Last night I arrived into Bangor Marina after a long, slow passage from Stranraer marina in Loch Ryan, this was my last stop in Scotland!
I had been in Scotland for over 3 weeks which was longer than expected due to all the bad weather but I have to say I loved every bit of it!
Scotland didn’t let me leave without a challenge though… my passage from Troon to Loch Ryan was actually my hardest challenge yet.
On Saturday I left Troon in the morning for what was supposed to be quite a good and fast sail.
We were forecast to have a steady Beaufort Force 5 coming from the North, which we had for the first hour and it was great! It then quite quickly escalated to a force 6/7 and the wave height quickly rose. By this point I didn’t have much choice other than to carry on to Stranraer. Seven hours later I came into Stranraer after helming (hand-steering) the rest of the way.
This passage ended up being the hardest thing I have ever done and I was very incredibly relieved to see the smiling face of Lesley the Harbour Master greeting me as I came into Stranraer! Although it was not a fun experience, I learnt a lot and I certainly won’t forget it.
I will now be in Bangor for a few days as I wait for some favourable conditions to head south to Ardglass and then across the Irish Sea to Holyhead which is another big leg which I am looking forward to getting done!
