NWCC 2015 Yearbook | Page 33

Day 6 Malahide 18 July 25 miles: 4 hours 24 minutes Tony Brookes on Amethyst After a bit of a delay waiting for fuel we set off for Malahide. Yet again the fog came down and we elected to stay inshore of the shipping lanes to avoid any trouble. The tactic worked well and the only shipping lanes we crossed were the entrance to Dun Laoghaire Harbour and the main channel into Dublin Harbour. Both channels were just 100 yards wide and made it easy to cross. Again Llew kept us informed of the traffic and on his instructions we waited alongside the channel for the Jonathon Swift ferry to cross our paths at 25 knots before dashing across the channel. The trip around the Ben of Howth felt a bit choppy to me but the rest of the gang had experience of Carmel on a bad day and took it in their stride. Debra gave it five out of ten on the Carmel scale. Once round Ben of Howth it was up with the sails and a close reach up to Malahide which is a delightful town with upmarket shops and restaurants; If you like florists you will love this town. We took advantage of the marina’s offer to use their BBQ and had an evening BBQ with a bit of a sing song. Friends from Colwyn Bay club and Port Dinorwic joined us and a good evening was had by all. 33