China Girl, UK Circumnavigation - Year 6

From Cromarty to Inverness, CG's winter home was only 17 miles, the wind was very light, we got 10 minutes of sailing in our last trip of the season but essentially it was a motoring day.

05 September 2024

Cromarthy firth

This is the view from CG looking the other way in Cromarty Firth. No so good.

05 September 2024

Wick to Cromarty in our passage plan was 55 miles, mostly on a heading of about 220 (SSW). The wind had been south-westerly for days and we didn't fancy a 55 mile beat so we delayed and watched the weather like hawks. Eventually a day of Westerlies, not too strong was forecast so we went for it. We [...]

05 September 2024 | Castle of May

Castle of May

Dunrobin Castle and Castle May are both well worth the visit if you are ever up that way. The latter has been kept just as HM The Queen Mother left it the last time she visited in 2001. The lady that introduced us to the castle had been working there since she was a child, she was probably in her 70s. [...]

26 August 2024 | Wick Marina

Bye Bye Orkney

It's time to leave Orkney and head south back to mainland Scotland on our way to our winter base in Inverness. Landfall on the mainland will be Wick. Much thought and head scratching has gone in to this trip: timing, distance, tides and mostly the sodding weather. Perm all these. From where we are [...]

26 August 2024 | Wick Marina

Washing the outboard

From Calf sound a 2 hour trip on the motor to Whitehall in Papa Sound on the northern end of Stronsay. It was mostly upwind and we couldn't be bothered to tack all the way. Two nights on a visitors buoy and a look around the village.

Around the final corner

04 September 2023 | Arklow

Ann and Steve Crome | Very sunny!!

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 end made it a bit better.
Rosslare harbour is for ferries only, yachts are not welcome, but with the very low winds forecast we could anchor in the bay about a mile from the port. Very quiet night.

Following day (3rd) the weather forecast promised a nice light (5-10 kt) southerly to blow us up the coast on the cruising chute to Arklow. Almost not to be. 2-4 kts is too light even for the chute. It picked up to 10 kts towards the end of the 6h run and we got the chute up for 45mins. That is once we had remembered how to rig it, we haven't used it since June.

We're staying in Arklow until the 6th and going to Wicklow on the bus tomorrow. Forecast for the 6th is light southerlys (again?!) so hopefully a chute run all the way the Dun Laoghaire (pron Leery) our port for a few days in Dublin.

Photo shows a lovely sunset looking from CG to wards Rosslare village from Rosslare Bay.

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