Strangford Lough

Day 49
20th June
After breakfast wrote cards and posted, did some food shopping, came back to marina and bought an Admiralty chart of Strangford Lough. Paid the kindly berthing master and did the passage plan for today. Strangford Lough narrows are every bit as bad as Carlingford, and you cannot enter against the tide. From information available in the almanac the best time to enter seemed to be just after the tide turned, about 3hours 30min before High Water Belfast. To arrive at the entrance for that time one would leave Ardglass not later than 14.30. so I busied myself with lunch and little tasks round the boat before leaving at 13.50. The wind as forecast was light northerly, but with increasing east in it so that after about an hour the engine came off and it was possible to beat steadily up the coast. Arriving at the entrance on time I put the engine on to give greater steering control in the turbulent tide. This was just as well , since the wind did a rapid volte face as we came into the swirliest bits. At times we did ten knots over the ground, so the whole experience did not last long. In no time we were in the great open spaces of the lough. The River Quoile seemed a good place to anchor, so we headed for Killyleagh and turned up the river, anchoring in about 5m at 16.50. It was now very warm and what little wind was from the north. Pork chops in barbecue sauce kept my attention for a while. No Wifi, no G3 coverage. The anchorage is quite picturesque, and once the motor-boaters retired for the night, very peaceful. This is what we come for.
Day 50
21st June
After a very quiet night left the anchorage at 10.15 and moved upriver as far as the Quoile YC moorings, then came back downriver and out into the lough. Here the wind picked up and it was possible to beat, then reach, then run north at about 3kt on genoa alone. The day gradually warmed up. There were few yachts out to enjoy the easy conditions. Here the shallows are marked by perches which are often difficult to spot at distance, so a sharp eye is required. The main yacht clubs are all on the west side of the lough, and when I had had enough sailing, I turned west and went in behind Conly Island and anchored at 14.00 in under two metres of water. The bottom here is mud. There was still over an hour to low water, but the boat did not touch. During the afternoon a buzzard circled overhead, a lone yacht came in and moored, but nothing really disturbed the peace. Murphy's Law!! Just as I typed that, a loud motor boat came along and began water-skiing practice not very far away. Fortunately, it did not last long. There ensued a good night.
Day 51
22nd June
Woke at 07.30 and breakfasted. Left the anchorage at 08.10 and sailed out past several islets and into the lough. The wind was light and flukey, but permitted sailing. When it steadied and strengthened it was from exactly the direction I needed least, so on with the “iron topsail” and direct to Portaferry. The berthing master was very helpful. It turns out that he is an RNLI crew member on the local inshore boat. Slightly larger than Ardglass, the town has more shops, but no G3 cover. In the tourist office two very charming ladies thought the hotel would give me internet access. They also pointed me to the Seagen Exhibition upstairs. This concerns a 1MW tidal power prototype that has been installed in the narrows here. No-one at home at the RNLI station. Bought bacon and milk, had a coffee and came back to boat.
Wrote up cruise log and then took laptop into town. The barber's was unoccupied, so I took the opportunity to have a trim. The barber thought the pub up the road would have Wifi access, and he was right. At the Fiddler's Arms I managed to clear the backlog of e-mails and update the blog. The Smethwick's Brown Ale is very good. Still no-one in at the RNLI. The tide was right out when I came back, and there was no current under the pontoon. When berthing, the current against us more than compensated for having a tailwind. Coming in here with wind and tide both from the south would be very fraught. The ferries have very powerful engines to cope with the tide, which can get up to more than 7kt at springs.