“A good traveler has no fixed plans and is not intent on arriving.” -Lao Tzu
We had no intention of laying our boat up for the winter in Northern Ireland, yet, here we are. If we have learned one important lesson about sailing around the world, it’s that you can’t really make plans. You sketch a brief outline of the direction you will be traveling. From there, the wind and the sea are going to decide your next destination.
In our sailing thus far, the experiences that are most meaningful are the ones you don’t plan on having. Sudden changes in plans, interacting with locals, discovering new friends, or even getting lost. These are the things we love most about traveling.
Dan and I were reflecting on our journey thus far when suddenly, I realized that we had successfully sailed to more than a dozen countries as I began tallying them up in my head.
“Wait!” I said excitedly to Dan. “I need to count them. How many countries have we really been to in the past two years?”
So, we started counting: We began in the US. From there: the Bahamas, Cuba, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, US Virgin Islands, St. Kitts, St. Nevis, Dominica, Spanish Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Antigua, Guadeloupe, St. Marten, St. Maartin, Azores, Ireland, Whales, England, Isle of Man, and now Northern Ireland. We have touched 21 countries. I was literally blown away when I realized how far and wide we have sailed.
At that point, we had just spent four weeks in the Republic of Ireland (aka Southern Ireland, yes Southern and Northern Ireland are two separate countries. They use a different currency and everything). Our plans were to head to Wales, visit friends and family in England, then travel up to Scotland to pull our boat out for the winter. Mother Nature has her way of altering our plans. Little did we know of her upcoming plans to unleash a rash of fall hurricanes and storms. This was going to play a big part in changing our course.
We wanted to sail to Wales in one day. We had 80 miles to cover when we pulled up anchor and left with the first rays of light. Sailing past the southern coast of Ireland, we were in awe of the breathtakingly gorgeous coastline. Colorful cliffs, topped with rolling green fields were held up by a jagged coast. It seemed as if the hand of God dug his fingers into the side of a hill, crushed the rocks with giant hands, and then threw them down into the sea. We sailed away from Ireland in amazement at the intensity of the shoreline.
Land soon disappeared from sight as we crossed the Irish Sea between the two countries. I have to say that the day we chose to cross was one of the most beautiful sailing conditions we have ever experienced. The sun shone, the wind blew across our stern on a broad reach. Winds were in the high teens and the current was with us. WOW! Our boat flew like a falcon, catching the wind and current and producing speeds we rarely see.
Dan hoisted our colorful horse emblazoned spinnaker. The sun sparkled off the water like diamonds. There is nothing like the feeling of being out at sea, the water surrounding you on each horizon, the wind powering you forward to new places. I was up on deck while Dan was aft, coiling lines. That’s when I spotted a huge black buoy just feet off our starboard bow.
“Dan!” I screamed back at him. “Didn’t you see that huge black buoy we almost hit?” I yelled at him with irritation.
Before he could come forward and check out my accusations, that big black buoy turned and looked at me. A gigantic, white-rimmed eye peered at me just before the entire mass sank below the water.
Dan finally rushed forward. “There are no buoys out here,” he said, looking out and seeing nothing close to what I had described.
It turns out, an Orca Whale had been posing as buoy just to mess with me. Dan never saw any trace and told me I was crazy to think there were any Orcas in this part of the ocean. Later, we would find out on a walk around the coastline of Wales, that Orcas are occasionally spotted in the Irish Sea. Thank God, I’m not going crazy.
Welcome to Wales
Wales is one of those countries you hear about thanks to the “Prince of Wales” but I never knew anything about it and had no idea what to expect. It is part of the United Kingdom as is England, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. It’s a small country with fascinating history and gems all of its own and we were pleasantly surprised upon our arrival.
Our first stop was a protected harbor a mile or so down the river and locks we needed to enter for Milford Haven Marina. Milford was recommended as a safe place to leave our boat for our travels to England. We arrived just as the sun was setting and were unbelievably happy that we had made the 80 mile trip in about 12 hours. The next morning, we pulled up anchor and sat waiting for the 11:00 AM lock opening.
Locks are always a tricky business. Everyone is different and they are like a box of chocolates – you never know what you’re going to get. We had no help tying up to the wall and our boat barely fit. There was a tense moment when I wasn’t sure Dan could wedge our boat into space, but he did, and we were fine. Once out of the lock, the wonderfully protected marina was just around the corner. We had secured our home for a week of traveling in England.
The trip to England was precipitated by my sister Carol, one of our biggest advocates and supporters. Her daughter had recently moved back to England from South Africa. Carol was visiting her to help her get settled into her new home. She knew this would be a great opportunity for a visit and family get together in England.
English Charm
England is a beautiful country. Once again, we were taken back by the countryside, historic castles, palaces, pubs, and just about everything else. The only thing we had a hard time with was the driving. In my niece’s small town of Littlehempston, the roads were so narrow, even though they were supposed to be 2-way, only one car could fit through at a time. This was totally unnerving, first of all, because there were 10 ft. walled hedges on each side of the road, and second, because we had to drive our rental can into those hedges with seconds to spare each time an opposing car came by. Occasionally having to back up several hundred yards to find adequate space.
