Rathlin Island to Belfast Lough

The waters around the island are the most complicated we know of. The location of tide rips and overfalls changes frequently as the direction and strength of the various tidal vectors change. Some hazards exist only when the wind is in a certain direction.The charts mention an amphidromic point near Port Ellen on Islay where there is never any rise or fall of tide. Nevertheless, the tidal streams are strong there. Ratlhin sees tides coming in from the Atlantic and ebbing out from the North Channel, the Clyde and the Sound of Jura. The shape of the island - like a boomerang - is perfect for creating back eddies. The skerries create vortices and the sea bed is uneven. From Torr Point just east of the island and the Mull of Kintyre it is just 13 miles and all the water in the Clyde and the North Channel and half the Irish Sea has to pass through it.

Alison had planned this morning’s departure from Rathlin Island carefully. If we left too early we would be punching tide, perhaps faster than we could sail or motor. Too late and there would be horrible tide rips between Fair Head and the east end of Rathlin. But get it right and we would have six hours of favourable tide and calm water all the way!

Alison decided we could leave between 6:30 and 7:30 and we got away at 7:10. We raised sail near the wreck of the Drake, torpedoed in 1915. The wind had turned north-west yesterday lunchtime, pretty much when expected to. This morning’s forecast had it at F5 and decreasing. We put in one reef and the set the No 2 jib and sailed happily down the east side of Church Bay.

Leaving Church Bay

At the end of the island we could see a line of disturbed water forming off the mainland. It was probably Slough-na-mara - one of the British Isles three named whirlpools. Alison didn’t think it should be there yet but it was easy to avoid and we gybed north around the end of the island. We picked up speed - up to 7.5 knots but with the wind now behind us it felt gentle and I was nervous about accidental gybes so we turned round to shake the reef out so we could set the preventer.

Alison said “I think that tide rip is catching us up.” Our speed was growing though and everything seemed OK. But then we saw disturbed seas building to the north, and then to the south and east. The tide rip was forming around us!

We started bouncing around and the wind wasn’t helping much so we turned the engine on and tried to make for Fair Head - the rips don’t actually get to the shore and we hoped to get out of them that way. But the tide was too strong and even at full throttle towards the shore our track was still parallel to it. Further to the east it looked better so we gave up trying to fight the tide and added the wind and engine speed to it to try to out-run the rip.

Of course these are the times one is too busy to take photographs!

The sea state really wasn’t that bad - the wave height was only about 1m and the wind was with the tide so while it was disturbed Robinetta was handling it well. Our speed over the ground got up to 10.5 knots and gradually the seas calmed down and we were out of the rough part. We kept on a very broad reach with all the sails drawing.

Now we were in flat water we went even faster. We turned off the engine. Alison went down to start the breakfast and while she was down the SOG climbed to 11 knots and once or twice, in the gusts to over 12 knots! At that speed even 20 knots of wind was only driving the sails at 8 knots and 7-8 knots of tide really flatten the swell so it was really easy sailing. We swapped places and I finished the cooking - fried new potatoes, haggis, bacon, egg and tomatoes. We took turns to helm and eat.

The express train carried on all the way past Cushenden Bay and then gradually started easing, the speed dropping to 8 and then 7 knots over the ground. We passed the half-way point at Glenarm at 10:27, having averaged about 7 knots for more than 3 hours.

After that the wind died again. That wasn’t really in the forecast but has been happening to us a lot. There was a good chance we could get into Belfast Lough with the tide, as long as we keep the speed up, so we put the engine on past the Maidens rocks, the isle of Muck and the Gobbins.

West Maiden Rock

We had good 3G coverage all the way so I checked on the web for marina prices at both Bangor and Carrickfergus. Bangor weren’t answering the phone but Carrickfergus did and were cheaper and happy to have us.

Past the Gobbins the wind kicked in again and we knew we had time to get to the Lough. Even if the tide turned on us we knew the streams inside the Lough to Carrickfergus would be weak enough to motor against. We turned the engine off and sailed gently round the corner into the Lough.

We had one more dead patch of wind but then it came in strongly again and we sailed happily at 4 knots towards Carrickfergus. 

Carrickfergus Castle

The bay is shallow and the dredged channel into the marina is narrow so we dropped the main a fair way out, taking the opportunity of smooth water to get a nice flake into the sail as it came down. Then I got the bowsprit in and we motored gently into the marina.

Robinetta’s 80th anniversary spring cruise was over. Counting the trip from Holyhead to Liverpool via Caerarfon and Deganwy we have done about 400 nm so far this year and visited Wales, England, the Isle of Man, Scotland and Ireland.

Tomorrow we fly home for three weeks. Then, weather permitting, we will go back to Portaferry for their early summer festival.