Well, no devils or demons actually.
Left the mooring at Llangwm at 13:00 Thursday. Louise got some sleep as I sailed down to Dale. Got caught out at Milford and rounded up. Full sail had barely moved us in the Upper Cleddau, but it seemed to blow a gale for 5 minutes at Milford. The Port Authority weather broadcast explained:
'Winds East or NorthEast, 10 -15 knots occasionally 15-20 knots. Some gusts of 25-30 knots.
There are some lovely vessels to be seen in the Haven. This was just above Milford:
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Sailing ship, Milford"]
[/caption]We met up with yet more friends from Cardiff on Dale pontoon. Allan and Edwina from 'Chausey' were waiting for us, passing the time annoying the local fish:
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Allan Fishing"]
[/caption]Louise joined in whilst I blew up the tender, and hooked a bass, first cast:
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Louise, with bass"]
[/caption]Not a keeper, too small. Allan took umbrage and stopped any further success by moving Chausey into the space Louise had been casting into, mumbling something about room for other boats.
The Griffin was proposed, and we were forced to take two tenders to stop the lovely Lilly from forcing her attentions on Tigger. Cwrw Haf was tested, and found to be very drinkable indeed:
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="The Griffin, Dale"]
[/caption]Allan cooked a vegetable curry on Chausey later, and another beer or two was enjoyed. Many thanks for yet another great evening in the company of Allan, Edwina, Lilly and Chausey.
The following morning, Louise and I fancied a trip to Skomer. Chausey was heading back to Cardiff via Ilfracombe, so we said our goodbyes and went our separate ways.
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="St Anne's Head"]
[/caption]We kept close to the land this trip, for the views, and saw a very different Gateholm from the one we had seen from Marloes during the gales a couple of weeks back:
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Gateholm, and leaving geese "]
[/caption]We saw meny geese leaving during the weekend, honking loudly as they passed above us in usual V formation.
I'd planned to go to South Haven, but it was very calm, and slack water in Jack Sound was a couple of hours away. I calculated we had time to get around Skomer, visit North Haven briefly and come back through Jack sound. I'd been through there many, many times before, but never on a yacht, and never sailing. I discussed it with Louise and we decided to try it.
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Where's Grassholm?"]
[/caption]The Isle of Innishmore ferry passed Grasholm as we headed West. I could just make out the Smalls lighthouse in the distance. Another place for another day.
Pretty soon, we were around the Western edge of Skomer and passing the Garland stone. An excellent dive, by the way, if you don't mind some current. Pick a day with good vis, and enjoy a sheer drop off to 40m plus.
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Louise, Tigger and Garland Stone"]
[/caption]We picked up a mooring buoy in North Haven to wait out the final half hour before slack.
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="North Haven mooring buoys"]
[/caption]My pilot said there were three, but we counted four buoys. To the South of these is a no anchoring zone, clearly marked, to protect the eel grass beds.
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="No anchoring in the eelgrass"]
[/caption]As we waited, the Dale Princess disgorged the last of the summer visitors to Skomer reserve. They duly paid their fees and trekked back and fore over the island:
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Visitors on Skomer"]
[/caption]OK, time to take on the dreaded Jack Sound. It was dead slack as we approached, and we passed this delightful boat as we edged through at 2.4 knots, our passage completely uneventful
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Jack Sound"]
[/caption]Uneventful, it may have been, but we were both delighted that we had done it. Just over a year ago we were taking our first tentative steps aboard Ishtar in the sheltered waters of Cardiff Bay. We both felt this last year has been a huge learning curve for us.
We were due in St Davids to go diving early on Saturday, so were a bit rushed on the way back to the Haven. Thorn island looked stunning in the strong sunshine.
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Thorn Island"]
[/caption]We hurried back up the river and left Ishtar. 33 miles covered in a little under 10 hours. Got a text from Allan to say that Chuasey was 12 miles from Ilfracombe.
Louise and I were on a big high. Tigger was unimpressed. 'Yes, bla bla, Jack sound, bla bla, strong currents, bla bla circumnavigation. Now how about tossing this here log into the river for me to fetch?'
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Stick. Now. Please."]
[/caption]Post Script. How to get it wrong.
When diving in Ramsey Sound the following Sunday, with a much smaller tide, we saw a yacht take the wrong course against the full flood of the tide. He appeared to strike something and then go backwards for a few minutes. Horse rock should have been a few metres under water at that point, so he may have just been caught by one of the strong eddies. I pointed out to Louise that maybe our uneventful trip at slack was the better idea after all. (We went across to the yacht in our rib to check that they were ok. They were fine.)
