A tremendous welcome home had been organised by our family and crew member Karl who had arranged WARC flags for his boat and to decorate the dock and riverside .
Karl met us in his boat and we were joined by boats from the marina, local sailing clubs, Boom sailing school, motor boats, day boats, even a neighbour in a rowing boat met us as we motored into the Conwy river past our house where Anna and Scott waved from our balcony.
Friends and neighbours lined the river, houses were decked with flags and there were waves, whistles and horns blowing from the golf course, the river bank and Quay Hotel as we made our way up the river to Conwy Castle and then back to Conwy Marina.
There was a final moment of tricky manoeuvring because the berth we had been allocated in front of the marina was occupied. It was in a tight corner and other boats had followed Celtic Star in to so reversing and turning was complicated. Boats do not handle like cars and there is the effect of wind and tide to consider, but I avoided impaling our hull on the dredger’s fearsome looking spiral end and we safely tied up at the far end of the marina.
On the dockside we were met by a wonderful crowd of people, some friends, some Celtic Cruising and Snowdonia Sailing School students and guests, plus people who had joined Celtic Star somewhere on our epic adventure. Our companion circumnavigations Alan and Avryl from Island Wanderer suprised us by being there to take our lines at the end of our voyage which was certainly a significant moment. Then we were greeted by the small crowd waiting on the dock, followed by the popping of corks and a brief speech plus lots of hugs and a few tears.
The dockside party lasted a couple of hours before we cleared up and were driven to our house which was decked with flags and banners and flowers. Needless to say that it was another emotional moment when we came home after sailing around the world.
Backtracking to Cornwall where we had spent our first few days back in the UK and had been most enjoyable, the sun shone and we walked around the delightful lanes and fields around Mousehole and Penzance.
Having been met in Newlyn in the dead of night by WARC sailing friends, Peter and Nicky, we continued celebrating with them at a more reasonable time the next day when we met up for Sunday lunch in The Fisherman’s Arms, Newlyn. The day after that was my birthday, Andrew our crew generously gave me a bottle of Lanson Champagne before he departed on his journey home. Richard and I walked along the coast to the picturesque village of Mousehole (pronounced Mawzaal) for brunch. We passed the old Penlee lifeboat station, unused and unchanged for over 40 years. On 19 December 1981, the crew of the Penlee lifeboat Solomon Browne were lost attempting to rescue the crew and passengers onboard a stricken coaster. There is now a new RNLI building and lifeboat which are both based at Newlyn harbour and we spent a few quiet moments sitting on the bench in the small memorial garden contemplating the sea and the sky and that strange feeling of transcendence they bring.
Back at Newlyn Harbour our friends Hans and Gill who took us to Trewidden Gardens where we had a delicious Cornish cream tea on the lawn plus a G&T before we explored the gardens. In the evening we met for a fine dinner at the Tolcarne Inn. It was a perfect birthday!
Paradise continued the following day when we walked a circular route through Penzance, past it's wonderful lido where I was very tempted to swim but I will save that for a future visit.
We progressed instead to visit Polgoon Vineyard and Cider Makers. This family-run farm is set on the slopes of Mount Bay and we enjoyed a self guided tour around their orchards and vines. Naturally a tasting of wines and ciders was not to be missed, accompanied by a light lunch in their outdoor cafe area. Finally, we walked back to Newlyn through fields and woods, recognising the flora and fauna and revelling in the feeling of being in a familiar environment, our own habitat of the British Isles!
Then it was back to sea for our final passage to North Wales. We cast off from the bustling fishing port of Newlyn early morning on Wednesday 14th June to catch the tide around Land’s End and northward across the Bristol Channel.
Mount Bay seemed surreal in the sunrise, St Michaels Mount was suspended over the glassy water and a two masted brig sat at anchor looking like an advertising trailer for Poldark.
With little or no wind to ripple the water, we motored across a glossy, glassy sea, sometimes the colour of mercury and sometimes like a blue ceramic tile . The variety of wildlife was also amazing with flotillas of puffins, guillemots and razorbills surrounding us at times, interspersed with a fly bye of "in line" gannets and swoops of Shearwaters as well. Seals, playful pods of dolphins, and distant Minke whales were also our companions as we headed along the Cornish and Welsh coasts.
We had sunshine in the day but it was fearsomely cold at night with fog and heavy dew on deck and even rain forming on our mainsail.
We were also amazed at the volume of traffic broadcast on the VHF radio which has been sporadic and quiet for months. There were several Pan Pan calls (one step down from a Mayday call) from motor boats and RIBs with engine failure, rescue calls for distressed swimmers amongst other lifeboat call-outs. We answered one such call on Thursday 15th June as we were heading across Caernarfon Bay. A 5 metre rib had an engine malfunction and we notified the Coastguard that we were in the vicinity and on course to give them a tow. However, another local motorboat arrived before us and then the lifeboat was launched from Porth Dinllaen and also another from Trearddur Bay. It was a clear and bright day with a flat sea and a low risk of casualties, so it became an excellent training opportunity for the rescue services and the next vessel to arrive was the SAR helicopter. Shortly after this we were stepped down by the Coastguard but it had been an exciting arrival after a non eventful passage. We continued on on our way to anchor at Ynys Llandwyn, a small tidal island off the famous beach at Malltraeth/Newborough on west coast of Anglesey and one the most beautiful places in the world. The sun set late and and we celebrated our arrival and final night at anchor by opening my birthday bottle of champagne before dinner.
