Voyage to Pwllheli

On Thursday, 11th June, Thomas and I set out at 5 A.M. from Poolbeg, bound for Pwllheli in Wales. Last year, in a fit of hubris, I had entered The Jester Baltimore Challenge. Single-handed from Wales to Baltimore, Co. Cork. Too many Winter nights reading tales of great sailors doing great deeds, maybe I could do it ?

Damp, early start, heading out, a bit apprehensive because I had never sailed across the Irish Sea, in any sailboat. Neither had Thomas, so we were two rookies on small boat, heading out of sight of land.

The plan was to avoid the Kish Banks, by going South from Dublin and aiming for The Codling Light. Then head for Wales.

We hand-steered along, sunny morning and good forecast.

 I had not realised it took so long to loose sight of land, but at 4 knots, it's just a bit faster than fast walking. Little ZigZag barrelled along and we looked around, waiting to be run down by a huge supertanker.

Finally, the Codling Light came and went, we were in open sea, feeling good and moving well. Ireland gradually fell away and we lined up on Bardsey Sound, using my Garmin and Navionics on two smartphones.

Time to try the toys. I had tested the self-steering that came with ZigZag, on a 12v battery in the garage but not on the boat before. Amazing little bit of kit. Another sailor in Poolbeg had advised I tie a loop of elastic cord around the end, to avoid it jumping off, good idea.

We sailed on and on. I plotted our position on The Irish Sea chart and drew lines as we progressed. I got a little sick, Thomas made tea and we had tea and digestives. He couldn't find the pots down below, so he made noodles in a frying pan, great crew.

In the evening, we saw Wales. This navigation thing really works ! Night was drawing in, so to speed things up, we had full sail, diesel engine on and our 5hp Honda on as well. I had feared Bardsey Sound, from reading scare stories and seeing spots like Devils Tail to the South. Overfalls, tidal streams and timing it all had bothered me, so I was delighted when we hit it at half-way through the ebb. We shot through the Sound at 9 knots !

Little swirls all around, the Sun was going down and we were flying along.

Pwllheli looked close on the chart, but we lined up to pass a headland and kept going and going. It took 3 hours to see the flashing safe-water mark off the marina. We slowed right down and made out the entrance. I had read the instruction from Roger Fitzgerald, Jester organiser in Wales, but now just relied on Thomas to see with me and creep in on a black night. Turned left, then gently sweep right and then thud, we had hit bottom. Pulled back off, having swore at Thomas, naturally it could not be my fault ! We saw a spot just ahead and drove straight in. Quick tie up, a handshake and we were in Wales.

Little ZigZag had crossed the Irish Sea. The previous owner had sailed her to The Isle of Man, but this was our first big trip and only the second time we had actually sailed her !

The Jester beckoned.