We finalize the plan for this holiday in the springbreak after discussing it with the girls. We drop the earlier plan for Scandinavia and we plan a roundtrip UK with a focus on Ireland and Scotland. Is that possible in 4 weeks? We calculate the number of miles and it turns out to be the same amount of miles we sailed in 2014 when we made a trip around the North of Scotland during our first holiday with the SeaQuest (approx. 1450 nm). The weather in the first few days will determine whether the round trip is really feasible and if it is better to do it clockwise or anticlockwise. It is necessary to sail 500 nm in the first few days to be able to do this trip in 4 weeks and it is also necessary to be able to travel this distance back home in the last week.
We are lucky, the first stretch takes us in 83 hours from Breskens to Dun Loaghaire, near Dublin. A nice start of the first 570 nm of a roundtrip UK in a clockwise direction. Lots of hours with use of the engine but also every day a couple of hours of nice sailing and quiet nights with help of the girls on watch.
We spend a week on the east coast of (Northern) Ireland, near Dublin and Belfast. We visit both cities and rent a car from both places to see some of the beautiful surroundings. Fantastic to get a good first impression Ireland, until now unknown to us 👍.
But Scotland is more fun by boat. There are so many beautiful anchor bays at nice distances from each other and the Crinan and Caledonian Canal with all those locks are so much more fun to do. The week and a half in Scotland is really enjoyable. What a wonderful environment, every day we are in a different beautiful place. With a nice unexpected visit to Hendrik and Els on the island of Bute. It is mostly nice weather with sunshine and a nice temperature around 20-23 degrees. We have a lot of rain only for three days, especially in the afternoon and evening, so it's not that bad. You can also enjoy eating out, as we experience a couple of times. Yes, Scotland is perhaps the number 1 sailing destination in a summer holiday from Bruinisse.
The 550 nm from Scotland back home is split in half with a stop in North Shields near Newcastle Upon Tyne. That's about halfway. This stop is necessary because of the weather, but also nice to experience some more of eastern England. We sail the 250 nm to North Shields in 38 hours, mainly with the use of the engine and only a few hours of sailing. We stay in Newcastle for three days waiting for a good weather window for the sail back home. We certainly succeeded, because we sail the remaining 280 nm in 36 hours with almost the entire trip of wonderful and fast sailing (8 knots on average).
We look back on a wonderful relaxing holiday. We meet no other boats and we are primarily on our own. The first part with the four of us and the second part only with Marinthe. Especially then we make good use of the three bikes we have on board. We enjoy the beautiful nature, each other and read a lot. Totally top 👍.
Accommodation:
Sea: 7
Anchor/channel: 9
Port:11
The day-to-day report...
We leave together with the Indian Summer on Friday July 12th just after noon with the goal Breskens. Most of the time we can sail with NW bft 3-5 and we also have the current with us for the most part. Only the last part on the Westerschelde is on the engine against a light current. Once in Breskens I sprint just before closing time to the Plus for bananas, eggs and bacon. I forgot to buy those and I can't miss it for breakfast after a night of sailing 😉. We have dinner with the four of us and then we go to bed on time because everyone is tired.
We leave around 5.30 am when it is just light so we have the first part out of the current with us. Until Zeebrugge it is strong sailing high on the wind with bft 4-5 with a good speed. The girls just sleep through this. After Zeebrugge it is until after Dunkirk on the way to the shippinglane wonderful sailing half wind with bft 3-4. In the afternoon we say goodbye to the Summertjes, they are going to Brittany, and with little wind we cross the shippinglane to Dover. The sea is very calm and we continue on our motorbike in the direction of Wight. The plates can be put on the table, it is that flat. The girls are doing fine with the waiting and so I can sleep all night until 6 o'clock. Dinner distance: 177 nm
The whole day we spend along the coast of southern England with only in the afternoon a few hours of sailing. Long live the slow acceleration of the engine, because this way we walk 6.5 knots with 3.8 litres of diesel per hour. That would be 6.5 litres in high gear 😅. In the course of the morning the sun breaks through and we keep a tight blue sky all day. The Calanche is about 70 nm behind us on our way to Falmouth and the Summertjes continue to Brittany.
