Threading through the gems of Donegal

We needed to move from our berth near the ferry dock by 1030, but ended up leaving earlier at 0915 since we were ready. Grey overcast replaced yesterday's bright sunshine but visibility was good so we could see where to aim to clear Bloody Foreland.

There was very little wind so we had to motor across the swell, but since it was mostly behind us we hardly noticed it except for the occasional lift in speed as it rose under us. Julian wanted to take the inshore route past Inishsirrer, Inishmeane, Gola, and Inishfree, so he put it into the chart plotter, but we mostly used the site lines from the pilot book. It made for an interesting, and challenging passage. Julian helmed while I kept an eye on the plotter, pilot, swell, landforms.... Oh, and the islands and coast which were wonderful to see.

Once we were clear of Inishfree we raised sail since the wind had become usable, and headed seawards. Within 15 minutes of the main and no 1 jib Julian on the helm decided he was overpowered and we dropped the stay sail, then almost immediately reefed the main down to the first hoop, furled away the jib and raised the staysail again. We were butting into the swell to pass outside Owey, and it was not especially comfortable. The thought of doing this for another four hours while we reached our chosen anchorage did not appeal, so we turned back inshore, and sailed on a very broad reach through the Owey Sound, then into the north channel inshore of Arranmore.

We were hoping to pass all the way though Arranmore Sound, but knew we were unlikely to succeed. (which was why we had planned to go outside Aranmore) We were virtually at low water, and south Arranmore Sound only has .3m at chart datum, plus 1m of tide at low water today. Robinetta draws 1.4, so were were bound to touch unless we were very lucky. Half way to the really shallow bit I knew that the water was not going to be enough, (chart showed 4m, but we only had 2 beneath the keel) so we turned back with the idea of anchoring to wait for more water.

As soon as we were off the near run and heading into the wind we realised how cold it was, and anchoring felt a lot less appealing. We got the main down and followed a ferry into Burtonport Harbour. Having a guide for the entry to the passage was very useful, but after that the way was well marked.

Burtonport

The port looked full and a little unfriendly when we first got in. The advice was to moor against other boats as the pier was too rough without fenderboards, and after motoring round to look we spotted someone aboard one of the larger fishing boats. He was very happy to have us moored up against him, and set our lines perfectly, then admired Robinetta. They would not be heading out before Saturday, which gave us total freedom of when to leave tomorrow. He even pointed to where the showers were; suddenly Burtonport looked like the perfect choice.

I had called the coastguard when we left Tory, and now I called them again with our revised plan. They were happy to hear us, and ended with "talk to you tomorrow". This is an area where the advice given on radio courses (call the coastguard with your plan and let them know when you arrive safely) should be followed. In the Solent there are just too many boats, but we seem to be the only yacht on the move in this area at the moment. It feels good that they want to keep track of us.