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A cosy boat

May - June 2017
Having spent a winter in Ireland, Eureka went brrrr! Read more
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  • TravelerA cosy boat
    Day 29

    East Ferry here we come

    June 25, 2017 in Ireland ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

    We had another rolly night and if I didn't want a divorce then I'd better find another anchorage tonight but my plan instead was to be under sail somewhere north of the islands.

    I had been checking the forecasts and coastal reports since 07.00 and while they were still telling me that the winds were to drop, I could hear up on deck that they weren't.

    A French yacht departed at 09.00 but there were still plenty of white horses at the entrance to the sound and I could see him being thrown around as he left.
    I was staying put until I heard the winds on the coastal reports actually dropping.

    Finally at 11.30 we got the news we were waiting for and headed out.
    The sea outside was lumpy as expected and we just had a reefed main up to help keep the boat steady.

    The forecast was good until tomorrow night when the winds over Ireland were to strengthen again, so if we hadn't gone now we would be at least another two days stuck at the islands.

    We kept going and the seas and winds slowly began to ease as we left the islands behind.
    We motorsailed through the afternoon with just a mainsail which was keeping us steady as well as helping to push us along nicely.
    Traffic was heavy at first and we met two yachts heading in the opposite direction and later we had a tanker off to port holding station with us heading in the same direction.
    It was great to have AIS which gave us its speed and direction.

    By 21.00 we had shaken the reefs out of the main and unfurled the genoa. We were now under full sail and it was nice and quite with the engine off.

    Maeve didn't feel confident enough to take a watch and stayed down below but provided me with food and hot drinks when required while I relaxed in the cockpit and kept a lookout as the autopilot steered us towards home.
    The tanker later made a U turn and headed off SW and soon the seas around were empty.

    We were having a lovely sail and the early hours of the morning found us approaching some fishing boats about 70 miles south of Ireland.
    I kept an eye on one of them, the 'Saltees Tern' which looked like it was on a collision course with us unless one of us changed course.

    I waited until we got a bit closer and was just about to call him on the VHF to inform him of my intentions when he called me.
    We had a pleasant chat and found out he was towing six tons of gear behind and naturally didn't want to have to change course or speed.
    I informed him that I would cross ahead of him but would turn on my engine to cross his bows at a safe distance.

    Once I was north of him I turned off the engine and continued sailing.
    By midday due a change of wind direction we were on a course just to the east of Roches Point on a beat. Instead of tacking we furled the genny and motored past the light and into the harbour.

    Paddy Meehan was at the marina and helped us berth and by 15.30 we were safely tied up and headed home almost a month after I had left.

    We have since had many happy evenings on Eureka with a lovely warm and dry boat making us feel right at home.    Read more

  • TravelerA cosy boat
    Day 28

    Waiting for the weather

    June 24, 2017 in England ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

    We had another rolly night at the mooring and as there was a swell coming into the sound, Maeve didn't feel like going ashore in the dinghy so we stayed put and chilled out aboard.

    I was checking the forecasts which were still giving a bit of wind overnight but later tomorrow was looking good. We were more than ready to start on our journey home.

    Every now and then we got a light rain shower but it was still warm.
    In the afternoon we brought the dinghy and engine aboard, rigged the lifelines and got Eureka ready for sea.
    We were not going ashore again and would be leaving once we got good forecast.
    We had a nice dinner and an early night in the hope calm night and an early start.
    We got neither.    Read more

  • TravelerA cosy boat
    Day 27

    A visit to Hell Bay

    June 23, 2017 in England ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

    After an uncomfortable night we not too quick in getting up.
    We were not yet up when the harbour master arrived to collect his dues.
    Once I had paid him, I had to make Maeve's morning cuppa and then I turned on the engine for an hour to charge the batteries.

    The wind was not right for leaving. It was looking like tomorrow afternoon before we could make a break for home so we decided to head ashore on Bryher to have a look around.

    Bryher has a split personality. On its east side are lovely golden sands, on its west are many jagged rocks with the aptly named Hell Bay waiting to catch the unaware.

    We walked across the island to the Hell Bay hotel but didn't go in as we only wanted to see the view of the seas crashing against the gagged rocks below.
    I last visited here in 1993 on my first visit to the islands with my brother Declan and cousin's husband Noel. Hard to think that it was 24 years ago.

    We followed a coastal path along the shore and rounded the southern end of the island before heading back towards the 'Fraggle Rock Cafe' and had a coffee and some delicious carrot cake.