Because of the good antenna with our SeaQuest wifi network on 3/4G we have a good range for most of the trip. We can even watch the Formula 1 which is in London and also a part of the blistering Wimbeldon final between Federer and Djokje. It's a pity Federer just lost. Again the plates are on the table and during dinner we enjoy a nice dolphin show. The night goes very quiet with the usual waiting schedule of the four of us. Dinner distance: 156nm
In the morning, during my watch, we sail around the corner at Lands End to the north. At the end of the morning we can sail for a few hours in clover mode. Will we continue to Dublin or make a stopover in Wales? Well, it is going well and the weather is good, so we sail for another night and set course for Dun Laoghaire, a suburb of Dublin where there is a good marina. It is warmer than yesterday and the bimini is going up. We regularly see a group of dolphins playing around the boat. That remains nice to see, especially when they make high jumps out of the water. We watch the film Castaway, the plates are back on the table and so we tuck into the third night on a calm Irish Sea. Dinner distance: 152 nm
How happy we are with the two sheepskins we brought with us. It's nice and soft and warm to sit on the comfort seats outside. Especially at night during the watch. Everyone sleeps out for a long time. Around noon we can sail again in clover mode and we keep that up until near Dun Laoghaire where we arrive around 16.00 hrs. By then we have sailed a total of 573 nm. A large marina with a great spot, we toast with a glass of rosé to our arrival in Ireland! In the evening we have dinner in a real Irish pub. And on time we go to bed after a game of heart hunting. How wonderful it is to be able to sleep continuously all night again after a couple of nights of sailing.
We're going to Dublin for the day. That's easy with half an hour on the train. We mainly explore Dublin by bike, which you can take with you at many places via a dayticket system and put it back again. We visit the Guinness Storehouse; impressive to see how Mr. Guinness has built this whole empire that still has a very important economic role in Dublin. The beer is just not to drink 😂. Cycling and walking through the Temple Bar street we get a good impression of Dublin in a short time. We end the day with delicious sushi.
It's a beautiful sunny day and we rent a car for a 3 hour hike in the Wicklow mountains. Around a lake in a large valley and via a high ridge with beautiful views back. The last part is very steep but via nicely made stairs. Really enjoy in such a beautiful environment! We drive back via the coast, have a snack in a pub and eat well on board in the sunshine. Fast racing sailboats of the local yacht club sail out for the weekly race in the bay. We sit outside for a long time and play farmer's bridge.
We're sleeping late because it's raining anyway. In the afternoon we take the train to Dublin to the iMax theatre for the latest Lion King movie. Very nice 👍. We buy some more books for the girls and at the end of the afternoon we take the train to Howth; a small peninsula north of Dublin. After some searching for free places to hand in the bikes 😂. Howth has a large fishing harbour and there is a nice atmosphere. After some discussion we end up at a fine restaurant where we eat delicious fish. Afterwards we take the train back to the harbour around the whole bay of Dublin.
Time to continue north again. We wait for a while until a front is pulled over and leave around 2 pm for the 95 nm to Bangor (suburb of Belfast with a good marina). We skip Isles of Man. It doesn't bother us and it doesn't come out with the high tide time to enter the harbour. In the afternoon it is wonderful sailing with half wind bft 3-4 with regularly jumping dolphins around the boat. In the evening the engine is switched on and so we spend the night quietly on the engine. Toine stays up all night and we do the last part together. We arrive in Bangor at 5.00 a.m.; fine harbour, a bit smaller and with a nicer atmosphere than Dun Laoghaire.
