Who would believe this weather! The amount of rain and strong wind is - OK, with some small breaks in between – is really trying. Now that it is spring tides the range of the tide is just over 9 metres, the amount of water rushing out of the river on the ebb is phenomenal, and with the added extra water from the heavy rains it is mesmerising to watch the water flowing past the boat, it really makes you quite dizzy.
We would have liked to have been into the Clyde by now as the initial idea was to go up to Rhu and then back down before going towards Oban, but the weather is not giving us confidence that we can easily get back out of the Clyde before the end of the season and the small breaks between the bad spells are not quite long enough to get between good shelter. So, we are still here in Kirkcudbright – not a bad place to be though – the town has everything you would expect in a small rural town and there are buses if you need to go further afield. The people are very friendly and the summer entertainment has been good. On Friday night we went on a historical walk with ‘Maggie’ who took us around the town and explained how it was and what was happening in the town in the 17th century. She and her friends, about 30 of them, were all in period costume (and all volunteers), put on a great show and the whole tour was very educational, entertaining and highly recommended to anyone visiting the area. Thankfully it stayed dry!
So, we are settling into an easy existence here and will wait until the beginning of next month before moving on, when we will head northwards in a more direct route without going too far into the Clyde (if we do).
16th Aug 2009, Kirkcudbright
Well, we left Maryport at 5:20 on Thursday 13th, which was as late after high-water as we thought we could and as early as we could before sunrise. Between Maryport and Kipford someone has planted a slalom course of 60 giant sticks with 3-bladed fans on the top – it could make for some interesting sailing but we just kept clear of them. The area goes under the name of ‘Robin Rigg Windfarm’…. We had a gentle sail across the Solway Firth to Kircudbright where we arrived at the mouth of the estuary just before low-water – so we went to explore how far we could get up the channel (low-water Neaps) ; answer: not far. We met Rab Thomson, the retired Harbour Master that we met the last time we were here in about 2000, who still does part-time HM; he was sailing out for a day’s fun with his cousin from Canada. But Rab was concerned that we hadn’t been into Kirkcudbright before and were going to come to grief in the shallows. So we went to the recommended anchorage at Ross Island to wait for the time to go in. After a lazy time of reading, lunch and a couple of coffees we pulled up the anchor and out with the foresail to sail as far up the river as possible – but just after the lifeboat station the wind died away to 3 knots and we had to put the engine on.
We’ve not been doing much here mainly because the weather has not been very good but we have managed to get out for a couple of walks, exhibitions and happened to visit a local ale-house for some refreshment on the day we arrived to find out that there was evening entertainment in the town square with Scottish music and dancing. It stayed dry and was a fantastic start to us being back in Scotland. We will be here for a couple of days more and then hopefully the weather will be kind to us for sailing further north.
We’ve not been doing much here mainly because the weather has not been very good but we have managed to get out for a couple of walks, exhibitions and happened to visit a local ale-house for some refreshment on the day we arrived to find out that there was evening entertainment in the town square with Scottish music and dancing. It stayed dry and was a fantastic start to us being back in Scotland. We will be here for a couple of days more and then hopefully the weather will be kind to us for sailing further north.
12th Aug 2009, Maryport
Had a rest day on the 9th then Carolyn’s Mum & Dad came for lunch on board then we all went back to Lockerbie to stay a couple of nights at their house; which also gave us the chance for a quick visit from Peter (our youngest) when he was on his way to Dumfries. So we haven’t really seen much of Maryport, the price at the marina here has gone up to £18.50 per night (any length of boat) but for a week it is £8 / metre and a month is only £20 / metre so the longer stays work out at a reasonable rate. Water and showers etc are included in the price but electricity is extra. Carlisle is a 35 minute train journey if you need some major shops.
It’s great to be in this area because we are originally from Dumfries-shire and a quick cross-border-raid by car from here was a good way to get back for a visit. It is reported that the River Nith can be navigated up to Dumfries but that will need to be left for another time because tomorrow we are heading for Kirkcudbright. It is one of the unusual place names of Scotland that does not sound like it is spelt….. So if you want to sound like a local rather than a TV or radio reporter from south of the border you need to say “Kir-coo-breh” and not Kirk-cud-bright.. We'll tell you all about what it's like in the next post.
It’s great to be in this area because we are originally from Dumfries-shire and a quick cross-border-raid by car from here was a good way to get back for a visit. It is reported that the River Nith can be navigated up to Dumfries but that will need to be left for another time because tomorrow we are heading for Kirkcudbright. It is one of the unusual place names of Scotland that does not sound like it is spelt….. So if you want to sound like a local rather than a TV or radio reporter from south of the border you need to say “Kir-coo-breh” and not Kirk-cud-bright.. We'll tell you all about what it's like in the next post.
8th Aug 2009, Maryport
Left Dale on the 5th and sailed overnight to Holyhead, full moon, light winds; stayed overnight just the 1 night at H/head and then did another overnight to Maryport – just arrived so will sleep some and update more later. Good sail last night and another bright moon.
4th August 2009, Dale, near Milford Haven
We left Swansea at first lock-out (7am) yesterday and headed west but the weather was bigger than predicted and we came into Dale to wait for a more comfortable time to go further. [ Maybe Fishguard or Holyhead in the next day or 2 ].
1st Aug 2009, Swansea - and some photos
Friday 31st of July and the weather was reasonable for moving west although it meant heading out of Cardiff and fighting the tides & current for the first few hours; but at least it was ‘neaps’ so not as bad as it could have been. We managed to sail for about half of the time but when the wind dropped, was more astern than from on the beam and the seas became very confused we got the motor on and made best speed into Swansea, arriving about 6:45pm. We hope the bad weather in the Irish Sea will quieten in a couple of days and then we’ll make or way further West & North.
The photo’s below are 3 from Loctudy, 1 of leaving France with 10 French boats barely visible in the distance; then 4 from The Scillies and 3 at Padstow. Then Cardiff - 6 of relatives, 13 from the night of the French Circus act and a couple of old black & white photos from years ago….
The photo’s below are 3 from Loctudy, 1 of leaving France with 10 French boats barely visible in the distance; then 4 from The Scillies and 3 at Padstow. Then Cardiff - 6 of relatives, 13 from the night of the French Circus act and a couple of old black & white photos from years ago….
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
