We left Mr Seal and Mermaid Cove at 0630hrs for the short passage to Porth Dinllaen. There we awaited the afternoon tide to take us to Fishguard. It was a lovely sunny day but the wind had deserted us, so we had to motor the entire 53 miles across Cardigan Bay.
About two thirds of the way across the bay, a securite was given from a warship, detailing an underwater explosion that was due to take place in the area of Cardigan Bay we were heading for. The radio had a lot of interference and we did not hear the coordinates that were given to identify the area of the explosion. I tried to make contact with the warship and Tony tried the Hollyhead coastguard and Milford Haven Coastguard without luck. We could listen but not transmit. The VHF kept switching from high to low frequency and would not allow us to change channels. Our radio had failed. To add to the problem, we were too far off shore for our handheld radio to work. Eventually the warship gave out a further message which satisfied us we were not in the way of their exercise, but it was uncomfortable sailing in the dark knowing that we had no means of radio contact until we got nearer to land.
The reassuring light from Strumble Head lighthouse was easy to identify, as was the flashing green light at the entrance to Fishguard, however once past the bright lights of the main harbour we found it very difficult to get our night vision back. We had planned to pick up a mooring buoy, but in the dark, with so many other boats and numerous pot marker buoys scattered around, we decided to find a spot to anchor instead. We awoke in the morning to find ourselves anchored in a very scenic and sunny spot.
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