We still had an early night because we needed to cross Caernarfon bar and traverse the Menai Straits as far as the Swellies before 0900 am on Friday 16th June . It was a glorious feeling to enter the Menai Straits and cruise past the historic and impressive Castle at Caernarfon, to enjoy the natural beauty of Eryri as we glided towards the two bridges at Portythwy. We passed Plas Newydd, ancestral home of the Marquis of Anglesey and nodded at Nelson who famously said ”If you can sail a boat around Anglesey you can sail a ship around the world”. We can now officially agree with him!
The Swellies or Swillies is named after the whirlpool formed by the tidal flow through the narrow area by Swellies Rock. The water between the Menai Suspension Bridge and Britannia Bridge is particularly dangerous to mariners, because the tides at each end of the Strait are usually at different heights.
Water flowing in or out of one end often conflicts with that going to or from the other but we navigated the treacherous narrows successfully and tied up alongside the research boat Prince Maddoc on St George’s pier. We were settled by 0930 and climbed off the boat and over the other boat to get ashore so we could stretch our legs and enjoy the warm summer weather before it clouded over and started to rain. Our walk took us along the Belgian Promenade completed in 1916 by refugees from German-occupied Mechelen (or Malines) in Belgium who were accommodated in Menai Bridge. The 63 Belgian refugees – men, women and children – arrived by train in October 1914 and were greeted in French by the Bishop of Bangor. Vehicles took them to the town, passing Royal Welsh Fusiliers who provided a guard of honour on both bridges. At the New Hall in Menai Bridge, the refugees were welcomed by a crowd and given a hearty meal. When the local band played the Belgian national anthem, many of the refugees cried. A bit different from todays discussion on refugees and asylum seekers.
We finished by walking back under Telford ‘s Suspension Bridge which was completed in 1826. This marvellous feat of engineering has arches that soar up high enough to sail the Victory underneath with her topmasts down. It felt quite extraordinary to have sailed beneath it and then walked under it on the same morning. As we watched the spring tide pouring hard around the columns we could see the visible difference in water height from one side to another. That was why we went through at slack tide!
On returning to Celtic Star we found our friend Ricky on his sailing school boat rafted up alongside us and we swapped a few hellos and hugs before he took his trainees off to a mooring for lunch. We ate a sandwich before having a snooze and were woken in the afternoon by a loud thump and "Ahoy there" which announced the arrival of our son Scott who we had last seen in December in Cape Town. He was exhausted but exhilarated from filming as an extra in the House of Dragons, and he even had white Targarian hairpieces left in. Shortly afterwards, Laura and her partner Carwyn arrived and so another celebratory bottle of champagne was opened before we headed to the Liverpool Arms for dinner.
Despite appearances we did not drink too much as another early start was necessary to continue through the Straits and get to the Conwy River at High Water. We were disappointed to wake up to grey skies and even worse rain, so our waterproofs, hats and coats were donned! Scott returned to Deganwy to organise Anna and the dock party and and Laura joined us for our final few miles along this familiar coast. We passed Bangor and then Beaumaris before we turned South through Penmaen Swatchway and entered the Conwy channel to the warm welcome that greeted us.
Since then we been clearing clothes, food, bedding, books and equipment off the boat and settling back into our house and our previous lives. We have organised the usual check up appointments and joined the local sailing clubs to get involved in local events and activities. We have been called "local legends" and welcomed back by friends, acquaintances and tradespersons alike. Everyone wants to know what our plans are now; but we have been planning and executing our big adventure for over 6 years so for now we are going to enjoy living in a house and walking in the hills. Celtic Star is going to Bangor to be lifted out for repairs and a refit, so we will land based for a while.
THANKS
A final word of thanks to all our crew who helped us to achieve our circumnavigation, to all the wonderful folk we met, talked to and sailed with on the way around. To our amazing family for supporting us and looking after the house, the Airbnb and the cats while their crazy parents lived on a boat and sailed across oceans, dived and snorkelled with sharks and spent their inheritance!
PARTY
We will continue to do that by hosting a celebration at a venue in Conwy on
Saturday 28th October 2023.
Contact me on WhattsApp, Messenger, or SMS for details . Or email petrahaig@btopenworld.com
That just leaves us to relax and bask in the glory of having sailed all the way around the world plus a bit more. I can sit in my lounge window and watch the sun go down behind Anglesey, knowing that I have followed it all the way around the world on our journey of a lifetime.
What an amazing achievement. So happy for you. 🐳🐬😘 xxx