On the move at last!

We finally left Srangford Lough and ended up motoring all 40 miles to Isle of Man as the forecast was a bit off. Felt good to be on our way whatever the weather. Arriving was quite spectacular with the castle on the island and a huge wall making the small harbour quite protected except for the winds we had which rolled straight into the harbour.We had read that it was quite expensive to stay in the marina so decided to anchor out in the harbour even though we knew we had another day of wind.

How nice it was to wake up one morning to sunshine and no wind. A chance to get ashore and stretch our legs at last. We really enjoyed exploring Peel, officially a city as it has a cathedral but really the size of a village. There were plenty of walking trails up in the hills and as always, we enjoy walking the streets. It still amazes us that people are crammed into terrace houses on this side of the world, so very different to our kiwi lifestyle. Two days of sunshine and everyone thought summer had arrived.

We had a great sail back to the mainland and onto Belfast where we were met by friends we had made here in the marina last year. Returning to a place doesn't happen too often but when it does it feels so good. Now we are doing a few small jobs on the boat and stocking up with food and rum for the season ahead. Back to Plan A and exploring the west coast of Scotland, then onto Iceland, Greenland and Newfoundland before leaving the boat in Nova Scotia for the winter. Should be fun!

 The marina is through this lock and opens as needed two hours either side of high tide.

 Windora is one of the yachts out in the middle of the harbour. We had anchored a bit closer but had to move when a fuel tanker tied up to the wall for 12 hours.

 

 Scallop season so these boats were out early every morning. Huge scallops selling for $22 a pound.

Springtime here in Strangford Lough

We flew back to the boat in Northern Ireland at the end of Feb which was definitely way too early. First hint was the snow flurries at Heathrow Airport and then a few days later finding ourselves rowing out our bags and groceries in snow. The boat was freezing and it took three days for the heater to work it's magic, but it's been warm and toasty ever since. Thank goodness, as the weather has continued to be cold and grey. Hence, we are still swinging on the mooring in Strangford Lough five weeks later. The daffadils have been flowering for a month, there are lambs in the fields and the birds are courting and building nests so they must think it's Spring

Phil has crossed a few jobs off the list. He built a new spreader for the mizzen which broke on the Atlantic crossing last year.

We dried out aginst a dock for 24 hours and he waterblasted the hull which just had a coating of slime but put off antifouling until later in the year.

The plus of staying put for this long is that we have gotten to know quite a few of the locals, and like everywhere in Ireland, they are super friendly. We did leave the mooring for four days to visit Sam on another small island in the lough. He has done a lot of sea miles and we had some good long conversations and debates sitting around his fire, eating and drinking well into the night. He feeds the birds and badgers so there was always action just outside the window.

There is a lot of history in this area. Saint Patrick came here to spread the Word amongst the heathens and is buried at near the logh entrance so there are plenty of very old sacred sites. Just in rowing distance from the mooring we visited a 7th centuary monastery with an interesting round tower and sundial. Note the sunny clear sky. We get about one a week if we are lucky so always make the most of it.

Plenty of castle ruins too. 

Easter Monday we had another wild day as most of the UK got hit once again with a blast of cold weather. Friends drove us south, then across on the ferry to the eastern side of the lough. Driving north we got to see the waves crashing over the sea walls at every small town along the coast. It was great to see it on such a rough day. We see a lot of the coastline from the boat but it is always nice to see it from the land for a change.

However nice it is here in the lough,it is finally time to make a move so hopefully we will drop the mooring line for the last time tomorrow or the next day, spend a day or two with Sam and the badgers, then head over to the Isle of Man before we hit the bright lights of Belfast. Fingers crossed the weather will come right.