all our damp clothes from the last couple of days.
We certainly feel that this adventure is testing us to our limits and although it feels sometimes overwhelming at the time, we are seeing some amazing sights and creating some amazing memories together, the three of us, me, Ray and Talora.
Apologies if the blog is a little long winded some days, but there is so much to share and it helps me to remember it all by telling you. Photo is us on our way back from Ardfern. You can just see Craobh Marina over Rays left shoulder. The Cuan Sound brought us towards the Marina through the islands right at the top middle of the picture.
Comments

About & Links