Galway to the Scillies

Three Sisters from the South

After being rained in for an entire 'pyjama day' in Galway, we were keen to leave on the fresh North Westerly. Once clear of the Aran islands (with their strange little walled fields and occasional donkey) we found ourselves out in an increasingly rough sea, aware for the first time that there was absolutely nothing between us and North America heading down this beautifully wild coast. The white crests were increasing in frequency and the waves becoming more and more confused, crashing into one another from different directions thumping Impulse under the bridge deck so violently that it made the chart table jump skywards. It was only a matter of time before I was wretching into a bucket and clutching a packet of water biscuits, leaving Casper to deal with things on deck. Seven hours later and we were seeking shelter in Smerwick harbour, the mouth of which was white with breaking water. By now fully reefed and losing ground to the wind and waves, we surfed in down large rollers towards the promise of a quiet anchorage. This took some time to find but eventually, to the South West of the bay, we dropped anchor, relieved, under the watch of the Three Sisters.

Looking out to America from the Third Sister

The next day we walked the length of the beach and up the third of the Three Sisters to check out the sea state beyond, which unsurprisingly looked calmer than the day before. We left that evening and sailed through the night with following seas and a Westerly wind, two reefs set in the main,  our destination Old Grimsby Sound in the Scillies.