Rathlin to Bangor the final leg! 07 June 2023

 

Rathlin Harbour at night

It was with some excitement that we set off this morning at 08.30 - this was to be the completion of the circle.  Our time of leaving Rathlin was based on our wish to catch the tide flooding into the Irish Sea - and as usual Gordon got the timing perfect.  We picked up the tide within minutes of leaving the harbour, and as we passed Fair Head and Tor Head we got up to 7 knots of tide - we were flying along.  After Tor Head the speed of the tide reduced, but we kept some of its help all the way to Bangor, thus making it back in just 4 hours.  Brilliant.

Rue Point at the south end of Rathlin - the point closest to Fair Head and the mainland.
At this point the sea was boiling and fizzing with tidal current.  
The autopilot had to work very hard to keep the boat on the right track.

Views of Fair Head
One of Northern Ireland’s most iconic landmarks, Fair Head
with Ballycastle off to the right (not visible) and Murlough Bay to the left,
was looking spectacular.

Soon after these pictures were taken it clouded over and was grey. The very light SE wind (not much more than an air really) was cold, and as the hours passed it felt bitterly cold.  By far the coldest it has been on the whole trip.  However, coffee and the prospect of competing the circle, kept us buoyant.

We saw Harbour Porpoise and Grey Seal, and a total 26 bird species.

A safe arrival into Bangor marina just after 12.30 - with Clive and Zara waving from the Eisenhower Pier - was very welcome because we have done it!  We feel that circumnavigating Ireland is no mean feat, a challenge that we are very glad we took on, but also glad that it is over.  We can start thinking about the next one!

In the meantime we have a whole list of jobs to do in the boat - we will be kept busy.

Today’s route: 


And the whole trip - 876 nautical miles, 17 ports and 100 engine hours.  Here’s a map of the route - the red line.  It excludes the first day because we didn’t start recording it until we were in Peel.



































































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