Gem Log 2011

[Cardiff Yacht Club]

Apologies to Dave and Mary. They did alert me to this last December.......

GEM SUMMER CRUISE 2011
The plan … To sail to Milford Haven & if wind favourable to Eire, as far west as possible. Gem had a slight oil drip from the gearbox shaft (found the week prior to departure …. The engine/gearbox unit has to come out) so we planned to sail wherever possible, and to only go if the forecast was OK.

4.6.11 8.00 hrs Locked out of Cardiff in a favourable 16 kts NE wind. We were soon sailing well but during a gybe the mainsheet caught in the GPS sensor which floated astern at a good rate of knots! Twelve to be precise. 9.22 hrs opposite Cold Knap at the top of the tide, so now a full tide to help us westwards.

At Nash Point there was a 180 deg. windshift – not forecast! As the cruise progressed we often noted short term forecasts not being very accurate. We put in a few tacks into the 6 kts SSW breeze, then it backed to NE again. Approaching Port Eynon the tide turned & the wind dropped to virtually nothing. We decided to motor into the bay & anchor. It was quite pleasant in the warm sunshine, despite the jet skis. Mary made a lovely meal & we switched into a real holiday mode. The forecast for the night was for the wind to become strong from the NE & shelter would be marginal, especially if more E than N. We decided to sail around Worms Head & anchor in the charted anchorage off Rhossilli beach. As soon as the W tide resumed we sailed. By the time we arrived at Worms head, the wind was N making the intended anchorage exposed. So we sailed for Caldey, saw dolphins and some amazing skies before darkness fell, arriving at Caldy Island at 23.15 hrs.

[Cardiff Yacht Club]

5.6.11 Awoke early with F6 blowing into the anchorage from the NE - direction of Amroth. Whilst the Fortress anchor was secure, we decided to move. Motored around St Margarets Island to the W side of Caldy Island. This was a new anchorage to me, despite sailing in these waters for 35 years! The sea was like a millpond & we got some more sleep. As soon as the tide turned W we sailed out of the anchorage in almost nil wind. It was an hour before our speed exceeded 1 kt! Leaving the influence of the Island, the wind & our speed came up. We were only doing about 6 kts but as we were on target to get to Milford on time I decided not to deploy the schreacher or spinnaker. Lazy! It actually worked very well, the tide still ran W as we rounded Linney Head & within 30 mins it changed thus enabling us to carry the flood to Milford.

By now the wind was very light & changed 180 deg enabling us to continue downwind to Milford Haven! So Caldy to Milford, 200 metres under engine, proper cruising! We entered the Milford marina lock & had to wait some time for the gates to operate. By this time a number of cruisers had arrived. We were tied outside one of the boats from N. Wales. Once our turn to exit came, I cast off the bow line. Mary was at the stern line & the sailor inside us was to cast off the stern line. Unknown to me, he didn’t follow the command. So in gear trying to motor away we headed across the lock & the strong wind coming down the lock held us abeam! Once the sailor released the line (made a meal of it), Gem did not want to come up into the wind, so we motored out in reverse, with perfect control – but must have looked strange!

We spent a few days around Milford. We met up with old CYC friends on Pepsi 2. Found a nice pub a short walk up the waymarked footpath behind Tesco. Daysailed to Skomer Island, anchoring tight to the cliff in the coast indent, port side as you enter South Haven. This was the best option as the wind was virtually blowing into South Haven. The bird life here is fantastic. We were later to learn that TV’s Iolo was on the Island making a wildlife documentary. We moored in Dale for a couple of nights on Caswyns mooring (thanks Dave). Had a nice meal in Dale sailing club. We were later to hear (in Eire!) that there is a second floor bar terrace where the views are superb.

[Cardiff Yacht Club]

13.6.11 Dept Dale 03.30 for Eire. A huge tanker was lining up for the entrance. As we were just outside the starboard buoys & heading for Eire, our paths would not cross. However, the pilot boats were fretting as to our course & once advised they relaxed a little. We got the impression that they remained unsure until we layed our course for The Smalls S waypoint. Wind was light on the port bow & we had to keep on the wind – at least it helped generate wind. The engine assisted until we passed the Smalls where we could bear way to starboard to lay Dunmore East. We deployed the schreacher & cut the engine. We thus sailed all the way at 7+ kts. Nice cruising, especially as the sun came out. Rounding Hook Head we followed the recommendation in the Irish Cruising Club Pilot book – stay on or outside of 20 mtr depth contour. This worked well though not perhaps essential for light air sailing, though seeing the sea there in a subsequent blow, I think it would be essential. We picked up a buoy at the Dunmore East sailing club after a 12 hour crossing.

