Cruising the Irish Sea to Reykjavik, Iceland

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Saturday 27th July and Sunday 28th July, 2013. At sea, cruising to Reykjavik, Iceland.

Saturday the weather was overcast and it was pretty foggy so we didn't sit out on the deck. Early on Saturday morning Oriana sailed through the Irish sea and entered the North Channel, leaving the Isle of Man behind us to our right. We continued on up the Irish Sea with Belfast to our left and the Rhinns to starboard (right) an hour later. The Rhinns of Galloway otherwise known as the Rhinns of Wigtownshire is a hammer-head shaped peninsula in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. Stretching more than 25 miles from north to south, its southern tip is the Mull of Galloway, the southernmost point of Scotland.

By mid morning the fog was fairly thick and the fog horn was blowing frequently. D went to the lectures while M attended the art class and painted a Icelandic House with turf on the roof. Salt was used in the watercolour paint to create the turf effect. We passed Kintyre and by mid morning we were well clear of Northern Ireland passing Islay 20 nautical miles to starboard (couldn't see it because of the fog!). We lunched in the restaurant. We cruised past the Western Isles (couldn't see them either) and entered the Iceland Basin by late afternoon. We dined in the restaurant with Ken - the other two had moved to the early sitting.

We also spent Sunday at sea. The weather was slightly better than yesterday and not too cold (13 degrees). There were some thick fog patches during which the ships whistle was sounded. M went to art and painted wet in wet watercolour of a sunset over the mountains. D attended the lectures. We ate in the restaurant for lunch and dinner. Not a lot else to say really. I have included a map of the cruise route with this blog.

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