We sleep for a few hours and in the afternoon we catch the train to Belfast. It's raining and that's a great opportunity to spend some time inside the fantastically designed Titanic museum with all kinds of experience effects. We know the story of the accident and the rescue, a.o. from the museum in Halifax. But this museum also focuses mainly on the construction of the ship, because it was built on that spot in Belfast. Afterwards, at the request of the girls, we go to an exhibition of the Game of Thrones. It doesn't tell us that much, but it's fun because many scenes were shot in Ireland. It keeps on raining so we take a taxi to the centre of Belfast and have dinner in a cosy pub with life music. We get soaked when we walk to the station in the pouring rain. Ah, tomorrow it will be a sunny day again.
The weather is certainly nice, the whole day is nice and warm with a tight blue sky. We rent a car at the city airport where we take the train and drive a part of the Causaway Coastal route along the north-east coast of Northern Ireland. A beautiful landscape. We have lunch in the tearoom near a castle with a beautiful courtyard garden. We stop at several places and at the end of the afternoon we visit a hanging rope bridge over a depth to a large rock. This used to be used by fishermen fishing for salmon. Now it's a tourist attraction that's much too busy 😅. At the beginning of the evening we drive back to Belfast via the highway backcountry to a japanese sushi tent. In quick succession we return the car at the airport and take the train back to the harbour. Briefly but powerfully we get a nice impression of Northern Ireland. That's enough for us ... we long for beautiful and quiet anchor bays in Scotland.
We leave in the morning for the 30 nm crossing of the North Channel to Loch Ryan in Scotland. It will be a brisk sailing trip with bft 3-7 a bit more than half wind. Because the wind force varies so much, we start reefed, but soon everything rolls out. Until it starts blowing a good 6 bft and then we go back to reef 1 at my request. Then the boat feels a little better under control. We make nice speeds of 8-10 knots. Halfway halfway the wind drops back to bft 4 so the sails are full again. Lovely sailing! Until just before the end the wind picks up again to a thick bft 7 and we don't get the big sail reefed easily ... the boat squirts through the water. We are going to sail a little wider until we are in the lee of the land and can reef better. Spectacular sailing 😅. The last part of the Loch we sail on the engine against the wind. We drop our anchor in Lady Bay, a nice spot where we are all alone. Especially when shortly after that the wind subsides and the sun breaks through full. We have contact with Hendrik, a former colleague of Toine's, who has moved to Bute. Because the A4 still hangs on our notice board in the boat we get the idea to visit them. We are very welcome and meet up in two days.
We get up early for the 33 nm to Lamlash Bay so the girls can sleep in. The wind is weak and right from behind, so we only sail with the genoa and the engine gently. We pass Ailsa Craig, a large bare rock in the middle of the Firth of Clyde that looks a bit like Saba 😉. For a moment we suffer from an enormous magnetic anomaly which causes both pilots to stop working. Luckily a little later again! We drop anchor in Lamlash Bay, near Holy Island (where we had a very nice walk 9 years ago). We are at a depth of 19 meters and use the entire 75 meter long chain. Marinthe is working on paper 4 and I do three washes and clean the bathrooms. The whole afternoon the sun is shining abundantly with occasional strong winds. Good weather to get the laundry dry quickly 😉. In the Netherlands it is 39 degrees; luckily here but just 22-24 degrees!
It is lovely sunny weather with a nice breeze and about 25 degrees. The warmest day of this year we hear from Hendrik later on. We have a wonderful sailing trip of about 20 nm to the marina of Rothesay on the island of Bute. A very nice little harbour. There we meet Hendrik who takes us to their new home. What a project! There are already a lot of hours of work in it. Bute is a very nice island where Hendrik has been coming from an early age because his mother was born there. And now he and Els have bought a house there which they are renovating and are just about to retire. We hear a lot about their background and life on this island. This allows me to get a good idea of life here and see us living on the boat for a while now when we will also be retired in a few years time 😅. In the evening we have dinner with them in a nice restaurant.
