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Repairs & Touring
Covers the period August 1 to 11, 2000
SLog #17a Ireland
Written at Puerto de Andratx, Mallorca
March 4, 2001
Covers the period Aug. 13 to 19, 2000
From Stranraer up Loch Ryan and around to Corsewall Point at the head of the
peninsula was a 12 nautical mile motorsail in light easterly winds, before
setting off across the North Channel for the remaining 26 miles to Bangor in
even lighter breezes. This was a relief from the force 7 and 8 gales that had
turned us back the previous day. This channel is the northern access to the
Irish Sea, with less than 25 miles separating Ireland and Scotland.
As we approached Belfast Lough, mid-afternoon, there was a surface fog that
at times reduced visibility to less the a mile. Above the fog we saw a tower.
We thought it to be an oil rig of some type and wanted to give it a good
clearance. However, its bearing didn’t seem to change, even though we were
altering our course southward to go around it. It didn’t compute!
When we were within a mile of it we could see through the fog that it was not
a fixed oil rig, but a ship with a tall oil drilling rig in its aft
superstructure, and it was slowly moving, but on a collision course! We then
made a significant alteration to the north, giving it a wide berth. Within a
half mile of it, we noticed a couple of sentry boats ahead of it on either
bow. We were to later find out that this was Exxon Mobile’s GLOMAR JACK RYAN,
the last big ship built by Harland and Wolff, the Belfast shipyard where the
TITANIC was built.
By 1630 we were alongside in Bangor Marina (54 39.9N, 005 40.3W), an
attractive full service modern marina on the waterfront of downtown Bangor,
on the south side of Belfast Lough. We had a pleasant evening with a local
couple, Sandie and Gordon Leathern, on board their power boat, and next day
took a local train into Belfast to do the "tourist thing".
A bus tour gave us an overview of the city, an interesting blend of modern
and traditional, with a few medieval churches, a castle, and some ancient
Celtic remains. We passed the Harland and Wolff shipyard seeing the deserted
pier where Titanic was launched. The shipyard is experiencing hard times, and
is in danger of closing if it does not get some sizeable contracts,
especially from the Ministry of Defence. The GLOMAR JACK RYAN was the last
large contract they had and no more on the horizon. Even that ship had
problems as there was a multi million pound lawsuit pending from Exxon Mobile
against them for alleged delays of the completion dates.
The bus tour did not go into any detail about the sectarian strife, but it
took us through the Shankill Road district and other Protestant and Catholic
areas where there would be Union Jacks, Irish tricolours, and Red Hand
banners defiantly proclaiming the stubbornness of each district, along with
wall paintings exhorting pride for one side or the other, resistance and
violent defiance of perceived enemies, and memorials to past atrocities and
sacrifices. Many downtown street corners had steel gates along the sidewalks
that could be swung across the road to section off parts of the city whenever
there were disruptions or bomb threats. Just the month after we left, there
was a renewed spate of sectarian reprisals in the form of maimings and
killings, collapsing or at least confounding the "Good Friday Peace
Agreement". A tragic situation.
In Scotland we flew the Cross of St Andrew beneath our Red Ensign courtesy
flag. However we were cautioned not to fly any other courtesy flag in
Northern Ireland, as it would be offensive to one faction or another.
The next day, August 15, we had a most enjoyable car tour with Gordon and
Sandie, and their delightful granddaughter, around Strangford Lough, an area
we planned to sail to next. After a pleasant lunch at Gordon’s golf club, we
returned to the marina and prepared to depart for an anchorage off Copeland
Island around the headland. After refuelling (economical diesel at 32 p per
litre) we left in light winds and overcast sky. However as we approached the
headland we experienced force 6 winds from the south, which combined with the
tidal currents in the area would leave our intended anchorage in an exposed
position, and so we returned towards Bangor Bay. Rather than going back into
the marina we dropped anchor at 1800 in Ballyholme Bay off the Ballyholme
Yacht Club in a completely empty anchorage. We went below for supper, and an
hour later came back on deck to find ourselves surrounded by dozens of
dinghies and yachts manouevering around us, ready for the start of their
evening race, using us as one side of their start line!
We had a great view of their races, and entertained on board 8 or 9 members
who were out observing in motor launches or rib boats, and accepted our
invitation for drinks. They reciprocated and invited us back to their club
after the races. So we launched Sprite and joined them in their bar
afterwards. One of the members was from Canada, living on our west coast, and
with whom we have kept contact via E-mail.
