Wind wind and more wind

Although Dark Tarn is a sailing boat and normally we welcome a little wind, force 4 is ideal, we don't particularly like it when the wind is from the direction we wish to go in. This would normally involve us tacking or zig zagging to windward. For the last week winds have been very unfriendly, today we decided to do a quick dash to Beaumaris and as usual the forcast was for force 5 occasionally 6 SW.

It hasn't changed much for days!

We had a lot to do before leaving, we filled the diesel tanks then our two 20 litre spare jerrycans. Paid our bill at the harbourmasters ( they let us pay £11 a night rather than £14 as we were travelling ) we also topped up the water tanks checked the engine over emptied the cockpit locker so we could dismantle and restow our leg after rinsing it in fresh water, while we were at it we swilled the decks and put the anchor chain we had been using as weight back down into the chain locker. Last but not least we had to retrieve Allandale from the quay car park were she had been put rather than bang against us constantly in the fierce tides. 

As we motored against the last of the flood out into the channel it became apparent that it was very windy our instruments indicated force 6 and I was already in trouble with Lynne! However it was sunny and the views were stunning, it was a little rough for photography so I include our AIS track.

It indicates quite nicely the tortuous channel going in and out of Conwy, it also shows the entrance to the Menai straights going behind Puffin Island and entering through the gap known as Trwn du, this is to avoid shallow sandbanks which in this part of the world are the norm. After  6 hours of slogging into large waves and occasionally getting drenched in the cockpit we picked up a mooring buoy off Gallows point to settle for the night and wait for a favourable tide tomorrow to go through the straights to Caernafon.