We returned to Coleraine after our week back home with no fixed plans , but the winds were from the South so , of course , North we went. Its only a hop and a skip across the North Channel and there you are in the Hebrides , arguably the finest cruising ground in the […]
For our second “break” of the summer we left Festina at Coleraine , 5 miles or so up the river Bann. This is the heart of the “Ulster plantation”, started way back in Tudor times , that continues to cause division to this day. Perhaps more famous is the nearby city of Londonderry , a […]
Travelling North and east from Gola there are two headlands to round before crossing the border to Northern Ireland . Bloody Foreland was a doddle despite its rather troubling name , and Malin Head was equally well behaved , although it has quite a reputation for serving up very rough seas. In between them are […]
Bad weather has its advantages. If we are forced to hole up we can catch up on our sleep and try and make inroads into the vast library of books that accompany us. Better still , if we are able to tie up ashore we have the opportunity to explore on land, and even, shock […]
The area round Aranmore looks fun on the chart and in the pilot books. There are lots of choices of anchorages in picturesque settings ; purple blue mountains ashore contrast with the pink granite rocks of the coast, and the whole lot is set off by lots of white sandy beaches. All it needs to […]
We have been home for a week , leaving Festina in the capable hands of the Blackwells, tucked up in their gorgeous corner of Clew Bay. In our absence the weather Gods have decided that we have been having it too easy and have sent a constant strong Westerly airflow with frequent little […]