Ballycastle, Glenarm, Largs

We decided to head back to Glenarm for our last night in Northern Ireland and it turned out to be one of the best sails – short but great fun. Due to the times of the tidal stream going south, we had the luxury of a relaxed, late departure in the early afternoon. There was an excellent wind coming from the northwest and once we got around Fairhead to the east of Ballycastle, we hoisted the sails and had a great sail down the Antrim Coast to Glenarm. It cleared up and the last few miles to the marina were in warm sunshine. 

Leaving Glenarm, we had a long day back to Largs as we had decided to do it in one go without a stopover at either Campbeltown or Lamlash. At just over 63 NM it would take us around twelve hours to complete and we set off from Glenarm at 0745. The tidal stream would push us down the North Channel and then we would have a bit of Northerly assistance as we approached Pladda. 

After leaving the shelter of Northern Ireland, we picked up a fair bit of wind and had a great sail most of the way across the North Channel o just south of Sanda where the weather started to clear up. So much so that Hamish and I changed into shorts and t-shirts whilst Alan insisted on keeping all his gear on – mainly because he had paid a fortune for it and was disappointed that it wasn’t being tested to his satisfaction. 😛 

By the time we had reached Pladda it was a beautiful, sunny, clear afternoon. So clear that we managed to catch a glimpse of The Paps of Jura peaking over the southern tip of Kintyre as we headed towards the Clyde.

We motored up the Clyde past Holy Isle and Cumbrae and arrived back in Largs just after 19:30, the passage had taken us just under 12 hours. Over the week we covered 224 NM at an average speed of 5.3 knots – about what I would expect.

Once we were back on the pontoon we sat in the cockpit enjoying a nice dram and watching a beautiful sunset. It was a fantastic trip and I hope that we can do something together next season.