After travelling through to Largs and getting the boat ready we set off at 1330 on what has now become an annual trip to Northern Ireland. This is the fourth time we have made the passage and it’s a trip we both enjoy and have been eagerly anticipating. We are following much the same plan as previous years, heading for Lamlash for the night before crossing the North Channel to Glenarm. Glenarm is a small marina on the Antrim coast and closest to mainland Scotland.

The sail to Lamlash was great, a steady 25-knot wind from the west had us covering the 18 NM in just over two and a half hours. We picked up a mooring and I started to get tea ready. I love being on a mooring, so much easier than tying up at a pontoon with none of the fuss of fenders and lines, and whilst anchoring is fine, a mooring always feels so much more secure.

It’s an early start tomorrow to cover the 48NM in what will probably take us around nine hours. It’s just as well we made most of the sailing today as it’s likely we will be motoring tomorrow with little or no wind forecast. Still, it’s a time to relax, put the autohelm on, read a book, listen to music…