December delivery 180 miles solo Wales to Scotland Sadler 32

Here's a delivery trip from Beaumaris to Scotland in the Sadler 32. I set off on December 1st, the first day of meteorological winter. It took a day and a half. A lot of sailing in darkness so filming was more limited. Only 8 hours of daylight now. Take a look at Tarbert, a hidden gem.

[@jcfgh]

Thank you skipper! All the best

[@mjcooke2sailingmostly]

Thanks for your support, glad you liked it.

[@joeswinny7686]

Good to see you sailing again Mike. Looking forward to seeing again next year.

[@mjcooke2sailingmostly]

Thank you Joe, it was a bonus trip for me, turned out well after waiting for the right weather. A nice place to visit. Yes, may be a while till the next unless the boat shopaholic in me spots something, ha ha. Have a great Happy Christmas and peace for the New Year.

[@joeswinny7686]

@@mjcooke2sailingmostly same to you Mike.

[@HP-qj4gz]

Very enjoyable. She's a fine boat for the new owners too. Thanks for producing these interesting sailing videos! Dal ati!

[@mjcooke2sailingmostly]

Thank you Huw. I meant to put a caption next to the lobster pot Christmas tree wishing all my viewers a Happy Christmas and Peace for the New Year.

[@s.v.corycia5643]

"That is how a town should be". i couldnt agree with you more. Lovely!

[@mjcooke2sailingmostly]

I thought the 'tree' was brilliant.

[@damianhind7330]

Glad to see you sold her - you've pretty much brought her back to where she came from too!

[@mjcooke2sailingmostly]

I waited a month since selling till all the lows had done their thing. If I were a Golden Eagle, it would only be a 33nm flight to Oban from Tarbert. I can see how useful the Crinan canal has been to sailors. I'm told it shuts in the winter though.

[@simonsargent9514]

Great video and nice to hear from you x

[@mjcooke2sailingmostly]

Thank you Simon, hope you have a Happy Christmas and a peaceful New Year.

[@alistairbaird3711]

Thanks for posting. I made that trip on a friends boat in F6 and was as sick as a parrot. We stopped at IoM in the end. I'll never forget sea-sick pills again!

[@mjcooke2sailingmostly]

Thank you Alistair, I gave up a previous planned Scottish cruise at Port Erin in the Sigma 36 I had previously. (Sigma 36 Gone Sailing). I was relying on a forecasted SW wind which never materialised and didn't want to beat up through the north channel against a north westerly.

[@TheSeahawk34]

Hi Mike. Really enjoyed your journey. One reason I don't sail in the winter is poor circulation in my hands and feet which get too cold, so I'm envious that you did this in December. We absolutely love going to Tarbert and were lucky enough to be there during the annual seafood festival last year. Looks like you had better weather than us though as the wind and rain never stopped for days! Looking forward to your next adventure in the new year. All the best! Mark

[@mjcooke2sailingmostly]

I was impressed with Tarbert and the harbour and marina. I'm sure it gets very busy in the season. It's so sheltered. I wonder if I'll get to have another visit, there's so many places to discover. I suppose it will be some months now before more sailing. I'd done a clip of inside the boat with the heater, it was comfortably warm, seems I missed including it in editing.

[@itsverygreen532]

What a cracking trip, good weather for it too. Just shows there is still plenty of good sailing even at this time of year!

[@mjcooke2sailingmostly]

Hello Robin, I waited a month for a long enough break in weather, the middle of the trip was 'green' on Windy, the rest 'blue' so meant a lot of motorsailing. I got over 12hours of sailing though. Going to a new harbour for me a pleasure too. Doing video of the trip very limiting though with 16hrs darkness.

[@itsverygreen532]

@@mjcooke2sailingmostly better that Windy turns out a bit too "blue" than a bit too "red"! Should be up at Dinas soon, bought a new ladder and some Lithium batteries! Planning on a lot of re-wiring this winter. There is a LOT of bizarre extra wiring on our boat. I'm planning on losing a lot of it. Need to fix the Webasto too!

[@mjcooke2sailingmostly]

@@itsverygreen532 It's bad here at the moment, Storm something. The Webasto will be handy!

[@stefanp9317]

Hi Mike. Great to see you sailing instead of covered in Dust. That looks like a great trip although I would have been tempted to have a little sleep at IOM. Tarbert is a nice place isn't it.

[@mjcooke2sailingmostly]

Hello Stefan, The way the weather has been, the opportunities between all those named storms meant if I stopped, I could have been stuck somewhere. In the summer, on a cruise, that's all part of the holiday but I was being an opportunist and making a dash for it. I'm at Dinas this pm to pressure wash the boats, the green stuff is growing. All the best for Christmzs and peace for 2024.

[@stefanp9317]

@@mjcooke2sailingmostly Of course Mike. It was a comment on my energy levels rather than your passage planning. Have a good Christmas. I may see you at PD!

[@SailingYachtSaltyLass]

Hi Mike - it was a crazy time of year to be making that journey, but well done. You must have been freezing though...

[@mjcooke2sailingmostly]

Hello, Beverley and Gaynor, it was a rare bit of settled weather and I waited a month for it, it wasn't cold on the way, the day after got cold with a cold NE wind. Some good sailing for the middle bit. I found video work this time of year limiting with all the dark hours. Happy New Year and happy sailing 2024.

[@SailingYachtSaltyLass]

@@mjcooke2sailingmostly- it was a great passage 👍 And Happy New Year to you too

[@sailingsomewherejames5167]

Nice to get a bit of Winter sailing Mike, so long as you can keep warm! Back to Scotland for the Sadler, are you splashing the Beneteau or Sun Fast in 2024.

[@mjcooke2sailingmostly]

Hello James, It wasn't as bad as it could have been. My first night in the marina I slept well with the top companion board not in place. The owners brought me an electric heater and with this on low, it was very comfortable in the boat, better than my old house! I'll be sailing my Sun Fast next year for sure.

[@howardarch]

A very peaceful adventure. Even though a DNA test show Scotland and Wales I am more at home in the San Diego Bay. Howard

[@mjcooke2sailingmostly]

It's a bonus to get out there this time of year, it's not ideal for video work with the long hours of darkness but I hope this gave an impression of that. I see lots of similarities in the two nations, some words in the languages are similar, (also to the old Cornish language and Breton). I like it when I sail around the British coast and find accent changing by the next port of call. Thanks for showing support, It's always nice to get a comment.