Henrietta Eyre

Quite choppy overnight on the mooring with the NE wind but as I prepared the boat for the arrival of the crew the winds turned more NE and apart from the odd motor boat passing close to the mooring all went well but again it was too windy to drop the jib to do more to free off the roller furler. Once the crew had embarked we stowed gear away and prepared to sail off the mooring. We set the Code 0 and prepared the spinnaker as planned for the day’s weather. Unfortunately as 2 of the yachts had cancelled their entries the fleet was smaller than anticipated. Some of the yachts started a while before us as planned as start times and finish times were left to the crews to record. We set off across the start line at 11:40 in 12kt NNW wind making it quite tricky close to the breakwater. Once out of the new harbour we made rapid progress overtaking the other yachts by the time we passed West Mouse. This is the SailTies app screen showing the recorded wind speeds. Once round Carmel Head and heading towards Harry Furlong buoy we deployed the Code 0 and had a wonderful leg along to Point Lynas although past East Mouse the following swell increased and made helming quite difficult. We had then to sail someway past Lynas to avoid a commercial tanker, at anchor before we deployed the spinnaker to turn onto the course to Puffin Sound. With the spinnaker pulling nicely we enjoyed a lunch with Henrie’s very tasty Spinach Pie. The winds were nice and constant most of the way until we got near the Puffin Lighthouse when the winds, as expected, dropped a little but we turned onto a reach to sail SW along theStrait and maintained our speed until we passed Gallows Point when the winds coming over the woods on the shoreline became very fickle. Fortunately before the winds changed we sailed through the local Menai Strait boats in one of their races, we were very careful to sail to leeward of the racers and to give them clearance as the leading boats rounded the mark and sailed back towards Gallows Point. Once past the Gazelle Hotel the winds filled back in with a more constant direction and allowed us to maintain one final tack all the way to cross the finish line. FlairIV Finish Time 17:11 We rafted up alongside the Windfarm service vessel and waited for the other yachts to arrive, which didn’t happen for quite a long time. Once Panther had arrived we helped them get moored alongside us and arrange to meet them at the Indian Restaurant in Menai Bridge; however when we got there both Indian restaurants were full so we moved on to Hydeout, a BBQ cafe. Once back on board we enjoyed a whiskey tasting session thanks to Theresa before retiring to bed around midnight along with members of the other 3 yacht crews who had finally made it to St. George’s Pier.

Day sail 2026-06-20 Crew today: Mark Michael Henrie Richie Following a lengthy but unsuccessful attempt to sport out the steaming light and deck light on the mast it was decided that we should go for a sail up to the coast near Porth Y Bribys. Michael was given the helm after we checked with Port Control that we were clear to sail across the TSZ to Clipera. The wind was light SW and the sea state was calm. Gradually as we approached Porth Y Bribys the wind was dying away and the ebb tide had run for an hour or so. We had time, under these conditions, to discuss with the crew our sail settings and theory on adjustments. Once close to the shore we hove too and set up the swim deck for Harri to go for a swim. During the period she was in the water we had travelled sideways for around 180m. Once Harri was back on board we turned to sail back to the harbour but there was so little wind now that we had to motor sail. As we approached Clipera we called port control to ask for clearance and continued on our passage into the New Harbour and onto our mooring. Kim, on the launch, collected us and then picked up the crew of a visiting yacht from Conwy and I had a drink with them in the clubhouse giving them as much information as I could about the benefits of sailing out of Holyhead.

For preparation for racing on board for 17:15 with Eric. Remainder of the crew arrived in good time so we left the mooring before 18:00 to familiarise the crew, sailing off on the main. At the 5 minute warning we unfurled the jib carefully planning our approach to the start line. Flair crossed the start line about 7 seconds late on the downwind leg but soon was leading the field out of the New Harbour. Race officer Dawn had set course 1 which gave us a long downwind leg around the end of the breakwater then a tight reach to Penrhos, a broad reach to Clipera and a windward leg back to the finish. On the leg from Penrhos we were informed that the James Joyce ferry would be departing in 15 minutes and the Stenna ferry was inbound shortly after. We notified Port Control of our intention to cross the TSZ before the ferry movements and were given clearance. A great evening sail with FlairIV first over the line by a long way!

