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Lough Neagh Sailing Club
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Achilles 24' - Icthus - Trevor Currans
Preamble
The complete trip was made with my brother Alan (Ally). However, Ally's brother in law also called Alan sailed with us
as far as Dunstaffnage, which is north of Oban. Dunstaffnage Marina lies a few miles west of Connel and the famous
Falls of Lora at the mouth of Loch Etive.
In order to link in with the crews work, holiday arrangements and family commitments I sailed the boat to Ballyronan
with a friend on the Wednesday evening and left it there until Saturday morning, when the three us meet up.
- Grid References for destinations at sea are taken from the Reeds Western Almanac (2003).
- Distances for sea passages were calculated from 'Admiralty Chart 2724 - Approaches to the Firth of Clyde' and are not distances logged.
- Average boat speed was calculated as the difference between ETD - ETA and divided by measured distance. It does not take into account stop times or the effect of tide.
- As this is a report and not a log all figures should be taken as approximates.
Crossing the Lough
Wednesday 18th June 2003
ETD Kinnego Marina 18.15
ETA Ballyronan Marina 21.30.
Time 3.25 hrs Avr. Speed 5.5 knts Distance 18 nm
Winds were west/Southwest, 4 gusting 5. The Lough had a bit of a wave which was most apparent north of Ardmore Point but as
we closed with the western shore towards Ballyronan it dissipated to a chop. We had a good but wet sail under reefed main
and gib.
However, on the down side, Sod, the fellow who wrote the law, must have been smiling as the electric's started playing up
as we left the marina. This was after spending several weeks of careful fitting, checking and double checking the wiring
and new components. This electrical problem stayed with us for the entire trip. Fortunately the problem only effected
our new navigation equipment and we were able to use our old tired and trusted hand held GPS set which we have been using
for many years. Both Ally and I are of the school, who believe that the old fashion charts, compass and calculations
should be used with electric wizardry only used as a very important check and backup facility.
We had hoped to leave Kinnego at 17.00 and arrive at Ballyronan by 20.30. But the problem with the electric's and a few
hitches with replaced halyards, which we discovered when we tried to hoist the main, left us late. Thanks to Anne, who
was expecting us, for waiting until we arrived at Ballyronan and sorting us out with Keys etc.
The River Trip
Saturday 21st June
ETD Ballyronan 14.00
ETA Movanagher Lock 18.30
Distance 38 mls.
Saturday was a glorious day, which gave that holiday feeling with sun, a pleasant breeze and no work. After the mutely
crew meet at my house and had a late breakfast washed down with coffee, wax lyric and anticipation we packed the car with
provisions, our life raft and kit and headed for Ballyronan. On arrival we hasedly packed the boat lowered the mast and
readied Icthus for the trip down the river. After our fare well's to Anne we confirmed with Finton, the lock keeper, that
we were on our way and like clock work the lock at Toome and subsequent locks were opened for us.
Our passage to Islay was scheduled for Monday and we were in no hurry, so we took our time and enjoyed the trip. Having
stopped at Movanagher Lock the previous year, we decided that this would be a good overnight.
Sunday 22nd June
ETD Movanagher 09.30
ETA Coleraine Marina 14.00
We had a quiet and restful night at Movanagher and after a leisurely breakfast slipped our warps and continued down stream
through Cairnroe Lock. Unlike the previous year it did not take four hours to negotiate, with the help of a JCB and the
Board of Directors of Waterways Ireland. The mouth of the canal at Portna was not as silted as it had been on our last
trip or maybe we just went down the channel we had dredged for ourselves the previous year. By the way, my lesson on the
2002 trip was, when the pilot says "close to the bank" it means close to the bank. Therefore, this year when I was passing
the area at the factory above the Cuts I literally scraped the branches along the port side bank and made a clean passage
avoiding the rock wall.
On arrival at Coleraine Marina we booked in with Rickie and after a quick lunch we started to work on stepping the mast
and getting Icthus 'ship shape'. By the time we had wired the bottle screws and made a final check it was time for a good
meal and a drink to celebrate the start of our sailing trip. Before leaving for Elliot's Bistro we got a weather forecast.
This gave a strong wind warning for the next twenty four hours, i.e. our departure day, with a slight to moderate sea for
the area of Malin.
Crossing to Port Ellen