September 2019 – Bangor to Troon and Home

26th August 2019 – Bangor to Troon

The sail from Bangor to Troon has previously been in our top three worst sailing trips, so we were hoping for better, more well-behaved weather this time, as we left the harbour at 05.30am with the first light. (above).

The first 5 hours where quite cold and misty but the second half of the day was warm and sunny. 

The mist was mostly clear as we passed Ailsa Craig, which is an island of 99 hectares in the outer Firth of Clyde, 16 kilometres west of mainland Scotland, upon which blue hone granite has long been quarried to make curling stones. The now uninhabited island is formed from the volcanic plug of an extinct volcano. (According to Wikipedia).

It is a welcoming site to sailors and marks approximately the half way point in our journey.

We were extremely lucky to see four pods of dolphins today. 

Mick also managed to photograph this helicopter which came very close.  We knew he was around as we had heard messages on the radio between him and a ship during an exercise.

We arrived in Troon after almost 65nm at 16.30pm.  Two periods of good tide made it a quick crossing.

Annette and Julian waved us off from Troon 5 years ago and it is great to be back.

Over the next two weeks we had 3 sunny days out of 14.

On the sunny days, Mick took down the front sail, serviced the steering cables, and went up the mast to look at the Aerial and the Mast Head Light.  Going up the mast provides entertainment for us and any passerby, who always insist on passing a wise crack. 

Our train tickets home were super cheap £10.80 each with our two together rail cards.  We collected the physical tickets the following day just to make sure it wasn’t a mistake.

There is a christening to attend at the end of the month, so we are off home now.

Sailors Info: Troon Marina

The marina has good facilities with friendly and helpful staff. 

Scott’s Restaurant overlooking the marina is great and really good value.  It is operated by Buzzworks and there is a Buzzworks cafe called The Lido in town too.

There is a large Morrisons store, just a 10 minute walk into town.  The town is small but has a good variety of shops and cafes. 

The washer is only £1 and 80p for a dry.  There is currently work underway and I suspect when relocated they may become more expensive.

The wifi is good and the train station is only a 20 minute walk away.

Summary 2019

Top of the list is the safe delivery of Evie and the joy she will bring to us all.

We have visited 21 harbours of which 17 have been new to us.  We have covered 946 miles.  500ish of those miles have been challenging, mostly due to weather conditions. 

The weather has not been kind.  The East coast of England was very windy and the wind was mostly freezing until July, after which it became just cold.  My shorts have had very few outings this year and will easily do another season.

Some of the highlights have been Hartlepool, Whitby, Port Edgar, Caledonian Canal, especially Loch Ness, Tobermory, Oban, Gigha and Bangor.

On the tourist front we had some good day trips from the boat to Inverness, Aberdeen, Dundee and the Giants Causeway.

In Hartlepool, Whitby, Port Edgar and Dublin friends and family went out of their ways to make our stays memorable, a big thank you to you all.

Our reliable and indomitable ‘Fleur’ is resting in Troon for the winter, ready for next years adventures.

Thanks for reading XXX