We arrived at St Mary's just as dawn broke and due to an increasing north-westerly wind decided to anchor on the east of the island at Watermill Cove. The winds eased overnight, the relatively clear skies provided memorable sunrises and sunsets, we enjoyed our very brief stopover in the Isles of Scilly.
The customs regulations prevented us from sailing direct from France back to the UK with our dog on our boat. However, we found out that we could sail from France to Ireland and then back to the UK! So, we didn't land at the Isles of Scilly and early the following morning set sail for Waterford on the south coast of Ireland.
The sail to Ireland took us about 36 hours, arriving at the wide estuary at the mouth of the River Suir that leads inland for 14 miles to the oldest city in Ireland, Waterford. We followed the marked channel past castles, wooded hillsides and railway bridges to the marina pontoons in the centre of the city. We carefully secured our boat alongside another large yacht and dashed ashore for take-away fish and chips!
The city of Waterford was first settled by the Vikings over 1000 years ago, we explored the narrow streets in the city centre and drank Guinness, which is now brewed in the city. We stayed in Waterford for three nights before heading back down the river and out across the Irish Sea towards Pembrokeshire.
Dolphins escorted us at numerous times along the way, right up to the Islands of Skomer and Skokholm. We arrived off the coast of Pembrokeshire in the early hours of the morning and decided to anchor in the south haven of Skomer to wait for a favourable tide. The seals and puffins very quickly appeared, so we spent a few hours watching them before continuing to the Milford Haven estuary.
We had sailed in through the Milford Haven estuary on previous occasions on charter yachts. Now we were sailing in on our own yacht at the end of a 5000 mile voyage! We had arrived back into the UK.
