Round Britain Adventure on Indian Runner

 We left Poolbeg yesterday afternoon and made the short motor round to Howth - a delightful marina just north of Dublin Bay.  We had another gourmet supper, spaghetti carbonara (thanks Roger) followed by tiramisu.  Today was quite busy - there is an amazing amount of housekeeping to be done: refuelling, filling up with water, shopping, laundry and of course the all important passage planning. By mid afternoon all was achieved and we went for a really beautiful walk along the cliff path.  We have been so fortunate with the weather, ok, the wind is always in the wrong the direction but apart from that it couldn’t be better.   Tonight we are having fish and chips then settling for an early night, ready for a 5.00 am departure tomorrow for Carlingford Marina.  This will be our last stop in Ireland before we enter Northern Ireland after that. We have loved the warmth and hospitality of all those we have met.  Photos of Alan separating eggs for the carbonara and views from the wonderful clif

Roger writes: Rachel flies to South Africa, and Alan goes with her to the airport. For today’s sailing, Mike Sullivan, my old skipper from Harbinger, joins us. The big event today has been the Parade Of Sail. Three bridges on the Liffey are being opened to allow us to process up and down through the centre of Dublin, showing off, flags flying “Fully Dressed”, sails furled and ropes neatly coiled.  We were controlled by the Commodore on Radio Channel 11. The fleet jostled at close quarters. The first bridge opened, we charged through but not in the correct order (gaffers first), possibly because some of the non-gaffers were not listening to the radio.  Problem - opening of the second bridge has been delayed. The first bridge, meanwhile, has been shut. The fleet circles anti-clockwise for a while until the bridge staff reluctantly admit that they are unable to open bridge No. 2.  More circling, ably helmed by Chris and Mike, until an hour after we first passed upstream, we had back towar

 What a beautiful day - clear skies, gentle breeze and glorious sunshine.  Roger was first off the boat, heading for the Poolbeg Park Run which, unusually, began at 9.30.  I followed about half an hour later for a walk run towards the Poolbeg - an imposing lighthouse at the end of the peninsula.  As I was on my way back, just past the finish of the Park Run, I saw Roger running very strongly towards me so I turned round to meet him.  He got first in his new age category (75-79!) which was well deserved.  At the end we chatted to the Sanctuary Running Group who are neither a charity nor a political group, but people who love running and have committed to running with immigrants who love running - a lovely group of people (and many of them rather fast).   We came back to the boat for a second breakfast and a shower and were very grateful that Paul, a local DOGBA member, had tracked down and bought a gas cyclinder for us to replace the one that ran out during the birthday dinner cooking.

Yesterday began for me with a lovely walk run along the coast at Greystones. Then we set out on a fairly short trip from Greystones to Poolbeg marina in Dublin, but guess what, the wind was on the nose yet again so we motored.  The trip was not without incident. We felt we were being monitored by an official looking boat and yes - suddenly an inflatable drew up beside us with a flourish and we were ordered to stop to allow customs to board us. Luckily they didn’t look too fierce and the female office was probably on a training trip as she looked as unhappy moving from one boat to another as I would!  We were given a cursory search for alcohol (yes lots), narcotics (none) and illegal immigrants (none). There was also a long form to be filled in and our passports inspected.  They left happy with a cheery wave and we were allowed to take photographs of them departing.  We later found that two other gaffers had the same experience.  I wonder if we all look particularly dubious.  Last night

 From Kilmore Quay we set sail at 5.45 am to catch the tide for Arklow, our next stop on the Irish coast. The harbour master advised that if we sailed near the shore we would catch favourable eddies and gain three hours more of favorable tide.  He was right.  We nearly made Arklow on one tide, which for a 52 nautical mile journey was great.  Arklow wasn’t our favourite mooring.  It has a very big problem with sewage pollution and they have a project to rectify this which is in progress.  However it won’t be finished until 2025. We were also a long way from the showers etc, which all felt like too much effort as we were all tired. So we went to an Aldi which was only ten minutes away and bought some beer and papadums to be consumed with instant rice and cans of M and S hot chicken curry. It was surprisingly good!  This morning we had a more civilised start time and left just after 8.00 a.m.  Our destination today was Greystones Marina - about a 25 mile trip.  We really enjoyed it, favou

