Lunar Sea around GB

Day 48 & 49  Cardiff. We have decided to leave the boat in Penarth for a couple of weeks and head home. We will return in a few weeks time and decide whether to leave it in Penarth for the Winter or possibly take it to Portishead or Bristol. In the meantime Celia and I decided to take the ferry across Cardiff Bay to Cardiff. We were the only passengers on the first ferry at 11.00 and heard a commentary about the harbour area as we went. The Norwegian church was built by Norwegian timber men who brought their cargo's into Cardiff. It has been moved from it's original position and restored with the help of a donation from Roald Dahl. He was born here and his parents were Norwegian immigrants. The Norwegian Church on Cardiff Bay Captain Morgan, the infamous pirate, came from Cardiff but died in the Caribbean. Captain Morgan Rum is named after him! The Pierhead building, Cardiff's Big Ben Mermaid Quay Cardiff., with the Pier head building and the Welsh Asse...

Day 46 & 47 We had a pleasant and uneventful 8 hour trip to Penarth. The coastline was lovely and as we all noted, very unspoilt.  No dolphins or jelly fish this time but we had sunshine and it did get very warm in the middle of the day. We had to hand helm most of the way because there wasn't enough wind to use the wind steering and as you know the auto-helm had broken some time ago. However, the time went quickly and we arrived at Penarth at 1800. We had to lock in and as they were quite large locks, that provided a bit of excitement for the day. Nine boats in the large no 1 Barrage Lock Penarth consists of two marinas and we were given a berth at the very far end, where we were met by our guest's son Mark who lives locally. We all shared a welcome meal of fish and chips on board and then we said goodbye to Roy and Mary as they were leaving us today.  Josh and I had an early night as we were both tired. Luckily the engine had behaved itself all the way over with o...

Day 44 & 45 We left Milford Haven at 0600 for our 12 hour trip to Swansea. It was going to be a long one but we were all ready for it and the weather was perfect. It was uneventful apart from the engine stopping three times..oh dear! The best part was the dolphins. We had three pods of inquisitive dolphins at various times during the trip and it was magical. They were so playful, swimming fast alongside the boat, sometimes jumping up out of the water and sometimes diving beneath the bow of the boat and coming up on the other side. One very playful one kept jumping up out of the water by the side of the boat and belly flopped back down on it's side. Some stayed with us for some time then disappeared only to reappear in pairs jumping out of the water, as if to say goodbye before they headed off back into the sea.They were such a joy to watch. Later we came across a "bloom" of huge ghostly jelly fish, which we later discovered were Barrel Jellyfish. There were ...

Day 42. Mary (our friend from Broadstairs) and I decided to escape and take a day trip and leave Josh and Roy to their own devices. Yesterday we had enquired from the friendly ladies in the library, who doubled as the Tourist Information Centre, where would be a good place to visit on public transport. They recommended taking the bus to Pembroke Castle, so we took their advice and duly turned up this morning at the bus stop outside the local Tesco to catch the 11.15 bus. It was just less than an hour's journey to Pembroke and after paying the princely sum of £4 each for a return ticket, we found our seats on the right hand side of the bus. (The friendly ladies in the library had told us to sit on the right hand side of the bus to get the best views, and they were right.) It was a rural journey down some very narrow lanes, with glimpses of the Milford estuary along the way. Everyone on the bus seemed to know each other and waved goodbye as they got off the bus and they all were on f...

Days 38/39 Overnight We left Arklow at 5.30 p.m. in exuberant mood, looking forward to a good night sail. Night sailing can be fun and quite magical, which is what we were all hoping for. We weren't disappointed. It turned out to be a lovely calm evening and it stayed light until gone 10.00 p.m. The wind steering behaved itself and we had a helping hand from the tide so we made good speed for first three hours doing 6-7 knots. The speed eased to 4 knots by about 8 p. m. as the tide had changed by then. Josh managed a couple of hours sleep once the boat had settled down and then came up about 10.00pm and stayed awake for the rest of the trip. The rest of us  had naps when we could, doing several hours at a stretch. Mary and I became the "Night Knitters" as we knitted on deck until it got too dark to see. It was a cloudy night but we could see a bright half moon and some stars. Out of sight of land there are dark skies so it was a pity we didn't have a totally clear ...

Day 37/38 Yesterday we had the pleasantest trip to Arklow sitting on deck relaxing and watching the scenery drift by. The Wicklow mountains and the small villages along the way such as Bray with it's small sailing fleet out on the water enjoying a Sunday sail. It was  "putting on the kettle" weather and we passed the time companionably with knitting (a first) and fishing. Josh chillin', Mary knitting and Roy fishing!!! We got in to Arklow's small marina at 6pm after a short trip up the river. Roy had been dreaming of fish and chips all day so, as promised, we walked over the bridge into town to find a fish and chip shop. A local directed us to one but it was only a take away, so we had an unusual supper sitting on a low wall at the side of the road. The fish and chips were lovely. The obligatory Guinness in a local pub ended a very pleasant day. You can make up your own caption for this one! Arklow is our last stop in Ireland before we go across the Ir...

Days 36 and 37 We left Dun Laoghaire  at 14.30 yesterday (6 July) for the two hour trip to Greystones. We caught the tide which helped us through the small gap between Dalkey island and the mainland. We had forgotten it was the Regatta and there was a fleet of about 50 boats out on the water which was great to see. The two hour trip wasn't unpleasant and the coastline was quite interesting, but the auto helm broke about an hour into the journey. So Josh and Roy spent some time when we got in taking the ram to pieces. It may be possible to do a temporary fix but we can't get the part until we get home. Our model is discontinued now so it isn't easy to get spares apart from on e-bay and of course they can't deliver to us as we are on the move. We do have a wind steering system so we may be able to use that instead for our 16 hour crossing on Monday night. Entrance to Greystones  We had heard mixed reports about Greystones, some people had warned us not to go, bu...

Wonderful Ireland. We had the nicest trip ever from Howth to Dun Laoghaire and were surprised to see how big the marina here is, and once again, so friendly and welcoming. There are four yacht clubs here so the next morning, the 4th July,  (we didn't quite make it the evening we arrived) we visited the very plush Royal Irish Yacht Club. As we are all members of the Royal Temple Yacht Club we could get in with impunity. It was very impressive, just how I imagine a top class gentleman's club in London would be. On the past commodores board we saw an HRH! The billiard room was beautiful. Carved cupboard with RIYC insignia and shamrocks The whole place was very impressive. We had only gone in for a coffee but decided to stay for a light lunch because the food looked lovely and it was reasonably priced. We spent a very interesting afternoon at the Maritime Museum which is housed in the Seaman's Church and we had a very knowledgeable old gentleman who spent over an...