Bangor to Dun Laoghaire

Although we were very settled in Bangor, the reality of Autumn was kicking in. As usual, the weather forecast showed one very windy day, then a calmer one, Naturally, the following week showed calmish winds until it became the current week when things reverted to the two day cycle. Jam tomorrow and all that. This shows the  nice peaky nature of the weather - the top is wave height off Norn Iron and the lower bit wind strength and gusts. an autumnal pattern of low pressure systems was firmly established:

There wasn't a weather window long enough to do the 32 hour trip to South Wales (Milford Haven area), However, there was a bit of a break that would let us get to Dublin without having some nasty head seas. What was the downside - well, a very early start that would be a bit bumpy until things calmed down. The tides and winds did not want to play nicely together,  Ideally, we would leave Bangor at 3am. Only then it would be much rougher out to sea. So, we opted for 4am to let things calm down a bit.

Leaving well before daylight meant replying on the FLIR to spot pot markers so we fired it up to check all was well:

You get to see the temperature differences between the boat structures and guard rails very clearly (black-cold).The image was a bit blurry as you can see so the lens had a good clean ready for silly o'clock the next morning. A 3:30 am alarm was not ideal. Things were still a bit windy as we crept out at low water with not much depth under the keel. Here is how the "office" looked underway:

Heading between Donaghadee and the Copeland Islands you get some serious tidal streams that try hard to push the boat off course which is tricky as the channel isn't that wide or straight anyway. This shows the level of tidal help and it hadn't reached peak flow yet either:

10 knots over the ground, 6.5 though the water. Pretty good really, although the captain didn't spend too long enjoying it. He was busier making sure we stayed in the wet bit as the stream grabbed our keel and wanted us to go in directions that were not too safe. Once we passed the rather worryingly named Skullmartin and turned more to the SW, things started to calm down, with some messy wave patterns on the beam. The further we got from the land, the less shelter we had and the messier they got. The stabilisers won the battle though.

There were several clusters of fishing boats, some well clear of us:

Being a fish anywhere near that swarm of fishing boats was probably a guaranteed early demise. There was one particularly annoying inshore fishing boat that was dropping pots into the sea. He seemed to delight in changing course right in front of us to stress the crew who was at the helm. They probably enjoyed doing things that were basically unsafe and against all the collision regulations. We kind of hope that their pots were pretty empty.

The tides work in a collaborative way from Bangor down to Dublin. As you take the flood tide southwards, you meet a tide that has been running in the other direction pretty much as it changes. So, lots of tidal help which then drops off and picks up again in your favour. Up to 12 hours of help if timed nicely. It makes the trip way quicker - door to door our run took 14 hours after leaving at a less than optimal time. If we tried to do it against the tides, the Time Zero software calculated a 19 hour run and we think that is optimistic.

Here is the route for the 98 Nautical Mile trip:

As the wind dropped so did the sea state and the sun came out to join us too. It was a rather nice run down towards Dublin Bay until the wind shifted again to the SW (as forecast) and the clouds built just as we were approaching Lambay island, to the North of Howth:

At the entrance to Dublin Bay, you get to see Baily lighthouse:

only we were busy slowing down to allow a cargo ship to go into the bay ahead of us, through the shipping channel. We slowly kept going at around 1.200 rpm and 3 knots over the ground which felt pretty pedestrian as we just wanted to get there - tired folks on board by 5pm. We duly let the big guy pass us:

and headed across the bay towards Dun Laoghaire using the "approved" route. Only then the Dublin Vessel traffic Service called us on the radio to say that a dredger which had been pretty much stationary was about to head to the spoil ground to dump its load and they asked us to turn inland, following the cargo ship and then to turn astern of the dredger once it left the bay area. Being obedient folks we did so. Then we heard a call to the cargo ship to say their berth was not clear yet and there would be a 15 minute delay, they were asked to turn around and do a loop around the bay. Wonderful, sure enough we were called and asked to wait for them to turn and then go astern of them. Hence the odd track through the bay:

That added a fair bit of time to the trip, just when we didn't need it but such is life - the entrance to the Dublin docks is pretty manic in shipping terms. We finally entered Dun Laoghaire harbour, avoiding the yachts and dinghies that were racing and onto a pre-arranged berth. It was good to turn off the engine and electronics and contemplate dinner, after check-in at the office of course.

All in all not a bad run considering the weather conditions, the captain had to hose off plenty of salt spray but it really wasn't unpleasant at all. Despite Brexit having happened since our last visit here, we were still warmly welcomed and several local folks wanted to chat about the boat and where we'd been.  Nordhavns are still far from common and elicit lots of interest from yottie types.

