The weather report for the weekend started “Gales in the Irish sea...” Leaving Ilkley at 7.15 am on the Saturday, it rained heavily all the way to Barrow. I finally arrived at Roa Sailing Club with my Drascombe Lugger at 9.15 and proceeded to rig in the rain. Stuart Calcutt appeared at 10.30 and together we prepared for launching. By 11.30 we assumed we were to be the only boat present until David and Tony arrived with their Wayfarer Restless.

The wind was blowing hard on to the slip, and launching proved very difficult. Getting away was even worse, and suddenly a nuclear submarine appeared in the channel sailing to Barrow. David and Tony finally decided to launch from a very small but sheltered slip on the other side of the island. Stuart and I sailed down the channel on a very brisk beat whilst Tony and David wisely sailed around Piel Island. Later we heard they had three reefs in their main plus a storm jib and still had a hectic sail.

The lugger made very good progress down-channel past the Bar Buoy. The plan was to go down on a beat and back on a run before the tide changed. By the time we reached the next buoy — Halfway Buoy — the seas were beginning to build up and the heavy swell was quite frightening. This was obviously no place for an open boat, and we attempted to go about. Twice we tried and failed. The seas by now were boiling and very lumpy. We went about on the third attempt but were surfing so fast that we decided to return on jib only. The following seas became nightmarish, and twice we almost broached. By now the water was above the floorboards and I started the outboard and gently gave us some steerage way as we were being pooped. The tide had turned against us, and with the wind against the tide, we spent more than an hour making any headway at all. Nine foot rollers coming up astern and fighting a strong tack is not a recipe for enjoyment. The struggle continued until we finally reached the Bar Buoy and then the seas subsided a little. Changing to a reefed mainsail and jib, we plodded steadily. The inshore lifeboat was on their way to a dinghy in trouble near Fleetwood. They waved, we acknowledged and soon they were bucking the waves, at times at a 45º angle.

We did finally reach Piel Island and the anchorage, and paid out 42 metres of cable in readiness for the 30 foot spring tide. The shelter of Piel Island was, however, short lived, as the wind veered at midnight, and we spent a very uncomfortable night on the moorings.

Three people in an inflatable flashed past us at 11.30 pm. Their outboard had failed and they were trying to row against the tide. Momentarily they clung to a nearby buoy, but refused our help when we offered to float our inflatable down to them on a rope. They finally disappeared into the gloom.

Sunday, after a hasty breakfast, we raised anchor and made a speedy sail to the slip to pull out before the gales finally got stronger. A very hectic weekend and one full of incidents. An unforgettable experience not to be repeated.