Following on from a busy day including driving to Pwllheli and back to get the replacement battens I didn’t arrive early enough and although the crew were on board and making preparations as the launch was busy with a lot of demands from the Squibs and other cruisers I was even later getting to the boat. As a consequence we were late getting off the mooring after I had attempted to fit one of the new long battens. The batten, after all that, was too short, so we set off with 2 battens still missing from the main and one in the jib. We checked in with Dawn, thank you for running the racing, to say we were entering the race and then followed the 2 other yachts who were out crossing the start line as we finally got the jib setting, Winds light NE. Of course in the rush to set off I forgot to set SailTies to record for the start! Course 1 had been selected and so we sailed towards the aluminium jetty gradually catching the other boats then tacked as soon as it was feasible to round the end of the breakwater and take advantage of the tide on our way to Meath, the first mark of the course. WIth our early tack we were now ahead of the other two boats as the crew struggled to get the code 0 rigged for the reech down to Penrhos. We intercepted a call on the radio from Hellhound saying that Penrhos mark, the second mark of the course, may not have been put in place yet. We reported that we had the coords on the chart plotter and would use this as the mark before returning the waypoint 3, Clipera. There was some activity in and around the Ferry Terminal with the fuel tanker talking on Ch 14 and as we tacked away from where Penrhos should have been, towards Clipera we received a warning hoot from the fuel tanker and immediately tacked again to show our intentions. By now the other two boats had retired but we carried on until we almost reached Clipera but with the crew getting cold and the wind dying away we also retired and headed back to the moorings. Back on shore we all met up in the clubhouse for a drink and dinner.

Race 2024-09-04 As we arrived onboard we were greeted by blue skies with significant anvil clouds out to the west. The winds were light Northeasterly with a distinctly cool feeling. WIth a crew of 6, Chris, Luke, Sean, Richie and Henri we got prepared for a spinnaker or code 0 start. There were 5 club yachts out for the evening accompanied by a Squib or two. The course around Meath, Penrhos and Clipera meant a very long slow spinnaker run from Meath to Penrhos, then Clipera to the finish; and as the evening drew on the winds got lighter. A very enjoyable evening with interesting sailing conditions on a pretty flat sea.

SW F5 wind conditions showing Harri’s son and his friend the basics on Flair IV. Back on the mooring for a late lunch as the sunshine faded away behind high level cloud formations.

Cruise into Skerries Lagoon 2024-05-12 With a very low wind forecast I anticipated a significant part of the passage would be under motor but the conditions were perfect for access to the lagoon. With High water Holyhead around 14:10 the plan was to leave the mooring at 13:00. Richie, Tess and Henrietta arrived on board at around 12:40 and started to get the boat ready for when Helen arrived at 13:00. Just as the main was being raised the backstay dyneema line failed completely; this was jury rigged with another line before we left the mooring. Fair winds leaving the New Harbour allowed us to pass the TSZ and set off in an 11 Kt SW on our northerly course to a waypoint I had set for accessing the Skerries Lagoon. As the tide reached its high point the winds died away leaving flat calm from opposite Langdon Ridge. Now under engine we continued at around 5.5 Kt up to the West of The Skerries allowing us to drop the sails as we approached the way point. Having not navigated into the lagoon since my last visit on Lily we approached at a slow speed watching the depth gauge very carefully. We managed an almost perfect line into the lagoon keeping close to the wall then circling round to anchor away from the mooring buoy which was occupied by a motorboat and a jet ski. The crew had to reattach the anchor ready to deploy it in 4m depth and check the swing so as to avoid colliding with the motor boat. The jet ski left shortly after our arrival and I am glad to say it left without causing much noise and no wake. Once I was happy with the anchor swing we sat and watched swarms of arctic terns rise from the foreshore making very loud noises while the puffins and gulls just got on with their less noisy entertainment. Henrie and Helen then got their swimming kit on and dived off the swim deck while a large seal observed from the west side of the lagoon but apparently uninterested in the swimmers. We remained at anchor for around 45 minutes before heading off back to Holyhead. There was still very little wind so we motored out from the lagoon and set course for the end of the breakwater. This is our track in and out of the lagoon. Min depth shown was 0.75 below our keel. As we motored over the turbulent waters on the exit of the lagoon we raised the sails gradually filling as we headed south. Visibility was poor and it was difficult to see the lighthouse at the end of the breakwater but as the wind filled in again we had a lovely sail back. Statistics computed from imported data Sunday, 12 May 2024, 12:53 BST Distance: 27.3 km Duration: 4 hours, 7 minutes and 16 seconds Average Speed: 6.6 km/h