We had been in the marina, catching up on work and getting on with a lot of other stuff, but at last there was a gap in the schedule a break in the weather so we decided to pack our gear once again and go North.

We had done a staggering 376nM this year and one of our goals was to complete 600nM so that meant that we would need to do another 250nM just to complete one of our goals. One of the problems was that we still had a oil leak coming from our impeller but we decided that it was just a small leak so we would add it onto our winter project list.

So that we could go off, we would need more diesel and gas, so we could of gone to the harbour to get diesel and Andy's store in Monkstown to get the gas but we decided to sail over to Bangor instead because we could. It is just so nice to sail, we just love it. So we got the diesel and gas and motored back because the wing had died. Even when motoring it can be quite pleasant to just be out on the water letting the sun go down and watcheing the big tankers in the Lough.

So the day before departure, we cooked a pot roast so that we would have great leftovers for our passage the next day. While our thermal cooker got on with the roast we got on with the shopping. Once we had got the shopping, it was time to put it all away, which means taking the paper off and labelling the cans. You need to take the paper off because it just soaks up the water in the bilge and insects like to lay their eggs under the paper.

The next day we set off and because the wind was coming from where we were going, meant that we were close hauled all the way and we were having to tack quite a bit. We have improved our close hauling quire a bit since we have bought our bit and that is all thanks to the RYA sail trimming boat, where it showed us how to trim the sails correctly. The only problem with tacking is it takes a lot longer to get anywhere, so we had been out sailing for a few hours and we had come just a few miles. We were so temped to drop the sails and head where we were going, but if we wanted to do that then we would of bought a motor boat.

We sailed for most of the passage and when we got in we warmed the soup and had that the soup along with a beef sandwich for tea.