Mark Rosenthal

After a night onboard at FlairIV’s Holyhead Mooring I woke to some rain so my plans to do some work on the external parts of the boat were impractical. I therefore concentrated on cleaning internal areas like the heads and the galley. By 09:00 the rain had stopped and this allowed me to raise the mainsail to re-stick a patch just below the 23rd batten. Tess arrived shortly after and started helping with the preparations for training for flying the spinnaker. Sean made it well before the deadline and we managed to set off just after 10-15 catching the flood tide up to and beyond Carmel Head. Having been through the setup for flying the spinnaker we kept it under wraps until we had rounded Carmel Head and sailed into the calmer waters on the approach to the Furlong mark. The launch of the kite went well except for the velcro on the bag still holding some of the sail in, once corrected it all worked nicely with the crew experiencing controlling the main aspects of the symmetrical spinnaker; the pole angle on the guy, the pole downhaul, the sheet and the two lazy contro lines. The winds being westerly and the tide at full flow our apparent wind was around 5 - 6kt but with the kite up we were making over 10kt SOG. Perfect conditions for this training session. Next came a practice on Gybing the spinnaker, this went surprisingly well considering the two crew had never really been part of the foredeck group! After passing through between Middle Mouse and the main coast of Anglesey the winds were increasing and as we approached our planned destination of Bull Bay we saw gusts of 17kt. Rounding into the bay we had an issue with releasing the guy from the pole which then meant that we had to release the guy and the sheet from the deck controls before we could de-power the sail. With limited room and the now strong winds dumping over the cliffs it was a bit of a game to recover the spinnaker especially when the port sheet got wrapped round the prop shaft. Once successfully at anchor in around 12m Tess volunteered to dive to review the problem. She reported a big knot of rope around the prop but with a number of free dives she managed to release it in its entirety, a fantastic achievement! After drying off and a warm brew we had lunch to recover before lifting the anchor and sailing back up wind to Carmel Head from where we sailed on a reach to the end of the breakwater and on to our mooring. A grand sail with lots of useful experience! Well done crew.

For once this year on a Wednesday evening the forecast was good for sailing. 10 to 15kt NNW winds stayed constant during the race. Initially we had problems with the double line Code Zero halyard which kept on twisting above the head. So we were a bit behind our planned time away from the mooring. 5 yachts approached the start line for 18:35 with Red Eye, Houdini Aqualibre and FlairIV all clear over the line. Avoiding the wind shadow of the breakwater east of the knuckle Houdini and FlairIV kept a course further south but as Houdini was pushing FlairIV off course we slowed to turn close round her stern. Now in clear wind we overtook Houdini and battled with Red Eye as she overtook us at the Clipera mark. With a couple of onboard issues FlairIV was 3rd as she rounded Meath and with more spinnaker issues lost a lot of ground down to the Penrhos mark. 2 ½ minutes separated the first 3 yachts over the line with Aqualibre and Summer Wine some 40 minutes behind. A great evening race, our thanks to Race Officer Dawn.

Wind forecast was for very light winds from the NE. As we set off there was very little wind until we got clear of the breakwater. Once out in the bay we had 7 - 10kts and sailed over to Clipera before tacking to go far enough north to make our planned anchoring point under the cliffs at Church Bay. so a leisurely lunch at anchor watching the considerable numbers on the beach. Next we inflated the tender, which hasn't been used so far this year but the old outboard refused to start so I went for a row to investigate the rocks breaking the surface to the south of our anchoring point. Back onboard we tethered the tender and raised the sails to sail back downwind. Soon however the wind died away and, as we needed to get back ashore by 18:00, we motored back into the harbour. While we had the opportunity Richie and Sean put markers at 5m intervals on the anchor chain.

There was a nice steady wind as we boarded FlairIV but within the hour the wind died to 2-3kt. 5 yachts left their moorings and motored to the start area but there was insufficient wind. We drifted out to the harbour entrance watching the little gusts on the surface but we all agreed to return to our moorings and go to the clubhouse for a beer.

Sam had been to the try a sail day at Holyhead and wanted to come out for a try on a yacht. The forecast F2 winds didn't materialise at first so we gave Sam a walk through FlairIV before raising the main and leaving the mooring. As we motored out of the New Harbour the winds were very variable from 0kt to 3 5kt much of which was our SOG. Following being granted permission to cross the TSZ we headed to Clipera buoy before turning to port to sail north. We sailed close to Live Wire before shutting down the engine to catch what little breeze was available. As can be seen from the track the tide played a significant role in determining our course. The tide turned at around 12:40. After lunch we turned and return towards Clipera and welcomed the 10kt winds to sail across the TSZ back into the New Harbour.