In the morning Els will pick us up to go to Mount Stewart. What an impressive house by the richest man in the UK (made rich by marrying women from rich families three times). We get a guided tour by an enthusiastic Scottish woman and learn so much about the background of the construction and furnishing of this house. Very tastefully decorated but a bit labour intensive! We have lunch in the tearoom where Els works a few hours a week. Then Hendrik picks us up for a tour around the island. In the afternoon we leave for the approximately 30 nm to the beginning of the Crinan canal. There is a strong wind every now and then. We sail over Bute through a narrow passage and later around the corner again to the north into Loch Fyne to Ardrishaig. There we drop anchor behind a rock with all the seals on it. A beautiful place where we eat fantastic sirloin steak from a healthy Scottish beef from the island of Bute, with lettuce and beans. Bought from the good butcher in Rothesay who delivers to the whole UK, a tip from Hendrik. Together with some strong red wine outside in the sun it tastes very good 👍. We sit outside for a long time and play Canasta.
At half past nine we are in the first lock of the Crinan canal. We made a reservation two days ago, because you have to if you are more than 2.20 m deep and we are 2.35 m (and on fresh water 2.40 m). Then they provide some extra water in the canal. Just like 9 years ago it is a fantastic experience to sail through this canal. Actually just like a farm ditch, in the middle of nature and forests. In total 9 nm long with 15 locks of which 12 can be operated by yourself. Most of the locks we do together with a British couple on a 28 ft boat and a Scottish couple on a small motorboat. The girls work hard and operate all the locks together with a student (hired as a pilot by the British couple). The draught is very good, but in one place we see the depth gauge below 2.30 m and touch the bottom briefly. There is little wind and it is dry until we arrive in the basin at Crinan, except for a short shower. Once we arrive in the last basin it starts raining and that goes on all evening and night. It doesn't matter, we are lying there fine and in the evening we go out for dinner in the hotel around the corner.
Today it is only a short trip to Craobh Haven, the harbour where Eline will disembark tomorrow. Luckily it is dry for a while, but there is no wind, so we motor between the islands with the current. We get a good spot in the overcrowded harbour, because the West Highland Yacht Week is going on there with a lot of boats. It rains all afternoon and we sit inside and watch the F1. What a bizarre race with Max as the winner 👍. We wanted to rent a car to take Eline away, but that won't work on Sunday. Via a taxi, bus and airport shuttle Eline can fortunately only get to Glasgow airport on time. The last evening with the four of us we play farmer's bridge for a long time.
We drop Eline off at the taxi at 7, a very nice Scottish gentleman who told Eline a lot about the area. She is nicely on time at the airport but her plane is a few hours late. Meanwhile, we motor with little wind to the next anchor bay near Puilldobhrain via the narrow passage of the Cuan Sound. What a beautiful place in a very sheltered small deep bay in the middle of the Scottish nature. Just before it rains the rest of the afternoon we make a short but strenuous walk over the island through the wilderness, because there is not a path everywhere. Once back on the boat we sit inside and enjoy reading and watching a movie. In the meantime Eline has left with a delay of 2.5 hours and in the evening she is back home again.
The sun is shining again and that remains all day zo☀️. We sail about 20 nm along Oban to a beautiful anchor bay north of the island of Lismore. There we row with the dinghy to the shore and make a nice walk over the northern point of the island. Once back on the boat it tickles too much to continue. We sail for another three hours on Loch Linnhe to Corpach, the beginning of the Caledonian Canal. We spend the night at a beautiful anchorage overlooking the Ben Nevis.
