Isle of Man, Northern Ireland and Scotland

 

Pat, Jeremy, Sara, Kathy and Gaynor

We left Holyhead Harbour on Thursday 13^th July. Our repaired autopilot, Neco, was working again. Thank you Ed and the team at Holyhead Marina. Great job. The 55nm crossing of the Irish Sea was very wet. It rained all day. The winds were light and cold. We motorsailed the whole way to the Isle of Man. We put out two fishing lines, one each side. Some dolphins swam past the stern and soon afterwards, the lines tangled with each other. Jeremy spent two hours untangling the mess.

 

Jeremy and Kathy in windy Port St Mary

We tied to a visitors’ mooring buoy in Port St Mary outer harbour at 1735. It was still raining. When the tide was high enough, we moved to the inner harbour and secured ourselves to the New Quay. The water was clear enough to see that the bottom was not level which was no good for Sal Darago’s two keels to stand on when we dried out. Fishing boats had taken over the quay and the smell of rotting fish was overwhelming, so much so that it stayed on Jeremy’s shirt and gloves even after a hot wash in a washing machine. We untied all our lines and moved to the quay opposite. We secured ourselves once more. I noticed that the seawater pump tap in the galley was dribbling when the engine was in tickover. This had never happened before. The raw water pump in the engine was dripping.

 

Port St Mary inner harbour. Can you spot Sal Darago?

We spent five days in the Isle of Man. My sister, Pat, let us have the use of her house, car, washing machine and shower. Wonderful; thanks, Pat. She cooked cock au vin for supper. Delicious. Port St Mary Yacht Club offered us the use of the club and its showers. Neil, the Harbourmaster, offered us water, electricity and showers for £22 a night. We met up with Pat and sister, Sara for late night drinks on Saturday night at the Albert pub near the harbour.

 

Isle of Man steam train

During our stay, Pat arranged for family to get together at her house for a buffet and burger supper. It was good to see Nicky, Morgan, Lochie, Pherick and Ryan again and catch up on their news. Later on, I went to a music quiz with Pat, Sara and her husband, Geoff. Our team came fourth out of ten.

 

Nicky and Morgan

We used Pat’s car to fill our diesel cans at the local garage. Jeremy scrubbed Sal Darago’s hull when she dried out and checked all was well underneath. In the engine compartment, he found the rubber impeller in the raw water pump had broken fins, which blocked the flow of cooling water. This was also the cause of the seawater backing up and dribbling through the tap on the sink. He replaced the impeller and we were good to go again.

Broken impeller

On our last night in the Isle of Man, we had a meal at the Shore Hotel. Gaynor our niece, was able to join Pat, Sara Jeremy and me for another family get together. We were sorry to miss Miki, Chris, Isaac and Abigail who would be arriving in the Isle of Man soon and Ryan’s wife, Becky. 

 

Ardglass Marina

On Tuesday 18^th July, we had a wet motorsail in light winds across the other half of the Irish Sea to Ardglass Marina in Northern Ireland. It was still raining when we tied up at 1820. In the morning, we paid £35 for one night, enjoyed good, hot showers, walked into the village and bought a few groceries at the shop and post office. We just had time for a look at two of the historic castle keeps (I believe there are six) before returning to Sal Darago. We took the afternoon tide north in showery weather and anchored off Copeland Island, near Belfast Lough, in the evening.

 

Glenarm Marina

The next day we took the afternoon tide again and motored northwards in sunshine and showers to Glenarm Marina. Jeremy prepared a course for the island of Mull in the Western Isles of Scotland. We could see the Mull of Kintyre, which we hoped to pass on our way north. Our stay in Glenarm Marina cost £38 for one night with all facilities available. On Friday morning, we had showers and went for a short walk into the village popping into the well-stocked village shop for supplies.

 

Glenarm Castle

It’s 70nm from Glenarm to Crinan in the Scottish Highlands. It was important to leave at the correct time for the north going tide as it flows strongly across the North Passage, around the Mull of Kintyre and beyond all the way to Crinan. We decided to take the tide as far as Gigalum Sound in the island of Gigha and anchor while the adverse tide flowed past. Once again we motored in misty, hazy, drizzly conditions with little or no wind and flat seas. We swept past the Mull of Kintyre recording 7.8 knots on the Garmin GPS. The rain came down steadily in the evening. We anchored off the old ferry pier at 2045. We grabbed a few hours’ sleep before setting off again at 0300 in the dark. The bow navigation lights would not work, so we used our tricolour.

 

Passing Duart Castle, Sound of Mull

When it was light Jeremy mended the navigation lights by cutting and reattaching the wire. Unfortunately, he cut his finger on his Stanley knife in the process. We recorded speeds of 7.5 knots in the Sound of Jura. At 0830 on Saturday 22^nd July, we tied to the fuel berth at Crinan Boats and took on 100 litres of red diesel. Customs regulations allow a 40% discount for heating, but we found the diesel was marginally more expensive than white diesel from the garage in the Isle of Man.

We anchored off the Crinan Hotel near the Crinan Canal sea lock. We were able to have a few hours’ sleep before setting off for the Dorus Mor. It’s advisable to go with the tide through this narrow passage. We recorded speeds of 10 knots as we zipped along, motorsailing into the Sound of Luing. The tide swept us up through whirlpools to Fladda Lighthouse and into the Firth of Lorne. 

Our daughter, Emily, husband, Ben and children, Ellie and Sophie had driven to Oban and were boarding the 1815 Isle of Mull ferry. We thought we might see them at Craignure but it was not to be. As we approached Loch Aline in the Sound of Mull, we saw the ferry in the distance, passing Lismore Island. By the time we anchored towards the head of Loch Aline, they were on their way to Tobermory.

 

Jeremy steering on our way to Loch Aline

Today, we have had a rest day in peaceful Loch Aline. Tomorrow, we hope to sail to Tobermory, which is only about 2 hours away. We’re looking forward to being reunited with Em, Ben and the grandchildren whom we have not seen for six months.