We left Bantry in good spirit with all known leaks attended to, a good forecast for sailing up the Irish Sea and the mast shim issue fixed.
Our planned destination was Belfast though we remained open to this changing as the weather dictated.
By the second day at sea, we opted to go for Campbeltown, Scotland when I realised progressing any further North would run the risk of me running out of annual leave from work whilst still be out on the sea!
We motored for around 16 hours as we entered the Irish Sea but were otherwise sailing for the remainder of the 3 days passage. Any concerns I had about Tyrian’s performance under sail fell by the way side as she consistently held speeds of 6 – 7 knots at 45 degrees to the wind, cutting through the sea with a satisfyingly soft and purposeful motion. Peter Flutter had previously told me I would not be disappointed by her performance and this proved to be absolutely right.
Whilst the sailing was good, the temperatures and wind chill, espcecially on night shifts, made for a punishing time for all of us. I found myself having to make trade off decisions regarding how many layers of clothing to wear: too few and I’d freeze; too many and I struggled to move!
We arrived in Campbeltown in tired but spirited condition and it was not easy to leave the boat, knowing it would be several weeks at least before I would be back to progress our journey back to Inverness any further.
