It was good to have Monday to take things easy, after several very busy days. It was grey and breezy so my pleasant day of motoring seemed like a good choice. A delay on one of Erika's trains meant that she finally arrived just before 7pm so we met at Scotts, the restaurant above the marina office. Food was ok (although expensive) and service slow, but we hardly noticed because we had to much to catch up on.
Tuesday saw lots of rain in the morning and a very gentle start. It transpired that Erika (bless her) has a friend who lives close to Troon. Michelle came down to meet us in the early afternoon, took us out for a late lunch at a local cafe, and then showed us the golf courses: the Royal Troon, where they were still dismantling stands and buildings after hosting the Open only a couple of weeks earlier, and her own Ladies' Golf Club with a lovely, comfortable and immaculate clubhouse overlooking the sea and some of the Royal Troon greens. By that time the weather was a lot brighter so we walked along the beach for a while and chatted. I took a wiggly route back to the marina via the famous Wee Hurrie fish and chip shop - no ordinary chippie, they serve moules frites and scampi in tempura batter. Erika and I managed to get back there just before they closed for some chips and a shared portion of king prawns.
Wednesday was forecast to have light winds from the west, backing south and strengthening later. The planned course to Bangor was a dead straight line, 212ºT from one harbour wall to the other, and we left around 0420 to get more light winds and arrive before it got too gusty. I was concerned that the stronger winds in the notorious North Channel might be extremely unpleasant, so I was nervous all day as we motored along, trying to keep the mainsail full as the wind gradually backed. We also had Stranraer as a possible back-up harbour, fortunately not needed.
For a long time we gazed at Ailsa Craig (aka Paddy's milestone), growing very slowly larger close to our route. It really is the most extraordinary-looking island, with no visible landing places, so I have no idea how they take away the two kinds of granite which make curling stones. Apparently they also have to be cut out by hand as no blasting is permitted. Perhaps that's why the stones cost up to £500 each. (And Kays, who make them, only harvest granite every ten years or so).
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| We passed a lot of ferries! |
As the wind went more southerly we edged north of our course, but fortunately in the middle of the North Channel the tide turned and pushed us back to Bangor again. Tom Cunliffe would have been proud of our S-shaped course. Also as we got closer to Bangor the lee of the entire island of Ireland made the sea much more comfortable. I knew all that, but it hadn't stopped me worrying!
We arrived at Bangor around 5pm after 12.5 hours. It was great to be in a different country. I came here very briefly from the tall ship Stavros Niarchos in 2011 but this is only my second visit to NI.
Distance run: 63M.
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Bangor Marina
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