The Club members were most accommodating, directing us to a mooring of a member who had not launched his boat. On arrival one feels that shelter here is limited & not certainly not the best in SE winds. However, it’s much better than it first appears. The harbour is primarily for fisherman, though we saw a number of yachts overnighting, usually alongside afishing boat. If it were rough, it would be best to go into the harbour. Ashore, there is a nice all day café, a couple of small shops & most items are available. We found the people very nice & always helpful. Dunmore is mostly a fishing & holiday village, the main street being up above the harbour. Not too commercialised – nice! We sailed up the River Suir to Waterford, a trip of about 9 miles there is plenty of water at most states of the tide, which is strong & needs to be worked.

Passing Creadan Head the channel narrows but is very well buoyed. Provided course corrections are made for the strong tide, the passage is straightforward. The SW wind was strong and Gem flew upriver under autopilot. Mary enjoyed the passage from the cabin, rushing from window to window when I drew her attention to the views. I was kept busy navigating with the chartplotter and eyeballing marks to check tide drift. The car ferryboat crossed ahead of us at Passage East so we carried on without slowing. The channel then goes towards the port bank & the steep sided wooded hillside caused a massive wind shadow. We managed to sail to the 90 degree left turn where the Suir & Barrow rivers meet.

Now the strong wind forced us onto a hard port tack & eventually we had to motor. As we motored past the commercial wharves, the wind funnelled into us and I had to increase engine speed to make way. Passing the boiling waters at the confluence at the W end of little Island, we were soon in Waterford. The river here is very wide & there are pontoons where boats are tied up fore & aft. We were directed to the inside of a pontoon making berthing a little anxious as the tide is very strong. We tied up ahead of a Heavenly Twins catamaran. I had one in 1976 which I sailed to the Med & would have liked to have met the owner. Alas it didn’t happen. Another interesting multihull moored here was Three Sheets to the Wind. A home built (Searunner?) trimaran from Canada, where the owner had returned to. The city of Waterford is lovely & very interesting. We enjoyed Geoffs Bar – live music & great atmosphere. After the first day, the rain arrived & we upgraded from one night for EUR20 to three nights for EUR45. We took the bus to New Ross where we took an excellent tour of the Dunbody. It included some re-enactment of the steerage passengers to America. The conditions were truly abysmal. We found it most interesting & very enjoyable – well worthwhile.

[Cardiff Yacht Club]

18.6.11 Departed Waterford sailing under jib only. Weather fine but strong SW wind. Crossing the bar was very uncomfortable with 20 kts true wind over tide & smack on the nose. The engine was brought into use as without any mainsail progress was poor. It remained uncomfortable until we made W close to the steep shore where there was moderation in the sea state. We followed the bank until we were back in Dunmore East. There were a few moorings free at Dunmore as some of the Dunmore sailing club members had, earlier that day, set off for a cruise to the Scilly Isles. An hour later one of the members came over in his tender & told us that the boats Scillies bound had turned around due to bad weather & would we move to a nearby mooring to enable a returning boat to pick up his own mooring. No problem, the people at Dunmore SC are very nice! Sunday, we took a very nice walk to East Passage & on return leg we had a super Sunday roast lunch in a hotel overlooking the bay.

20.6.11 Dept Dunmore heading W. sailing on a nice beam reach. The wind built from 8 kts to 12 kts & we then furled up the schreacher & continued under main plus jib. A weather change came with a veer to east, to north & then back to SE. Then it rained which became mist. The fun factor had become low so we looked at options & decided to put in to Youghal. Sailing from the E into Youghal bay, there are shallows and attention to navigation is crucial. Gem crept closer to the shore and there was little time to get organised to enter the harbour (which is a large expanse of sheltered water once though a short canal style entrance). We rolled up the jib to depower and ran the engine in neutral before heading in. We were still going a bit quick for an onshore wind entrance, with tide quite low and never having been there before! Youghal town lies on the port side at the narrows & our plan was to turn to starboard once inside the narrows & round up in the lee of the very low lying spit. Here there are numerous moorings & we luckily found a suitable one & avoided having to anchor.