Maintenance News:

The starboard navigation light refused to fire up which is just what we wanted at 3:45 am when we were getting ready to head off. The replacement bulb that lives in a handy drawer was fitted and it still did not work. This was very bad news. We discovered that the new spare bulb already had a broken filament, not what you expect or want. Especially as they are expensive little beasts being the higher powered versions. Luckily we keep 4 spares on board so we have a nice green light again.

Campbeltown to Bangor, then a most enjoyable time

Going south there were compromises, as always. If we left at the optimum time for the fastest passage, we would run into some very strong SE or SW winds before we arrived. Leaving earlier meant less tidal help and some initial sideways shove but a gentler sea state for the last 90 minutes or so. We opted for a slightly higher fuel burn and more comfort, naturally.

As we left Campbeltown, there was not much of a breeze going on:

4,9 knots pulled up barely a ripple across the bay. One local inshore fishing boat was being annoying and forcing us to take the long way around him but apart from that, most gentle. As we headed out and passed Devaar island, so the minehunter that we'd seen alongside the NATO fuelling quay was heading back into the bay area, burning off some of the fuel they had bunkered:

When we passed Sanda, the little island just SE of the Mull of Kintyre we allowed the tide to shove us to the west, knowing that when it turned we would get a gentler shove to the east but one that would last longer. Picking a compass course to steer that ought to negate these effects by the time we arrived was part science part guesswork, despite having the help of the Time Zero software. It didn't work out too badly in the end. As we plodded south, so the wind picked up as per the forecast:

and stayed coming from the SE, building bigger and bigger waves. We threw quite a bit of spray around but the ride was not too uncomfortable, with the waves on the port bow and the stabilisers countering any roll. A fair bit of pitching of course, the biggest waves were around 2 metres high, averaging less of course, until we got into the shelter of Belfast Lough.

From the track, you can see how the closer we got to Bangor, the better we are sheltered from SE winds:

During the run, we had some showers and some very thick areas of drizzle, the radar was busy once more. Approaching Bangor, things brightened up until we saw the obligatory cruise liner anchored off the harbour with tenders scuttling back and forth, dragging the passengers back on board for dinner:

We were happy to head into the harbour, secure the lines and kill the engine then enjoy dinner. An OK trip really, around 7.5 hours and no real dramas. We did, amazingly, see one small yacht that was heading around the Mull of Kintyre singlehanded which was on a collision course with us so we had to slow down. The only pleasure craft we saw during the whole run and it had to be on a collision course. The odds of that are pretty remote really.

After a good night's sleep, we got real and removed the bimini cover as some fruity winds were forecast (F8 gales) and we kind of like it the shape it is at the moment. Then a rather nice social time unfolded with an invite to dinner out, coffee and excellent scones with friends (the scones are SO good here) etc etc.  The bikes came out for a trip along the Lough towards Belfast too but a stop for coffee and scones at the Crawfordsburn Country park was spoiled by a thousand wasps joining in. Yes, it must be autumn now. 

The cruise ship thing was ultra-busy in Bangor. Some huge ugly things anchored off and the mad situation here (the boatyard and hoist facility is not run by the marina manager who is also the harbourmaster) means BJ Marine get paid a shed load of money to close the boatyard for a day so the cruise liner passengers can come ashore via it. Wild. Then the Hebridean Princess arrived, way prettier and smaller - they just need the fuel berth in the marina to close for the day:

It was sad to see so many closed up shops in the centre of Bangor. Worse than a couple of years ago. The "regeneration" of the city by the council seems to involve digging up a perfectly good carpark and promenade to put in an events space. How the folks attending the "events" are going to park is a mystery. As for the scene of devastation opposite this "exciting new development", composed of closed shops and a derelict shopping centre where £14 million might have been better spent.... Keep paying the taxes.

Maintenance News:

The big Lugger (John Deere) ran nicely, nothing to report there. We tinkered with the big magnetron scanner radar and sure enough, once the range dropped to under 6 Nautical miles, the targets became indistinct and needed almost full gain. Above that, it works just as it always has. Annoying, probably a trip to the Furuno repair shop lies in the future, it seems like the power being transmitted at lower ranges is insufficient suddenly. Our backup digital radar works just fine on all ranges.

Keith, a serious local lekky man, had obtained a new remote control (wireless unit) for our crane to replace the one that went pop in a big way last year. That will be a fun job back in Wales, getting the right connectors, setting it up etc. A job for a nice dry day.  

One bit of tinkering was completed - the hydraulic oil in the steering system reservoir was topped up a bit and the system re-pressurised. The reservoir is a real pain. The "low and high" marks on the case of it don't coincide with the positioning of the little windows through which you can see the fluid. Rather stupid really Mr Hynautic, so it is easy to overfill. We don't lose much oil though, a little mist on the steering ram when operating so not too much was added. Perhaps 3cc over two years! Not going to break the bank.