Go West!
After Neyland we motored up Milford Haven against the wind to spend another two nights in lovely Dale anchorage. Great news: George is working well, our third hand is back!
We rowed ashore against the wind (0.38 miles according to Rosie, sitting in the stern, while I pulled) and walked to Westdale Bay and then up to the old RAF/RNAS airfield, which was quite eerie with the ghosts of past aeroplanes. Then to The Griffin for a delicious fish dinner.
The next day was spent waiting for a low pressure area to pass by to the south, with the wind moaning in the rigging and the chain tugging at the anchor.
Today in Arklow was no warmer than Wales, dawning bright and sunny and warming to about 6 deg. C at breakfast time. We don't have a heater and are wearing lots of clothes! Later, we enjoyed a walk up the banks of the river Avoca and then our first Guinness at Sally O'Briens. We asked the barman to take a photograph of us and seconds later our beers were topped up and we we invited behind the bar for a better picture. I do like the Irish pubs, especially when the singing starts!
One thing that the local authority could sort out is the sewage system, discharging into the harbour from nearby buildings, but perhaps it's best not to go into any further details about that. Suffice it to say that we won't try to catch any fish around here and after all, it's way too cold for a swim.
We rowed ashore against the wind (0.38 miles according to Rosie, sitting in the stern, while I pulled) and walked to Westdale Bay and then up to the old RAF/RNAS airfield, which was quite eerie with the ghosts of past aeroplanes. Then to The Griffin for a delicious fish dinner.
Westdale Bay, looking out to Skokholm Island
The next day was spent waiting for a low pressure area to pass by to the south, with the wind moaning in the rigging and the chain tugging at the anchor.
We had intended to anchor near the islands of Skokholm or Skomer, to see the puffins and other wildlife. However, the weather is all wrong for such exposed anchorages (wind and swell), so it was not possible.
In fact, the weather is generally very unhelpful at the moment; cold northerly winds (we are trying to go north) interspersed with wild westerly half-gales. So what happens when we get strong winds blowing exactly from the direction we want to go? We bow to the weather gods and change our plans. Yesterday we sailed across the Irish Sea to Arklow. This was one long beat on the starboard tack, much of it in force 4/5 choppy seas. The meal last night in a Chinese restaurant was lovely but the whole place seemed to be rocking around rather a lot! Last night's sleep was deep.
Rapport in Arklow Harbour
Today in Arklow was no warmer than Wales, dawning bright and sunny and warming to about 6 deg. C at breakfast time. We don't have a heater and are wearing lots of clothes! Later, we enjoyed a walk up the banks of the river Avoca and then our first Guinness at Sally O'Briens. We asked the barman to take a photograph of us and seconds later our beers were topped up and we we invited behind the bar for a better picture. I do like the Irish pubs, especially when the singing starts!
At Sally O'Briens
One thing that the local authority could sort out is the sewage system, discharging into the harbour from nearby buildings, but perhaps it's best not to go into any further details about that. Suffice it to say that we won't try to catch any fish around here and after all, it's way too cold for a swim.
Ah, yes those lovely Irish pubs 😀🍺🍺🍺
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