 It felt quite something to sail away from mainland Britain to Ireland - I can’t quite believe how far we have come in a few weeks.  The passage from Neyland to Kilmore Quay in Ireland went well and we arrived earlier than we expected at about 8.00 this morning. In fact we had to slow down for the last few miles as we didn’t want to negotiate the variety of rocks in the dark.  Once again we were surrounded by wonderful porpoises who seemed to be playing on our bow wave.   We have all felt a bit tired today, following the night sail but for all of us it is ‘happy tired’.  At lunch time we had crab rolls - all agreed they were fabulous and then as an even more special treat, we have a seal in the harbour.   We were asked to move our boat to another berth and this turned out to be a very good thing.  For some days we have been puzzled that our jib furling line was now quite short and that a length seemed to have disappeared.  Today we say what had happened - a large amount of our line was

 Last night we were all set to leave Neyland on Monday morning. However this morning (Sunday) it was clear that we either had to go this morning or wait until Tuesday.  The calculations are tricky.  The wind is important (direction, strength) but so are the tides and tidal streams. On this trip it seems as if we have had wind on the nose practically the whole way and today, so far, is no different.  Our aim for this leg of the trip is to get to Kilmore Quay in Southern Ireland by tomorrow afternoon.  At the moment (14.00) we are making painfully slow progress. Wind against us and being swept south by the tide.  All is due to change in a few hours time.  Fingers crossed.  The plus side is that at the moment it is a glorious sunny day with a flat sea, so at least we are warm and not feeling seasick!  The plan after Kilmore Quay, is that on Wednesday we travel to Arklow and then Thursday, Dublin, our next party port.  Perfectly timed for Roger’s 75th birthday on Friday! 

 We left Newlyn on Tuesday at 7.00 am for a long journey to Neyland at Milford Haven.  Our first bit of excitement came as we were rounding Lands End and were effectively cut up by The Scillonian.  Even before this, the Scillonian was not my favourite boat. We took it some years ago with Ellie to St Mary’s and Roberta and I were very ill.  Anyway on this occasion The Scillonian decided that rather than leave two small yachts to port, she would come up between us, travelling at great speed.  Issie took decisive action and the upside was that the ferry passengers enjoyed the show.  Yet again the wind was against us from the north, so we had to motor sail.  Wind aside it was an enjoyable part of our journey but as the day turned into evening, the wind picked up (still against us!) and the sea became rougher and the boat a bit more uncomfortable.  Despite the movement of the boat, the crew managed very efficiently to add 10 litres of diesel on the move, without either spilling the diesel o

 Yesterday we sailed from Falmouth to Newlyn.  Newlyn is primarily a working fishing port but welcomes the odd yacht if they have room.  We had a very enjoyable sail although yet again we had to motor sail most of the time as the wind direction continues to be against us.  We wanted to make Newlyn by last night as strong winds were forecast for today and we wanted to be in Newlyn ready to set off for Lands End when the winds died down.  It looks as if this will be the case tomorrow (Tuesday) so we plan to leave at 8. a.m to catch the favourable tide to take us round Lands End.   Many of the write ups about Newlyn are rather damning, citing a lack of welcome for yachts and poor facilities.  We haven’t found this to be our experience at all.  There was a very helpful welcome from the Harbour Master and the facilities, while a bit basic, are very acceptable.  We are here with Susan J, Bonita, Recipe and Lahloo, so it is quite a Gaffer gathering.  I suspect that gaffers are more welcome he

 Last night was fun - Indian Runner reached Falmouth at about 6.30 last night - well done the crew! The lady who runs the guest house I was staying in (Cotswold House - really excellent) suggested we go for fish and chips from Harbour Lights and take them down into the pub below.  An excellent plan. Roger and I enjoyed a night off the boat at Cotswold House and went for an early run this morning. The breakfast we enjoyed on our return was a real treat.  Today Rachel and Alan left the boat and will rejoin us in Milford Haven.  Our crew for the next few days is Roger, me, Issie and Mike (a sailing friend and keen Old Gaffer).  We will be leaving Falmouth at 6.00 am tomorrow morning, hoping to round the Lizard safely and arrive at our next port, Newlyn, in good time before the winds increase.  Lunch will be a highlight, we bought some fresh crab for our rolls!  Photo of the view on my walk run this morning - Falmouth is rather beautiful. 

