At 04.45 we left the pontoon and by 05.15 were out of the harbour and passing the safe water mark buoy.
With a steady wind from the west hoisted full jib only as we set off on our easterly course.
We kept the engine running for a further two hours, ticking over charging the batteries to power the auto-helm and chart plotter. There are frequent passenger/ro-ro ferries and high speed catamarn ferries on this run between Dublin/Dun Laoghaire and Holyhead/Liverpool. The photo shows the Irish Ferries new ship Ulysses which was travelling at 20 knots. Apart from keeping a good look out, the onboard AIS was picking them out on the chart plotter. Telling me their name, identification numbers, speed, course, closest point of approach and the time when they would be closest. They were passing on either side, most doing 20 knots while the fast cats doing 30 knots in the clear visibility there was no problem for them, a yacht screaming along at 4 knots.
At 11.30 we were losing speed as the wind began to drop, so out with the cruising chute. The photo shows how it was rigged, may be different to what you sailors know. Cruising chutes are normally just tied on at the front but I rigged two sheaves, single reeved to the tack and pulpit with line running back to the cockpit. The line allows the tack of the chute to be any height and is easy to adjust to be horizonital with the clew. This trick I was taught while cruising in the Izelmeer, Holland and the rig is called a bloomer. When you launch a chute you normally take off the genoa but this was flying very merrily behind it, the genoa was left up and we gained an extra 1 1/2 knots and ran like this for 2 1/2 hours. Off the North Stack light house on Anglesey the chute was dropped at 15.00 and unfortunately the tide took us down into the overfalls and took an hour to find calmer waters. At 16.45 we were passing the pier head lighthouse and into Holyhead harbour,on the pontoon berth by 17.15. We were well pleased at making a very good passage across the Irish Sea in almost ideal conditions, fair wind, flatish seas and very good visibility, travelling 60 miles which took 12 1/2 hours from berth to berth. 
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