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Caernarfon - 53° 08' 35" N 04° 16' 39" W

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Sunrise on the Welsh Coast Good planning and good luck came together to provide us with an easy night sail across the Irish Sea, back to Wales.  We approached the (sand) bar just as dawn was breaking, giving us reasonable visibility and, more importantly, slack tides to make our way through this notorious, sand-shifting entrance to the Menai Strait. The channel markers were not exactly where they were supposed to be on the charts, but we put our hopes on the supposition that they had been moved to match the current entrance ... and we were right. A dolphin leads us in.  It's understandable how seagoing folk can become superstitious when this sort of thing happens to us. After an hour of winding through narrow, sub-ten metre deep channels, we approached Caernarfon.  What a sight! Wowsa! A very impressive castle, right on the waterfront! Once again, our timing was impeccable.  The marina, which is right outside the castle, has a sill that must be crossed in...
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Back Across the Irish Sea - 53° 15" 19" N 05° 32' 56" W

By Kate and Sean -
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We are heading back across the Irish Sea from Dún Laoghire to Caernarfon in Wales at night ... again! So why are we doing these passages at night and not during the day, when you can see, it's warmer and you can get a proper night's sleep? The answer is weather and tides .   Victoria Marina is protected by a gate to keep a minimum amount of water in the marina We are heading to Victoria Dock in Caernarfon.  Because of the tidal range, the marina has a 'gate' that closes to ensure there is adequate water in the marina so the boats remain floating.  This means the gate opens only between High Water minus 3 hours to High Water plus three hours (HW ±3).  Except in the winter, October to March, the gate opens only during daylight hours.   Which actually means working hours - 08:30 to 16:30!  So for the next few days, despite the the HW ±3 overlapping with daylight in the afternoon, the gate is only open in the morning from 08:30.  "Big deal," I h...
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Dún Laoghaire - 53° 17' 52" N 06° 08' 19" W

By Kate and Sean -
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After a brief stay in Arklow, it was time to continue north along the coast.  We needed to rise early because we wanted the extra push of the tidal current up towards Dublin. Early morning departure We managed to back off the pontoon and back into the part of the river that was a whole TWO metres deep, instead of the 1.5 metres where we had been tied up.  Exiting the Avoca River was peaceful and quiet as we slipped into the early morning greyness.  The skies did eventually brighten, revealing a danger we often weave through - crab pots! If you look closely enough, you will notice two black objects in the water to the right of the picture. Crab (or prawn, or lobster) pots are actually a line of bread-basket-sized traps that sit on the sea floor to attract and catch crabs/lobsters/prawns.   Usually, several of these traps (we have seen up to eight) are tied together, four to eight metres of prop-snarling rope between each, with the last one tied by a l...
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