Depart Downings 0800 arrive Portrush 1530 - 50 miles.
Waking up to day 28 the crew of Gavin, Mike and Ross were confronted with a light drizzle of rain and a not so glamorous bowl of corn flakes in what was a stark contrast to the sunny arrival into Downings the previous day.
Chris (Neale’s school friend and best man) joined us after Ross took the dinghy in at 08:00am sharp to pick up the final crew member for the journey to Portrush.
Once out of Sheephaven Bay and a fly by and picture from Chris’s brother who took a rib off to send us off out of the bay we hoisted the main and unfurled the jib; making good time and ahead of the planned eta - fortunes turned for the crew onboard as the rain passed by and to our surprise the sun appeared which was not forecasted.
The wind gradually increased to 10 knots from the SW and we unfurled the code 0. As we passed Lough Swilly there was smiles across the crew as stories of previous trips and excursions up the lough with Neale were told reminding everyone of the found memories of sailing trips we all had together over the years.
1000 abeam Fanad Head
Unfortunately the wind dropped and then started to fill in from the north; code 0 furled and we are hoping for more breeze after we round Malin.
1135 abeam Malin Head
Looking inside the Garvan islands I can’t believe we used the inshore route so often back in the days without GPS and electronic navigation!
Breaking waves were plentiful on the rugged coastline and treacherous makeup of rock formations surrounding Inishtrahull. Gavin was sharing the sight line of a road in the hillside that was the visual reference to guide a safe passage through the rocks before navionics existed!
Chris was quick to point out to Ross that this was probably the smoothest and most calm that he has ever experienced Inishtrahull and we were fortunate to not be dealing with the notorious wind against tide conditions the area is famous for.
We were “flushed” through Inishtrahull Sound at over 8 knots - tide with us of 2 to 3 knots.
The wind died off completely along the Inishowen coast and we had to motor the last 20 miles.
3/4 of the crew members decided this was the best time to take a ‘nap’ and Ross being the youngest and not suffering from tiredness over the previous few legs was trusted to lead the way after being under scrutiny the previous few days for offshore sailing capabilities!
Unlike previous arrivals into our destinations along the Donegal coastline we arrived into Portrush harbour in brilliant sunshine and tied up alongside a big cruising yacht; this turned out to be owned by an old sailing friend / competitor who both Mike and Gavin have known singer days sailing on the river Bann.
Mike organised some beers and a cheeseboard which we enjoyed sitting in the cockpit in the sun; at last a proper summer’s evening. Friends of Chris joined us onboard and they were very interested in our round Ireland trip experience. Shortly afterwards Chris left us to catch a train home.
Ross organised an early dinner at the Harbour Bistro and on the way we met more old friends of Mike & Gavin - Portrush is a popular place! Dinner was excellent but afterwards the crew (via a few takeaway pints of Guinness) returned back to Toucan for sunset and a chat.
After a week of nonstop sailing days and we retired early to bed.
Rest was needed as the grandchildren and wider family & friends were scheduled to join the next day for a fun afternoon together in Portrush and to mark Gavin’s return back into N.Ireland!
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