China Girl, UK Circumnavigation - Year 5

From Bangor we need to get to Troon, CG's home for the winter. The weather is doing its best to stop us. Even at this late stage we had a few doubts about making it. It's spot the weather window again. Ray arrived on the 20th, a window opened up on the 21st to get to Glenarm, just up the NI coast [...]

26 September 2023 | Troon Yacht Haven

More rain.... Arrival of crew

Lots of rain in Strangford Lough. We arrived on the 14th, 15th we sat on the boat and watched the rain all day, did nothing, went nowhere. 16th we managed a quick hop from Ballydorn on the southern coast to Kircubbin on the north coast, about a 3 h trip sailing on the jib. A quick look around the village [...]

15 September 2023 | Ballydorn in Strangford Lough, county Down

From fog to rain

Carrying straight on from the last post. Dun Laoghaire to Skerries was 4 hours on the motor in winds up to only 7 kts, but at least it was dry. Since then our weather luck has changed. Skerries to Carlingford, 6 hours on the motor in rain. Carlingford marina has a very narrow entrance, so much so [...]

15 September 2023 | Ballydorn in Strangford Lough, county Down

Time Flies

Just found the time for an update, thinking the last had been about a week ago, only to find it's been nearly two weeks. Sorry folks. We've only moved CG five times, from Arklow to Dun Laoghaire (pron Leary) to Skerries to Carlingford lough to Ardglass to Strangford lough, 112 miles in all. The trip [...]

04 September 2023 | Arklow

Around the final corner

We left Kilmore Quay on the 2nd September to nip around Carnsore Point to anchor in Rosslare bay. The point is the end of the south coast for us and the start of the trip up the east coast to complete our circumnavigation. 3.5 hours mostly on the engine in little wind but a half hour sail towards the [...]

On the move again

17 August 2021 | Tayvallich, Loch Sween

Ann and Steve Crome | Cloudy with showers

We arrived back in Largs on Aug 9th sfter a road trip via Blackpool (to meet Ann's new great niece) Bournemouth (Ann's Uncle's 98th birthday lunch) and home for nearly a week. Then we hid from the rain and wind to the 14th. During that time we planned how to round the Mull of Kintyre. Probably more planning than we have done for any other trip. The Mull can only be rounded in settled conditions and with the tide behind you. So we planned Largs to Campeltown, overnight there and round the Mull the next day; Largs to Glenarm (NI, fallback for westerly winds) and Largs to Ballycastle (NI, fallback for Southerly winds. In the end we set off for Campeltown, reviewed the weather and decided to keep going. So we stopped 1900 to 0400 at Sanda Island and then continued on rounding the Mull about 0520 and arriving in Gigha about 0900. Decent sail to Sanda but 5 hours on the motor from Sanda to Gigha, boring and noisy.

Two nights in Gigha Island on and buoy to recharge our batteries (and flatten the boat's) and today we have come to Tayvallich at the head of Loch Sween. A beat but a great sail almost all the way.

Photo shows Kelburn Castle just outside Largs, a trip we made when it was too windy to sail.

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