[Cardiff Yacht Club]

21.6.11 The following morning came with wind F7 & showers throughout the day. We rigged the boom sheet with difficulty, but well worth the effort. We no longer deploy it over the boom as it’s possible to get water running along the mainsail into the cockpit. Instead, we support the boathook between the bimini & the other end tied to the boom end. The sheet then uses the boathook as a ridge pole. Works very well. We stayed on board as too rough to dinghy ashore, doing a few jobs & plenty of reading. Mary, who devours books, had a good supply on her Kindle. The first time for her, running out of books on a holiday was not an issue! Mary cooked a lovely evening meal of soup, curry & rice. Washed down with wine, Gem comfortable (she does not roll when moored) & feeling confident in the mooring tackle, it was a nice relaxing evening. The second day dawned with wind down to F2 – 3. A fisherman in a workboat was attending to a couple of moorings & we hailed him to ask if there was a water tap on the land spit (yes). After a little chat he offered us his berth alongside his private steel pontoon at the town as he had no paying passengers for a few days. This was an extremely kind gesture & Irish kindness was prevalent throughout the cruise. So we relocated half a mile to the W & moored fore & aft on the private steel pontoon at Youghal. Using the pontoon was extremely fortuitous and gave good access to the town whilst Gem just stayed afloat at low water. The Aquatrek sailing school also use the pontoon & John, one of the partners, a great guy who was most helpful & kind.

It was great watching the sailing school pupils zooming around in all sorts of weather. John told us that, for him, one of the great inventions of all time was the wetsuit. They are able to run classes all the year round. In Luigi’s café we found the service to be very slow. In The Lighthouse Brasserie we had a fabulous meal. There were no facilities for yachtsmen & to get a shower we walked 2 miles to the beach where there is the Aura swimming pool. It was nice to get cleaned up. In the evening, we walked part of the town wall walk – very picturesque & interesting – as is Youghal, well worth a visit. John kindly took me in his car to get a couple of gallons of diesel. These people are so nice!

Dept Youghal, as soon as the tide turned, for Kilmore Quay as Mary hadn’t been there. Good sail though bit brisk as we arrived in the shallows to the W of the fairway. We took the sails down before motoring in, carefully keeping the leading marks lined up. Here we saw 2 strange/funny things. Firstly, Mary said she could see someone riding a horse in the water on the E side of the harbour wall. The water was up to the horses belly and it looked strange as a yacht was moored there! Then, as we got closer, we saw that there was a second horse being lead by the rider. Secondly, as we entered the harbour we saw a fisherman leaning over the side of his small trawler feeding a dead fish to a seal!

[Cardiff Yacht Club]

24.6.11 Lying in Kilmore Quay harbour, wind unsuitable for crossing to Wales. The forecast at 18.00 hrs was S/SW F5/7 decreasing 4/5, occasionally 6, fog patches. In the cabin, we had on 3 layers of clothes, 3 days after the longest day of the year! The resident 2 seals snoozed on the slipway just before dusk. They were at home!

27.6.11 Dept Kilmore Quay at 10.00 hrs, cleared the Saltee Islands & were sailing under main + schreacher at 10.50 hrs. Soon, the wind veered & by noon we were motor sailing which continued until opposite The Smalls at 19.50 hrs. We stemmed the tide under jib + main at 4 kts SOG. We saw dolphins & puffins – very nice! Saw 5 commercial ships during the entire crossing. One yacht only on the horizon. Picked up the mooring at Dale 23.45 hrs – passage time 13 hrs 45 mins & FAR too much motoring!

[Cardiff Yacht Club]

28.6.11 Layover day at Dale. Had a very nice evening meal (again) in Dale SC. 29.6.11 Dept Dale for Tenby. Diverted around Castlemartin firing range by their security boat – added a few miles to our passage. 30.6.11 Anchored at Tenby we inadvertently dried out – the light wind had changed from offshore to onshore and our anchor scope allowed us to get too close to the sand.
1.7.11 Dept Tenby with additional crew (Mike Croad) onboard. We motor-sailed to Worms
Head where just before, there was the largest shoal of dolphins we have ever seen, maybe 50 or more! The dolphins were herding fish. It was amazing watching their antics!

From there, we sailed quietly (main plus schreacher) tacking downwind to Cardiff which made up for the horrible motoring at the start of the passage. Despite the poor weather, we had a great time!
Dave & Mary

[sheila]

Fabulous accound Dave, very eloquent.

[spidercrab]

What a great read. Thanks for posting that.