2025-07-05 Cruise along the coastline in Holyhead Bay I went to Flair IV for around 12:15 and sorted out a few items, including new clips for the halyards at the mast base, before the crew arrived about 13:20. The weather was bright with 16kt to 20kt WSW winds. As we discussed the plan for the afternoon we had lunch, once again supplemented by Tess’s very tasty pulses with a variety of other inputs. After clearing away lunch the crew removed the covers and prepared the sails whilst I made a final check on the rotation of the propeller shaft running in forward and reverse gear. We left the mooring with the 2 reefs in the mainsail and deployed the jib behind the main as we sailed down wind towards the Aluminium Jetty. After checking with Port Control Sean was on the helm to get us out towards Clipera on the far side of the TSZ, while I showed Tess how to remove the log paddle wheel unit to clean it as it had not been recording our boat speed for a couple of weeks. The unit was covered in tiny shrimps which had completely seized the rotor. After cleaning and re-installing the Water Speed Display immediately started showing 8 to 9 kts as we approached the end of the Aluminium Jetty. With the flood tide starting at 13:30 we had decided to just go for a sail in the bay and come back close to the shore line near Church Bay. As we approached the TSZ the Irish Ferries Fast Cat made her passage in to the Ferry Port but our passage was not disrupted as we sailed behind her as she entered the port. During the return to Holyhead a small tear in the old genoa was noticed which got worse as we entered the New Harbour area Another great day sail in some strong but very acceptable winds.

A beautiful evening with clear skies and steady F4-5 W winds. A good turnout of 6 yachts. The race was complicated by the squib flees rounding the Clipera mark at the same time as the offshore fleet but in the opposite direction! Then, due to the continued closure of Terminal 3, the Irish Ferries left terminal 5 and the Stenna ship entered the port just as the racers were sailing across the port entrance. Our thanks go to the ferry skipper’s consideration and to Holyhead Port Control. All in all a great event after a long wait for good sailing weather!

After lunch we decided that we should raise the main with both reefs but use the full jib, this worked well as we headed back across the northern coastline of Ynys Mȏn on a fetch. Fairly soon we saw Summer Wine struggling to make as well to windward as we were able to. We managed to sail in a single leg from Middle Mouse all the way out to a suitable point to take, near Langon Ridge, to successfully make it all the way to Meath and then Clipera judging the situation perfectly to tack and clear the stern of Stena Adventurer as we crossed back into the New Harbour and back onto our mooring. It was an interesting sail showing the crew the benefits of understanding the tidal currents as they change across the coastal areas of Ynys Mȏn.

Borth Wen (The brickworks) I forgot to start the recording until we were out in the bay, again! With the morning light ssw winds forecast to increase by 11:30 the crew, Tess, Richie Sean and myself prepared the boat to leave soon after 11:00. With the 135% jib, replacing the carbon jib under repair, we set sail from the mooring with the full main and unfurled the jib but noted that the roller reefing line joint was sticking in the fairleads. Flair IV was well balanced on the broad reach as we followed Summer Wine out of the New Harbour area. Following our check with Holyhead Port Control for any commercial traffic we turned towards Bolivar on more or less a dead run; flying the jib goosewinged for most of the run up to Carmel Head. Tess did a great job taking over from me on the helm and we were spoon on a reach along the north coast of Ynys Mȏn (Anglesey) at around 10 - 11kt. The 5m tidal range on today’s tide helped power us along with the sails pulling beautifully; passing Harry Furlong mark and a midpoint between Middle Mouse and the coast to the east of Wylfa. As we approached Borth Wen and turned into the bay we could see a motor yacht at anchor, a number of jetskis racing around and Live Wire also from Holyhead Sailing Club heading in to anchor up. The winds, now 18kt gusting 20-22, made lining up to anchor quite tricky as they descended over the high cliffs surrounding the bay. After our second and successful attempt to get a good anchor bite, we prepared the cockpit table, raised the sprayhood and set up a wonderful lunch mostly supplied by Tess. Summer Wine and Live Wire were anchored in the bay but they left well before us and now there was a thin fog filling into the bay but with the sprayhood up we were not affected too badly.

Winds were F5 with wind over tide at The Skerries. Wave height maximum 1.5m. intermittent very light showers. A lot of arctic terns between Langdon Ridge and The Skerries. 2 ferry movements on our return to the port causing us to alter course to sail into the New Harbour.