May 23 – Glenarm to Port Ellen (Islay) 50 nm

By | May 23, 2012

Off to Port Ellen on Islay!

Left Glenarm in about 0.5 mile visibility at 11:30. Tide was due to turn at 13:00 so we needed to be on our way if we were to get to Port Ellen 50nm away.

Visibility reduced further once outside the marina so radar and AIS were used for most of the trip. We were mighty pleased to have the new wireless and iPad AIS system on board which gave us a clear picture on the chartploter of the shipping traffic.

We started sailing on a beam reach to cross the North Channel separation zone. Still in low visibility with little traffic about. The tide was with us now and we were making 7 knots under sail across the lanes.

As we reached the other side of the North Channel the mist cleared and suddenly the Mull of Kintyre was revealed in all it’s glory.

The Mull of Kintyre – a few minutes after the mist cleared

There then followed a glorious 20nm sail – using just the jib and 18 knots behind us across – the top of the North Channel from the Mull of Kintyre to Islay. The fog appeared ahead but it miraculously cleared as we made landfall.

Port Ellen

After we moored up David noticed a fishing boat unloading scallops. He sauntered over and came back with a big bag free of charge.

Dined on scallops and white wine tonight.

Recipe we used

  1. Fry the scallops in the olive oil for about 1 min until golden, then flip them over and sprinkle over the garlic cloves and chopped fresh red chilli into the pan. Cook for about 1 min more, then squeeze over the juice of the lime.
  2. Finish off with roughly chopped coriander and salt and pepper. Serve straight away.

Today’s Passage Stats

Glenarm to Port Ellen: 50nm / 8 hrs

Sailed: 5 hrs:

Total distance since start: 535 nm

 

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2 Comments

Nigel on May 24, 2012 at 12:03 pm.

Tanfastic. This blog is coming to life now! V.jealous re those scallops. Hope you manage to blag some langoustines next.

This vicarious armchair sailor is looking forward to the next installement.

Reply

Matt Buckle on May 24, 2012 at 8:32 pm.

Hello chaps, after having a lovely time the day you went to Bangor now you have seen the mist rolling in from the Mull of Kintyre. Is this becoming a musical journey around GB?
Those scallops sound wonderful. Enjoy the rest of you trip.

Reply

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