Next day we were off to Strangford Lough, a large loch 10 miles long, just
south of Belfast, to be entered through a 4 mile narrows with a tidal race up
to 8 knots. However before entering we had to round the headland inside
Copeland Island, no problem, then head south for the narrows. Again we passed
the drillship GLOMAR JACK RYAN still out on her sea trials. We were motor
sailing in light force 2 to 3 southwesterlies, heading for the narrows, about
10 miles out, when our engine stopped! We had lots of searoom, but we were in
danger of overshooting the entrance to Strangford Lough if we didn’t head
straight for it. We could not work out the problem with the engine. It had
water, but was starved of fuel. An air lock? We did not want to take time to
bleed the fuel line for fear of drifting past the entrance on the flooding
tide, and then having to fight an 8 knot current on the ebb. So we sailed in
through the narrows without engine power!
We had timed it correctly to enter on the flood tide, with a light west wind,
bombing up the well charted narrows with an 8 knot current giving us a speed
over ground in excess of 10 knots. We passed Angus Rock to port, and were
heading straight up on leading lights the 4 miles from Bar Pladdy to the
small community of Portaferry which we had visited the previous day by car
with Gordon. Now what? How or where do we stop?
No one was around the docks in Portaferry to assist us to come alongside
under sail in an 8 knot current. There is an anchorage diagonally up from
Portaferry at Audley Roads that we thought we could manage. However, it was
littered with mooring buoys, and we did not want to risk trawling all their
bottom chains with our anchor rode. We put out a PAN PAN call on VHF
indicating our course and speed, that we were entering the narrows past
Portaferry under sail only with no engine power available, and requested an
assist from any boat in the vicinity to help us into Audley Roads. The
sailboat ZUMA was exiting at that time and came alongside to take a line to
lead us to a mooring buoy in Audley Roads. They couldn’t stay to accept our
hospitality and appreciation as they did not want to miss the turn of tide to
go out on the ebb. Thanks ZUMA!
We were in! Once we bled the injectors, the engine started up and ran well.
We assumed we had an air lock, the result probably of bouncing through heavy
seas at a slow idle while motor sailing. On our way down, we had been heading
south into a light southwesterly wind, with a south-setting flood tide,
giving us a wind against current situation and creating rougher seas in the
area.
Audley Roads (54 22.7N, 005 34.1W) is a lovely roadstead off Strangford Bay,
guarded by the medieval Castle Ward with its lovely park grounds. We took
Sprite over and had a conducted tour of the castle and wandered through the
grounds and over to the well preserved but empty tower house of Audley’s
Castle. These tower houses were small castles representing the power and
wealth of the local big landowners in the 15th and 16th centuries, especially
in the County Down area around Strangford Lough where there are at least ten
of them in various states of repair.
While there we met Angela and Martin from Conway in Wales, on AUREUS, and
Beth Leonard and Evans Starzinger on HAWK from the USA who are fellow members
of the Seven Seas Cruising Association. Evans and Beth wrote up a good
article on their cruise to Scotland and Ireland in the November 2000 SSCA
Bulletin.
A couple of days later we motored up the Lough to a free mooring buoy in
Ringhaddy Sound, a large sheltered area with dozens of boats gently bobbing
at their moorings. In Sprite we motored up past the sound to Whiterock where
we tied up at the Downs Cruising Club, an old lightship converted to their
clubhouse, skirted with mooring pontoons. It was tricky enough with Sprite,
motoring through those narrow openings between the islands and sounds of
Strangford Lough in five and six knot currents; I hate to think of what the
local boaters and club members have to negotiate in their larger boats to get
to this clubhouse in the main current stream. The people there were quite
friendly, showed us around the old lightship/clubhouse, and invited us back
for their annual sailpast the next day. Wow! Thinking of 30 or 40 boats
negotiating those currents to sail past the lightship for the Commodore’s
salute boggles my mind. However, we declined the invitation. We made our way
ashore looking for Sketrick Castle which was closed for repairs, but had an
enjoyable picnic on the castle lawn.
On our way back to VELEDA we got caught in a torrential downpour that soaked
us quite thoroughly in the ten minutes it lasted. We were visited by a couple
of local boaters who noticed our Canadian flag and came over to chat.
Friendly people!
Next day, August 19 we were off, leaving Ireland for the 42 mile trip over to
the Isle of Man, to be covered in my next log.
Next Log
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