    Fraggle Rock is reputed to have the smallest bar in the world, all of 5 ft long with just enough room for two if you don't mind being elbow to elbow.
    The barman was Nick, an Aussie and his female companion was French.
    With Brexit on its way I wonder how the islands are going to cope as nearly everyone in the hospitality sector on the islands seems to be a foreigner.
    Nick was expecting to have to move to somewhere in the EU having spent two enjoyable years on Bryher.

    There were waves breaking on the shore when we got back to the dinghy and to make a long story short, just as we cast off, a couple of rogue waves caught the dinghy and Maeve ending up sitting in the water up to her waist while I had only had two water filled boots.
    After much laughter we retreated to the pontoon and tried again to launch the dinghy, this time successfully.

    Once we got back to Eureka, we changed and then set off for Tresco on the other side of the sound and walked the short distance to 'The New Inn' to have a pint while we waited for them to begin serving dinner at 18.30.

    We ate inside as it was a little cool due to the breeze and were entertained by a couple sitting at a nearby table.
    He was a teddy boy while she was a copy of Barbara Winsor. Both were still living in the 60's as far as hairdo's and clothes were concerned and were old enough to have worn them first time around.
    They spent the whole night bickering, well mainly her, as he mostly just sat there appearing to listen. The only time they stopped was when they were being served and then she smiled sweetly at the server before returning to savage her husband.

    There was music later that night but we wanted to get back before the tide was fully out and we sat and read in the saloon before putting our heads down in the hope it would be calm tonight.    Read more

  • TravelerA cosy boat
    Day 26

    Shelter in Tresco

    June 22, 2017 in England ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

    The forecast was for westerly force 5 to 6 so we decided to delay our voyage home and to seek better shelter as St. Mary's harbour is open to winds from that direction.
    New Grimsby is the most sheltered anchorage from the west and we had 'done' St. Mary's, so once the tide had risen enough to cross the Tresco Flats we headed north in the early afternoon.

    We past 'Wind Surf', a cruise boat that is mainly powered by sails. She was anchored off St. Mary's as her passengers were ferried back and forth to the islands.

    It was third time lucky, this time we were lucky enough to find a vacant visitor mooring and we quickly tied to it before someone beat us to it.

    We went ashore and headed for the other side of the island where there was a lovely restaurant the 'Ruin Beach Cafe' and had a lovely dinner while over looking St. Helen's Pool where we had previously been anchored.

    After dinner we wandered slowly back to the harbour as the sun went down and borrowed a launching trolley to get the dinghy down the beach as the tide was out, even further out than I had expected.

    Unfortunally later during the night at certain stages of the tide, we were broadside to a swell that crept into the harbour and which didn't rock us to sleep, quite the opposite. Maeve was not happy.    Read more

  • TravelerA cosy boat
    Day 25

    Where's the dinghy??

    June 21, 2017 in England ⋅ 🌫 16 °C

    With the change of tide the anchorage was calm again by dawn.
    When we got up we were greeted by a grey overcast day. What happened to the Caribbean?
    After breakfast we began getting Eureka ready as we had decided to move from the idyllic isolation to somewhere a little more lively.

    One of the first jobs is to remove the outboard from the dinghy.....................but guess what??
    No outboard....................no dinghy!!

    Out came the binoculars but no sign.
    That put a damper on the morning and how were we going to get ashore in St. Mary's or anywhere else when it came to it.
    Unfortunally before we had the anchor up to go looking for it, a light fog came down which made searching almost impossible so after reporting the stray dinghy via VHF to the coastguard, we motored north around to New Grimsby hoping that the fog would lift and we could carry out a search later.

    Again we found all the visitor moorings occupied and so we tried to anchor but had problems and so decided to head for St. Mary's instead as there was a better chance of getting a lift ashore there.

    It was not a happy boat as we motored north back out of New Grimsby Sound and then south, down the west side of Bryher.
    On the way Maeve thought she had heard a message on the VHF about a dinghy.
    I went below and sat by the radio at the chart table and soon heard a conversation between a fishing boat and the coastguard.
    Our dinghy had been found caught in some lobster buoys on the south side of Tresco.
    I joined in the conversation and found out that the work boat would be heading to St. Mary's later that afternoon so we arranged to have it returned to us at the mooring.

    We tied up in St. Marys harbour at 15.00 and the mood was much better helped by the sun that had come out, burnt off the fog and we were now back in t-shirts.

    About 2 hours later we were reunited with our dinghy and gave an award to the crew for their trouble.

    We later went ashore and called to the 'Bishop & Wolf' for dinner. We were told they had stopped serving at 20.30, it was now 20.34.
    Jesus! what was a couple of minutes?
    When Maeve asked him if there was any other place serving, he informed us 'The Co Op' (the local supermarket) as all the restaurants stopped at 20.30. The lad definitely lacked training in customer service.
    Just as well I hadn't heard the encounter as i might have said something rude!
    We tried 'The Atlantic Inn' and discovered that they serve until 21.00 and had no problem fitting us in.

