The alarm was set for 05:00 this morning in hopes there would be wind with the tide. However we didn’t even need to get out of bed to realise there wouldn’t be enough. Probably a good thing as we’d been up the night before watching the England game. Seven o’clock and the flags on the edge of the golf course looked promising. So there was a rushed breakfast, eaten en-route to the marina office to settle our bill, and off we went.
There must be a funnelling affect in Ardglass marina, because after launching the dinghy, getting into our wetsuits and arriving at our start point there was barely enough to make the flag at the stern of the boat fly. The exact same thing had happened to us yesterday as well. So back we went for a quick explore of the mini-castle in the middle of the harbour. We’re still not sure what it is. Our first guess was a fortified John, as it was about the size of a portacabin and appeared to be closed on all but one side. Once we got closer however we realised the was a matching doorway on the other side and a window that faced the shore. There was no evidence of an attaching wall, so not sure if it was just someone’s folly or if any other remains had been destroyed when they created the marina. Either way, if I were to build a mini-castle, this wouldn’t be a bad example to base it off of.
After our beach clean yesterday the lady in the marina office explained we’d gone to the wrong beach. The next one over had caves which you could go swimming in at low tide. So after a quick boat tidy and nap, we went to explore. In the end we didn’t even get there, instead we were distracted by a burst of air next to the boat. We turned around to find a seal had just popped up to say hello. Now we were looking for them we could see between 10 and 15 of them dotted around they harbour. We tried to get close to get a photo, but as soon as we did they sunk underwater. We therefore tried motoring upwind and drifting down towards them. This way if they weren’t looking in our direction we could get quite close, until they spotted us and dove down. The water was so clear you could see them peering back up at us from the bottom.
The second distraction on our way to the caves was the wind. This time it wasn’t just the funnel affect, we went outside of the marina in the rib just to make sure. The wind was a perfect cross-shore, so we could make good progress. Our neighbours on the marina, “Scatty Cat” were getting ready to go just at the same time we were. There was a polite exchange of, “You go First”, “No, please you”. This was finalised by me saying they should go first as that would give me a chance to get into my wetsuit (for the second time today). Confused at why I’d need a wetsuit to go out in a motor boat, Jeremy then explained what we were attempting. Think they were glad they’d asked, as about an hour later Stew and I came whizzing past waving. On a beam reach we were slightly faster than Joe, so we used them as a mark, passing in front of them before heading back to Mentor. In all we passed three times, luckily they didn’t seem to mind as we got lots of smiles and waves. Stew also got a wave from Corum as it went past, currently 3rd in the round Ireland race which we past the start of a few days ago. In all I think we saw four of the racers today.
On the approach to Belfast harbour we were neck in neck with a large ferry. At first we thought we’d go in front, but soon thought the better of playing chicken with such a large vessel. Instead we stayed well behind it. Even two boat lengths away we could still feel the prop wash and had to concentrate as we went over the wake, while the shafts of our foil boards vibrated making a slightly wobbly ride. I’m still amazed at how fast these large ships move. It was at least two stories high and going about twice our speed.
If you consider we didn’t think we’d get anywhere today, we’re super pleased with our progressed. Early start tomorrow, and aiming for my namesake – Islay!
- Unlike humans, harbor seals breathe out before diving. They use oxygen already in their blood and muscles while under water, and their heartbeat slows from about 100 beats per minute to 10.
- In one breath a seal can exchange 90% of the air in its lungs. Humans can only change 20% of our air per breath.
- A seal’s whiskers help it hunt and navigate by sensing pressure waves from fish and underwater objects.
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Map of today’s route
Map Key: Stew (Red), Islay (White) and Mentor (Blue)
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