Port Ellen to Glenarm

We departed Port Ellen, our last port of call in Scotland, at 0630 under an overcast sky. We set the main with one reef, expecting the wind to fill in as forecast. It didn’t though, so we kept up our speed under engine power. The early start enables us to take advantage of the strong tides, and at one point we were making ten knots over the ground! We headed out along the north-western edge of the traffic separation scheme (a sort of dual carriageway for commercial shipping where yachts have limited entitlement to navigate). After a few hours we were approaching the Mull of Kintyre and we turned ninety degrees to starboard to go across the TSS whilst also still being swept sideways by the tide. The wind finally arrived and we shook out the reef and completed our journey under full sail, arriving in Northern Ireland in a very short time. As we approached the coast we decided to take an early lunch of bacon and egg sandwiches provided by David. After tying up at Glenarm marina at 1300 we walked into the town before returning aboard for spaghetti bolognese cooked by Peter.

Peter’s joke:

Q. Why do owls not mate in stormy weather?

A. Too wet to woo!

The marina at Glenarm

Looking down the river towards the town