Sailing Away From It All to The Western Isles, the Outer Hebrides
24th April 2021
Summer dream of the Western Isles – Ainmara in the pool at Rodel in Harris Photo: W M Nixon
For this week s Sailing on Saturday we take a look back eight years when WM Nixon cruised from Ireland to the Outer Hebrides in the 36-foot vintage restored sloop Ainmara
#hebrides – August is almost upon us. The heat has been fierce, and the summer season has been busy. Despite some blips in the weather, civilised folk will be thinking of sailing away from it all for a while. North and west perhaps, in the hope of finding uncrowded and beautiful places which may be cooler. The Western Isles, the Outer Hebrides, are calling us away.
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Providing shelter from westerly and southerly winds, the Welsh anchorage of Porth Nefyn offers an escape from the crowds, says Dag Pike
The harbour at Porth Nefyn in North Wales. Credit: Dag Pike
A popular place to stop off when cruising around the Llyn Peninsula in North Wales is Porth Dinllaen, one of the few spots along this coast where you can get shelter from westerly winds.
With its highly rated pub and its lifeboat station, this anchorage is very popular and has visitor moorings.
For a quieter, more peaceful night at anchor, you might want to move just a mile to the east where there is the small harbour of Porth Nefyn, named after the village of Nefyn.
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Jonty Pearce finds complete shelter in this historic and tranquil Irish anchorage close to Cork Harbour
You can find depths of four metres in the pool, although it does shoal. Credit: Alamy
Drake’s Pool near Crosshaven is a stunning spot.
History records that in 1589 Sir Francis Drake’s small squadron of five warships was chased into Cork Harbour by an overpoweringly strong Spanish fleet.
Turning swiftly to port after rounding Rams Head he entered the River Owenboy and continued upriver past Crosshaven until he found a secluded anchorage in a pool set deep in cloaking woodland and hills.