Concrete Ships in Carlingford

Today was very hot so I got the bimini out to keep the sun off and the centre panel of the sprayhood was opened to get some breeze but I was not complaining!
I think it was the first time since the Algarve in 2016 that I have had the sprayhood open in anger.

We left at 10.00 passing some seals who were also enjoying the sunshine.
We motored along at a leisurely 4.5 knts. timing our arrival at the mouth of Carlingford Lough for slack water as we couldn’t enter on an ebbing tide.
The channel buoys are mounted on boat shaped floats due to the strength of the tides which run at up to 5 knts. at the entrance.

On the way south we can across ‘Emma’ a rowing boat of the type that cross the Atlantic with three rowers aboard. They were advertising a new bottled water, ‘Aqua Nobel’. I can think of easier ways to advertise.

We unfurled our genoas for the last hour in very light winds as we neared the mouth of the lough. We were in no hurry as we waited for the tide to turn.
There was a ship approaching the lough when we arrived so we held back as we calculated we would still be in the narrows when it caught up. Seeing it was bigger than us we let it through before we followed.

The marina had advised us to stay on the edge of the shipping channel off the entrance to the marina until 17.00 when we’d have enough water to enter.
Even then as we headed in we found we still had little or no water under our keels but at least it was a rising tide.
I was happy to let ‘Second Chance’ lead us in slowly as they drew 3 inches more than ‘Eureka’. If they made it then so would I.

The marina owner’s son took our lines and gave us a very warm welcome.
After dinner we discovered that the ship that forms part of the marina was made from concrete during the First World War.

We walked to Carlingford village which was full of holidaymakers and looked like a lovely place.
Later back at the marina we had a pint while sitting overlooking the marina as we watched the sun go down and a beautiful sunset.Lue lisää