Out of the Harbour and Turn Right

Along both sides of the lock were narrow floating pontoons, which made for easy mooring and with a cage surrounding the inner lock gates, the turbulent water that is normally associated with the sluices was non-existent. However, with a big audience it was inevitable that we were going to make a pigs ear of getting into the pontoon berth and that’s exactly what we did. No gel coat damage, but the gelcoat is tougher than the wooden pontoon.

Whitehaven was a big surprise. Most of its heavy industrial past has disappeared and the town has been expertly re-vamped around the huge marina and looked splendid. We had a great evening wandering around old friends who live locally, one of the best days in the whole trip so far.

Day 15 Friday 26th May Whitehaven to Douglas – 47 NM.

This was to be our longest sail to date, and we slipped our moorings as soon as the lock gates opened at 0950. Depending on tides, the lock gates are opened for +/- 2 hours either side of high water, and we motored out unhindered, hoisting the sails in the outer harbour. We soon had the engine off and with a fresh SSE wind made a steady progress at just over 5 knots, and this continued for the next 3 hours when the wind tailed off to S1/2. For the next hour the wind came and went, veering all the time westwards. For the next 2.5 hours we started and stopped the engine many times until eventually with about 8 miles and a SW5 on the nose we started the engine and just went for it, arriving exhausted at Battery Point pontoon, Douglas, at 1830.

Day 17 Sunday 28^th May Douglas to Holyhead - 55 NM

Slipped our moorings at 0955 with the sails up and engine off 10 minutes later, fine reaching into a SW 4 with a boat speed varying between 5 and 7 knots. During the day the wind gradually veered to the W and dropped to a 3 around 1900. With adverse tides and the wonderful smell of a lamb hotpot in the oven there was nothing else but to go flat out for port and dinner, so we motored the rest of the way and arriving at 2015. Holyhead was very busy, hosting the Royal Deeside Regatta and we claimed the only free pontoon space available on the visitor’s berths.

Our skill at mooring at pontoons, which had deserted us at Whitehaven in front of an audience, deserted us again in Holyhead as Mary tried to jump onto the pontoon with a rope around one leg. The result was that one leg was trapped against the guardrails near the bows, the other leg stuck on the pontoon with the bows drifting outwards. Oblivious to the problem at the wheel I could not understand what her squeals of anguish were about until a navy cadet from the boat in front of us spectacularly leapt from the vessel and came running to the damsel in distress.

No doubt if a Naval officer had seen the incident the person would have been reprimanded for deserting his station, but Mary, for one, was very grateful he did. The incident was, however, soon forgotten as the wonderful and very welcome hotpot was consumed with relish. It had been a rewarding but tiring day.

Day 18 – Monday 29^th May. Holyhead

At about 0600 we realised why we were lucky enough to find some free pontoon space on the visitor’s area in the Marina. It was a lousy place to be moored.

The pontoon we were attached to formed the northerly protective side to the marina, running approximately east-west and we were moored on the northerly side. To the south was the main part of the marina with land about 300 metres away, with the Marina facilities and the boat yard. Running SSW to NNE about 400 metres west of our berth was a modern sea wall which was about 10 metres above HW and about a mile long, forming the westerly side to this enormous harbour. During the night the wind had backed and increased to about a SW5, (we were well protected with boats and pontoons to protect us) but at about 0500 the wind veered to north of west and by 0600 had increased to at least a NW6. This had the effect of making our berth uncomfortable to say the least, as we were tossed by wind and fetch against the pontoon. There was, however, no alternative space available so we abandoned ship as soon as breakfast was over. By now the racing had started, with some very impressive and huge teams but with the wind still increasing the racing was abandoned two hours later; the average speed had reached 28 knots, gusting in excess of 40. With this came a big sea, which crashed impressively over the sea wall to a height of at least 80 ft. Nothing for it but to abandon ship and go for a walk around the very impressive hills.

Later, we discovered Monday is cheapo night in the flea pit cinema and we watched the Da Vinci Code for £5-00. We arrived back at the boat to find, thankfully, that it still seemed unmarked, though two fenders had burst.

Day 19 – Tuesday 30^th May. Holyhead.

After an uncomfortable night we again abandoned ship, this time taking the train into Bangor, where we reminisced about old times when we were at University here.

Back in Holyhead we complained about the poor conditions we had to endure and were allocated another space for what turned out to be a much quieter night – and they didn’t charge us at all.

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