 Isabel joined us last night and we had a very good time at the Piermaster’s House - the music group, The Rubber Band, were brilliant.   Issie, Roger, Rachel and Alan set sail this morning from Plymouth.  I was on car shifting duty, but this wasn’t too much of a hardship as I had a lovely breakfast with Roger’s brother and sister in law, Steve and Daphne at their hotel then visited the Mayflower Memorial Museum.  I arrived in Falmouth at about 2.30 pm and really enjoyed going down into the town centre.  It’s now 18.30 and it looks as if Indian Runner is approaching the Marina so I’d better get a move on and get down to welcome them in.   P.s. There is no bath  Photos of Indian Runner leaving Plymouth this morning.  Plymouth to Falmouth           42 nms

 We reached Sutton Harbour yesterday afternoon which was a relief for all of us. The journey from Salcombe was a bit disappointing from a sailing point of view as yet again we had a west wind on the nose and a very lumpy sea, so we were relying on our valiant engine to punch through the wind and for the first few hours, the tide.  This meant for the morning we made very slow progress.  However later we had the main up with three reefs (still quite a strong wind) and kept the motor powering away as well.  With the tide now with us, we made good progress and arrived in Sutton Harbour at around 4.00 p.m. We are with the gaffer fleet, rafted up to another boat with lots of very friendly gaffer sailors around.  Last night our gaffer dinner was at ‘The Box’ a museum in Plymouth with a great collection of figureheads. The evening started with a very interesting talk about them. We are having a kind of rest day today, but just like cycle touring, there are a lot of jobs to be done - laundry, s

After a wet Coronation weekend, we left Cowes on 7th May with a fast run down the Solent and through the Needles. This became a bit of a bumpy, tiring run against the wind in driving rain until late at night the next day. Exhausted, we pulled into Brixham for the night, ready to set out for Plymouth at dawn the next day.  It was a good decision as the kind staff at Brixham marina let us use their drying room and we just made fish and chips before the restaurant closed.  May 9th -  Friends this is going to be a very short report tonight as we are now happy and safe but have had a really challenging day. We set sail from Brixham at dawn as planned, aiming for Plymouth. But in the afternoon we were suddenly struck by winds of over 40 knots - a storm that was not predicted but nearly knocked us over. The crew were fantastic and we survived without damage to ourselves or the boat.  We made the hard decision that we could not risk going on to Plymouth, so. Turned back to run with the wind. W

 At 12.12 p.m. we finally made it - setting off from the fuel pontoon at the marina.  There were a few incidents, Roger dripping diesel on Alan’s beautiful new Dubarry boots, and Roger emptying some excess engine coolant and getting oil on his new sailing jacket. There is a common denominator here. We hope they both manage to clean up their respective equipment.  Roy and Vivienne and Andrew, a friend of Rachel and Alan’s came to wave us off. We had a good sail over to Cowes and are now berthed at Shepards Wharf marina.  I am confirmed in my view that sailing is much more tiring than it looks - keeping a lookout, trimming sails, watching we don’t go aground, balancing a pasty in one hand and holding on the boat with the other.   It feels great to be with all the other RBC60 boats. They look splendid - fully dressed with flags - we shall have to up our game (once we’ve had a beer!).  Distance 7.23 nm Max wind 20 knots

 Roger woke in the middle of the night realising he had forgotten to pack his head torch (bought specially for this trip by the Greens!) and our Euros.  I was feeling smug.  I phoned Bev asking her if she could go to the house, collect the headtorch and Euros and bring them to the boat today. Yes she said - how will I get in.  With the key I said. Then remembered that I hadn’t given it to her.  Feeling less smug now. Bev went to our neighbours Di and Alan, who have a key.  They were just getting up but were very obliging, doubtless with a ‘those Hardmans’ thought.  All looked good.  Then Roger and I were about to set off for a run.  I noticed my big toe was nearly through the old running shoes I had brought with me.  They were not going to last four months.  I phoned Bev. I’ve got everything she said triumphantly.  Oh I said - have you already been round then? Is there something else, asked my long suffering friend.  Well yes, could you fetch my new running shoes?  Bev and neighbours d

 In strict terms we haven’t actually begun to sail yet but we have said goodbye to our home and friends and family for a few months.  It felt quite strange locking up the house, turning off the water and saying farewell to neighbours and I couldn’t resist fitting in one last Zwift!  We had a lovely lunch with Issie, Steve, Georgina and Daniel and then Issie and Steve brought us down to Hamble. We’ve managed to stow away a pile of provisions - Indian Runner is proving to be a bit of a tardis.  All marinas seems to have trolleys to get the mountains of kit and food to the boat. Just as well. We managed to fill two of these. And that’s just our stuff. Tomorrow Bev and John are bringing down Rachel and Alan and on Friday at 11.00 am we will have the ‘Grand Depart’ for Cowes, our first Party Port. This will be a very gentle introduction to our voyage.  But on Sunday we will have what for me will be a baptism of fire - a continuous sail of about 48 hours, some of it course being at night. Ev