Didn’t we have a lovely time the day we went to Bangor (ok - not in Wales!)

 With our propellor now being set free from its plastic prison we set off at a great pace from Ardglass, heading towards Bangor (near Belfast).  We got the tides right and at one point hit a speed of 7 knots which is very fast for us.  We arrived in Bangor around 3.00 p.m and were greeted with bands playing and the Royal Navy - there was a festival of the sea taking place.  There was also a fair and the whole place was, how can I put it, very lively.  The most lively was a bar called Betty Blacks - an unending stream of women dancing on the tables to an admiring audience.  That evening we had one of the best meals of the trip at a restaurant called Underground Dining - if ever you are in Bangor do look it up. 

Yesterday we took the train into Dublin to visit the Titanic Exhibition.  It was tremendous and very, very sad. The trail took visitors through life in Belfast at the start of the 20th century, particularly the industrial life of the city. Then we were shown the story of the design and building of the Titanic - at that stage the biggest ship in the world. The level of skill and physical endurance of the ship builders was extraordinary. When the Titanic was launched 100,000 people from Belfast came to watch and you could sense the pride of the city in this achievement.  The portrayal of the tragic and terrible end of the Titanic was rather harrowing and very powerfully and sensitively portrayed.  That this great ship could sink beneath the waves in less than an hour was something that nobody could have imagined.  The reflections on the cause of the disaster showed how in a disaster, a number of factors come together - none fatal in themselves, but together leading to an inexorable end. The inquiry after the event listed a missing pair of binoculars in the lookout, no radio operator on duty at night in the nearest ship to the sinking Titanic, not enough lifeboats for all the passengers and crew, no training of crew or passagers for an evacuation of the ship. Also underlying it all, was the pressure on the Captain to beat the Cunard speed record for crossing the Atlantic so he was reluctant to slow down. 

From the serious to the rather trivial - joy of joys, Bangor Marina has a bath! 

Today we set sail for Campbeltown, leaving Northern Ireland for Scotland.  We hope we will arrive there by around 9.00 tonight. Let’s see. 

Photos of the Royal Navy minesweeper at Bangor, the bath and the Titanic exhibition. 





Ardglass to Bangor        35.2 nms


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