Introduced to cream tea, English delights, and sights, we had a wonderful time with Carol and her daughter’s family. We visited castles, the sailing town of Dartmouth, and enjoyed having hot showers every day, laundry facilities, and eating all the fresh veggies and fruits we could from their flourishing organic garden. We had a wonderful visit.
Meanwhile, Back in Wales
Equus waited patiently in her slip for our return to Milford Haven. We returned our rental car from our England trip and got back to boat life. As soon as we had a weather window, we left the marina and passed back through the lock to continue up the coast. Hollyhead in Wales was our next stop. We had heard of a marina with mooring balls there – the docks had been completely destroyed in a severe storm the year prior.
The wind was gusting in the 30s when we arrived at dusk into Hollyhead. We thought we would anchor, but after 4 failed attempts in the pouring rain, we gave up. We contacted the marina office and asked for a mooring ball.
We spent the next couple of days walking around Hollyhead and visiting old churches and the sights of a town first established by the Vikings in the 500’s. Our next stop was in London. Our good boat buddies from S/V Whatever She Wants decided to meet up with us for a week in London on their way back to the US. Their boat is wintering in Portugal.
London, Here We Come
The flat they rented was in a great location on the outskirts of London. We spent the entire week taking the bus and trains to every famous tourist stop we could research. We did a whirlwind tour of London. It was so great to be back with our travel buddies, our partners in crime, and people who have experienced so much with us along this journey.
In addition, we visited our lovely English daughter, a former foreign exchange student, who we have kept in touch with over the years. She loved being part of our farm family almost as much as we loved having her. She fit in with our family like she was one of my own. Each time we visit England, we have to make visiting her part of the itinerary.
One additional side trip we had to make was to visit a very special English family we had never met. A beautiful and talented young lady named Ella, contacted me a couple of years ago to tell me that she loved my children’s vaulting book, “Julia’s Vaulting Dream”. Since then, her mom has stayed in touch with me sharing their ups and downs, and all the joy that vaulting has brought to them. They followed my daughter Katie’s own vaulting dream of attending the World Equestrian Games, and have become one of her biggest fans. Knowing I only had one shot, I picked a half a day time slot. Dan and I took the train to Peterborough and finally met in person the people half a world away we had become friends with.
Of course, I had to bring gifts of my handmade Sailmates sailbags, personalized for our English equestrian vaulting friends. We loved meeting Ella and her wonderful family. We had a special afternoon, getting to know them and sharing our stories. Of course, they had boat gifts, mermaid gifts to give us, and friendship bracelets I will be giving Katie and her pairs partner Florence when I see her this winter.
While there, we visited the Peterborough Cathedral, built around 1118 AD. It was incredible and we were blown away by the architecture and history. Mary Queen of Scots was originally buried there as well as the first wife of King Henry VIII. A century of war also had its impact on the grand cathedral. It breaks our hearts to have the common thread of destruction and pillaging throughout the centuries. Each place we have visited has described the wars between the Protestants and Catholics, and how they entered these sacred places murdered people, and destroyed everything they could get their hands on in the name of religion. So sad. Many have lost priceless relics and had to be rebuilt.
Finally, we took the train back to Hollyhead, our visits to England completed. The plan was to head up the coast to Scotland where we had a reservation with the Clyde Marina to pull our boat out and store her for the winter. That’s about the time the hurricanes started brewing in the Caribbean.
An Isle in the Middle of the Sea
We hopped over to Isle of Man, a nice waypoint in the Irish Sea between Northern Ireland and Scotland. We stayed there for two nights while Dan studied the weather. We wanted to explore this little country with its own special history but realized we needed to seek better shelter. The remnants of the hurricane Lorenzo would be blowing through in a few days and we had to find a safe harbor. The closest was Bangor, back in Ireland.
Ireland #2
Upon arrival, we were happy to see how well protected the Bangor Marina was, and how quaint and beautiful the surrounding town. We knew we would be holed up in the marina for a couple of weeks as several bouts of nasty weather were on their way. Our timeframe for getting to Scotland was just reduced and we knew once we ventured out of the marina, it would be hit or miss with the weather.
A huge banner lined the front of the marina office advertising a special price for winter berths. If we capitalized on that, we could hunker down for the winter in Bangor, not have to pull our boat out of the water and continue to live aboard when we return in the spring from the US. The staff is one of the friendliest and helpful we have ever encountered. The town has every amenity and type of store we need, within walking distance. It was a “no brainer” really.
Unfortunately, we had our new diesel heater sent to the Clyde marina a month ago that Dan will be installing on Equus. This means we have to take a ferry over to Scotland, rent a car, and pick it up. What a shame… we are forced to visit Scotland for a couple of days, sightsee, visit castles, and take some distillery tours. How will we ever cope?
We have our ferry tickets, car rented, and AirB&B reservations in Glasgow. Monday we will be off on another land adventure. So much to see and do and such a big world, and only “nine” years left in our ten-year circumnavigation. (Dan says the first year doesn’t count because we had to go back to the US. There is some disagreement on this topic.)
Anyway, I’m sure Scotland will be incredible, as has everywhere else we’ve seen so far. So much for timelines and agendas. Fixed plans are for fools in the world of sailing.
Fair winds,
Dan and Alison
S/V Equus
If you haven’t seen it – check out the first episode of our video blog! Sailing Adventures on Equus.