So much for planning the perfect passage! After looking at the tides and weather again I decided it was time to leave Pwllheli. So on Monday afternoon I settled the £160 bill with Pwllheli Marina (very nice marina but very expensive) and motored out of the harbour entrance into a force 4.

The plan was to go through Bardsey Sound the start of the six-hour period while the tide was flowing north. The only problem with this is that because I am six hours behind my original plan the tide north of Bardsey is flowing south for six hours – directly against us!

Once the sails were up Silverwind was racing down the coast at 6 knots (7 knots with the tide). The wind was blowing force 4/5 from the southwest and with a reef in the main and the No. 2 up Silverwind was easy to handle. Just before Bardsey Sound the wind had died enough that we could loss the reef and cruise through the Sound at 4 knots.

It was in many ways perfect timing to get to the Sound as it was virtually slack water and passage through was a non-event. As we exited the Sound there was the first sign of the tide that was to come. The water was unsettled as a 3 knots south-going tidal stream pushed past the north side of the Sound.

As we turned onto the bearing that would take us to Holyhead it was clear that the next six hours were going to be long. It was a dead run (the wind coming from directly behind the boat) so with the jib poled out to port and the main to starboard we made 5 knots through the water. This speed was reduced to 1.5 knots over the ground by the tide pushing us backwards.

The advantage/disadvantage of having a GPS (as well as a log) on deck is that you can see almost second by second how much tide is pushing the boat. The advantage comes in us being able to move offshore out of the strongest tide and see instantly the result. However, after settling down in a 2 knots tidal stream it was depressing to feel the hull racing through the water but the instruments showing that we were only moving at 2.5-3 knots!

We now had the No. 1 jib up and I got things ready for an early morning arrival into Holyhead. Holyhead was the port of choice as the tides were wrong for Caernarfon and although I could split the passage by anchoring, I did not fully trust the forecast.

As the sun set at around 9pm Holyhead was still 25 miles to the north. Shortly after this the tide started to turn and the wind increase from the southwest until at midnight we were making 8-9 knots with the help of 2 knots of tide. Possibly this might have been the time to start reefing down but it was good fun and the first fair wind since South Wales!

As we raced past the Stacks lighthouse west of Holyhead at 2am I also most forgot this was our stop! Jibing onto a Starboard tack we raced the last 7 miles into Holyhead. With one mile to go until the Breakwater the wind had reached force 5/6 and it was time to loss the sails. First the jib came down and then the main (once the engine was started). The jib was “fun” getting down as just as I was going forward the contents of my lifejacket decided to fall out (a mini flare pack and a spray hood) so the only option was to go onto the foredeck with a pack of rocket flares down my trousers!

Although I knew where the marina was, as I approached, it was clear that any navigation lights shown on the chart were not evident. The only option was to head towards were I could see a collection of yacht masts (it was very dark at this point) and hope it was the marina! Shortly afterwards we were safely tied up on the outside of the main pontoon. The marina in Holyhead is very new; in fact it is not finished although my pilot suggests they were building it in 2000!

They seemed to have forgotten the need for a facility building, so the toilet and showers are in aging Porto-cabins 200m from the marina! The only other problem is that the visitor berths are on the outside of the outer pontoon, which acts as a breakwater for the rest of the marina. I did not think this a problem in a well-sheltered harbour until the first Irish ferry left port! Tuesday was spent sleeping and getting ready for a trip to the Isle of Man on Wednesday – fingers crossed.