A Summer Passage Through The Celtic Sea

Norman Kean turns his bows south to explore the waters between Ireland, Cornwall and Ushant.

Ireland and Scotland may be beautiful, but they are not warm. For the past 10 years our sailing has been almost entirely confined to those two countries for the work of editing the Irish Cruising Club’s Sailing Directions. We had never sailed Atlantic Spain, or the Biscay coast south of Les Sables d’Olonne, though we had a long-held ambition to spend time in those warmer waters. One volume of Sailing Directions being hot off the presses, and the other just two years old, 2016 offered us the opportunity for a change of scene.

While Geraldine and I have made many night passages, ocean voyaging is not to her taste. We chose instead to go by the scenic route – through the Celtic Sea. Between Ireland and Cornwall, the Celtic Sea is a surprisingly relaxing stretch of water and worthy of a trip in itself. While it is fully exposed to the Atlantic and can be rough, it has the benefit that what you see is what you get. No sudden swells or tide-races reach up to bite the unwary. Tidal streams are slight, traffic is sparse and dolphins abound. It’s at least 135 miles across, and when night falls, the lights of unseen fishing boats twinkle around the horizon. We were looking forward to this almost as much as our arrival further south.

Our Warrior 40 Coire Uisge had been treated to new sails, and we had also replaced her ageing Volvo engine with a new Nannidiesel 4.50, sail drive and folding propeller. We were nearly ready for our extended cruise, but we had some serious sea miles ahead of us.