Weather
I have often raved about the accuracy of modern forecasting, and indeed it plays an absolutely essential role in keeping our sea gypsy lifestyle safe and ( relatively ) comfortable. Sometimes the forecasts let us down , particularly where visibility is concerned. Thus , after a very pleasant 3 days in the Scillies with Ben and Steph , they were due to fly out of the islands , but the fog rolled in on the morning of their departure , and despite the fact that we left in bright sunshine , they were grounded and had to take the Scillonian ferry.
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| From Summer begins -2015 |
Our forecast was for light SW winds , rapidly becoming fresh from the west, and remaining fresh to strong for the foreseeable future. We decided to head for the Irish coast at Rosslare , thinking that at least we would have land to windward from then on, and would just have to tough it out overnight until we got our lee. Well , the forecast was spot on and it was a pretty uncomfortable night as we screamed along on a reach with tiny sails and big breaking seas occasionally coming aboard. And cold! It was a great excuse to stay under cover and let Festina sail herself.
Once we gained our lee, life became pleasant again, but the cold Westerly continued with big squalls making for anything but relaxing sailing. A brief passage anchorage just South of Dublin allowed us to consult our meteorological Gods again ( back in the land of 3G again, and thus able to communicate with the great God Grib) , and it looked as if a very deep unseasonal low was due in a couple of days , but we had a nice weather window to get to Belfast in time to shelter in Bangor marina- provided we started at 0300! Hey ho!
So here we are in Bangor once more. In earlier times an enforced 3 day stop and bad weather would have had me champing at the bit , but this year we have no timetable to stick to , and the opportunity to stop and explore this lovely bit of Northern Ireland and meet its exceptionally friendly people ( who all apologise for the unseasonal weather !) has been great.
Now the challenge is how to get into Scottish waters before a little secondary low comes whistling through. Time to get back to the worship of Grib!