At 8 o'clock we are at the lock to enter the canal. Two other boats will take us straight through Neptune's Staircase, which is 8 locks in a row and takes about two hours. Hard work; we're all the way in front and the water enters the lock with considerable force. It takes a while before we get the right technique with the line on the back of the winch that Toine can operate from the steering position. He's standing there to regularly reverse the engine. Marinthe is on the side and takes care of capturing the lines each time. At the line I am in front of the boat. Just before the lunch break we are through. They had predicted quite a thunderstorm but until the evening we keep it nice and sunny and it is even pretty warm. We do some shopping in Corpach with the three bikes. That goes perfectly. Then we sail a little bit through the canal until the end of Loch Lochy. What a beautiful environment between the high mountains in the middle of nature. Toine makes a reservation at a fancy restaurant on the Loch with the idea that we can lie there in front of the door. That turns out not to be the case, but a couple of km cycling along a busy road turns out to be fine as well. A beautiful evening in beautiful surroundings with some extra adventure through the cycling tour.
We are just in front of a lock and can go straight in with two other boats. After another lock we are at the highest point. From now on it's only down and that's so much easier. We continue on the shallower Loch Oich to the 5 locks at Fort Augustus. It's always a busy point there and tomorrow those locks will be closed all day long. That's why we want to go through them today. We can go with the second lock that follows the first one. It's an unpleasant experience with a very unkind lock keeper who is abnormally unfriendly towards me at the line. Whereas so far we've experienced nothing but kindness and helpfulness. But quickly forgotten. We sailed halfway through Loch Ness and anchored in the bay near the castle, eating delicious salmon and rice biscuits on board.
The last day in Scotland begins. We get up on time again and hope to enter the sea at Inverness around noon. Unfortunately that will not succeed. We miss half an hour after the stairs of the last 4 locks at Inverness and have to wait until after lunch. Well, then I'll make a bike ride and Toine will clean the boat. After lunch, we can go through the locks with a big boat next to us. That only just fits. Then we have to wait for the train before we can go through the last two locks with a railway bridge in between. At 3 pm we sail out to sea for the first stretch of 250 nm back home with a stop in Newcastle. There is not much wind and the first part before we can get to the point at Peterhead is against the wind, so that's engines again.
In the early morning we are already around the corner and near Aberdeen. We have the current in the right places and therefore we have a nice speed. For a short time in a row we see two whales at good visibility distance partly surfacing. What a beautiful sight. We also regularly see seals swimming and inspecting our boat with their heads above the water. In the afternoon we can sail again, high on the wind bft 3 and we keep that up well into the evening. The last part is again on the engine along a wind farm and at 4.30 am we sail through the piers of the river Tyne. At 5.00 am, we moored in the marina of North Shields, after a very friendly welcome and help from the lock.
We crawl into bed for a few more hours. The rest of the day we stay quiet on the boat. I do some laundry and we have lunch in the harbour restaurant. And of course we watch another very exciting F1 race. With the good wifi in the marina I put this message in concept on the site. In the evening we call Eline who is on holiday in Nice with her boyfriend and family. We also get a big thunderstorm over us. It's nice to be in a harbour now and not at sea.
The next day we take a taxi to New Castle around noon. We walk around a bit, visit the big shopping mall and the beautiful old castle. You can clearly see that there is already a lot of history in this city. Somehow Marinthe and I have little energy and we go back to the boat in time. We have dinner in the pub of the harbour right next to the boat; that's easy!
The last day in North Shield it rains well into the afternoon. As soon as it is dry Toine and I go for a ride to the piers at the entrance of the river Tyne. A nice bike ride with nice bikes! In the evening we go out for dinner at a super nice restaurant, also with the bikes and eat really great.
We've been waiting for the perfect weather window. The last 280 nm back to Flushing we do in 36 hours with an average of 7.9 knots almost completely sailing. Only the last two hours the wind is up and the engine is on. For the rest of the trip, including the night, we mostly sail half wind with bft 3-6. The first day mainly bft 5-6, the night bft 4 and the last day bft 3-4. A perfect sailing trip, without rain, with a clear starry sky at night. That often does not occur is our experience. Nice to end the holiday like this!
Once we're at Vlissingen around 19.00 hours we decide to continue until Bru, because it's going to rain all day tomorrow anyway. So now we are back in our home port and look back on a very successful holiday!