sail log 2011

12.04.2012

The last trip

other information

Harbour master Conwy
Harbour Office, Conwy Quay, Conwy,
LL32 8BB
tel: 01492 596253

The last trip

Thursday 12th of April

We promised to deliver Seaghost to the new owner, John Buffett from Menai Bridge. Early March had already brought an early summer. Now in April, it was back to winter. Not even reaching double figures, we closely watched the weather forecast as deteriorating weather in the season can make the trip very unpleasant.

Waiting for the tide Waiting for the tide

About 2 hours after low water we started to follow Conwy channel and sail towards the Pool, which leads to a gap across the Dutchman's bank. The weather was awfully cold with a F4 to F5 blowing from the NNW. I had put some way-points in the GPS which lead us nicely through the gap, checking progress with cross bearings on Puffin and the Great Orme.

Close to Anglesey Sailing close to Anglesey, safely across the Dutchman’s bank

Once we were sailing along Anglesey towards Beaumaris the cold wind and sea-state disappeared mostly. We passed Beaumaris with the intention of mooring somewhere in Bangor. As the next days passage through the Swellies (HW slack) was late in the afternoon, we planned to use the morning to visit the Westerly Griffon we intened to buy and explore Bangor a bit.

Ready to moor Ready to moor Mooring up in Dickies old harbour

The old harbour where Dickies used to be is now empty and we had the whole place to ourselves and had shelter from the cold wind. After we moored up, it occurred to me it would be wise to calculate what time we would be afloat the next day. We came to the conclusion that we might float just too late for getting to Menai in time for slack water. So after the family exercise of mooring up we cast off again. With the depth gauge on we picked a swinging mooring next to the pier in slightly deeper water. The things you do...

Sunset on the Bangor pier The sun setting over the Bangor pier

As we were all pretty tired we settled early for the night with a feeling of slight sun burn on our faces.

Friday 12th of April

Waking up the next morning was absolutely amazing. A mirror like sea and vividly brightly colours ensured fantastic photo opportunities. Some of the shots turned out to be stunning and were added to my photo collection.

Why you do it Why you do it

The Bangor mooring A view from our mooring on Bangor

We were forced to row ashore before 09:00 as the tide was going out and the mud would soon be impassable. We rowed to the old stone jetty in just a foot of water. After storing the dinghy the kids played in a play area. After that we set off on a walk along the coast line towards Dickies.

Early morning Early in the morning while the tide goes out. Seaghost in the background.

This was only the 2nd time we visited Hazel Anne and a more detailed inspection took place. The plan was to arrange a surveyor to go through the boat to see what we would not see. A Griffon promises a lot more space.

A visit to our new boat, a Westerly Griffon A visit to our new boat, a Westerly Griffon

After the visit we went up to the Bangor pier for a deserved coffee and the best scones one can find in North Wales. On the pier we met Seaghosts new owner, who had come out to check on our progress. We stated that we were waiting for slack and would be in Port Dinorwic around 17:00.

The tide still out and view on the still snow covered hills of Snowdonia The tide still out and view on the still snow covered hills of Snowdonia

On the way to Menai I took some picture of an old wooden bridge made by a colleagues grand father half a century ago. It is still standing but I would not trust my weight on it.

Through the Swellies and close to Port Dinorwic Through the Swellies and close to Port Dinorwic

The Swellies is a beautiful stretch of the Menai Straits and our timing was spot on. Thanks Geke! There was not much wind this afternoon and we motor sailed in a very relaxing pace towards Dinorwic.

Saying goodbye to a lovely boat Saying goodbye to a lovely boat

Port Dinorwic has a small drying marina, next to the locks. Amazingly, as soon as we moored up, Meryl and Timo jumped up to help unloading the boat. We had stayed on board 2 days and there was quite a bit of gear to be taken off. After overloading John's car, he kindly took us to Conwy where we overloaded our car. Thank God we could leave the Dinghy in Conwy. Now the next chapter starts....