    The lovely meal made the perfect ending to what started off as a bad day and we later returned to Eureka and this time made sure the dinghy was not going anywhere.    Read more

  • TravelerA cosy boat
    Day 24

    Where're are you from?

    June 20, 2017 in England ⋅ 🌙 18 °C

    After the early start to yesterday, neither of us were in any hurry to greet the day but when we did get up it was already very hot.

    I got the bimini deployed and we had a long lazy breakfast in its shade.
    Finally at 12.30 we decided it was time to do a bit of exploring.

    We headed ashore in the dinghy to St. Martin's, getting our feet wet in the surf as we landed on the soft sandy beach.
    The sand on St. Martin's is very fine and white and used to be exported for drying ink before blotting paper as invented.

    We headed for the hotel which looks like a row of two storey stone cottages from a distance and has a lawn sloping down towards the shore.
    Or it used to! Now there is a wall at the bottom of the garden and rocks where I remembered the beach.
    Is it my memory or have things changed in the 21 years since I was last here?
    Anyway we sat under a parasol drinking a nice cup of coffee before we headed inland.

    When we reached to island's church we enjoyed the coolness of the interior before heading back out and finding ice creams at the post office further up the road.

    On the way back, we stopped at the 'Seven Stones Inn' and had a pint.
    The barman asked me where I was from, I said "Ireland".
    The reply was "Ya, I know that!, but what part?"
    It turned out he was from Tralee in Co. Kerry but had been travelling the world and had ended up with a mixture of accents which is why I didn't recognise it until I listened closely.

    We discovered they were serving dinner at 18.00 so we had a second pint and stayed.

    That night a swell came into the anchorage when the tide was full, when there is less protection and that rocked us a bit.    Read more

  • TravelerA cosy boat
    Day 23

    Our visitors depart

    June 19, 2017 in England ⋅ 🌙 17 °C

    We were all up early to bring Chris & Eddie ashore for the morning ferry back to Penzance.
    Maeve said her goodbyes onboard as the dinghy won't take all of us.
    I got them ashore and safely and still dry in time to catch the 07.30 ferry.

    Maeve and I are spending a few more days on the islands as Maeve hasn't been here before and I want to show her why I love them.

    Later Maeve and I went shore for some provisions and at 12.30 we slipped our mooring and headed north toward the Tresco Flats, a shallow bar between the islands of Bryher and Tresco.
    You have to get the tides right as at low spring tides you can walk across from one island to the other. Ok you might get your feet wet, but you get the idea.
    I normally wait till about 2 hours before high tide, so if you do get stuck, the water is still rising and you have time to get afloat again.

    After a nice shore sail we furled the genoa and started the engine to give us more control crossing the bar.
    When we got to New Grimsby we found that all the moorings were taken so it was onto plan B, anchoring in Old Grimsby on the eastern side of Tresco or plan C anchoring in St. Helen's Pool future to the east.

    We continued through New Grimsby and around the north of Tresco and down the east side but found that the winds were blowing force 3 to 4 without any shelter so that was plan B scuppered and it was plan C, off to St. Helen's Pool.

    I have never been to this anchorage before so we took our time picking a spot to anchor. There were a few yachts already anchored in the pools and of course they had picked the best spots but we found a spot in 4 meters that we liked and we were dug in by 15.30.

    St. Helen's Pool is surrounded be small islands and rocks and when the tide is low it almost looks like there is nowhere out.
    It was so peaceful that we stayed aboard, chilled out and after a lovely dinner, we had a peaceful calm night at anchor.    Read more

  • TravelerA cosy boat
    Day 22

    Exploring St. Mary's

    June 18, 2017 in England ⋅ 🌙 17 °C

    Chris likes to walk so it meant that the rest of us were going walking too.
    Once ashore Chris headed to the tourist office, got a map and off we went.

    The islands have very little motorised traffic and there are plenty of paths off the beaten track, well away civilisation.
    We headed off towards the lighthouse on Peninnis Head on the south of the island before heading east to Old Town which use to be the harbour on St. Mary's before the pier was built in Hugh Town.

    There is a lovely small church there and in the nearby churchyard is the grave of Harold Wilson, one time prime minister of the UK who was a resident on the island after he retired.

    Maeve, Chris and Eddie had a swim in the bay while I watched from the safety of the shore before we had lunch in a local café.

    We walked back along a nature trail across the moor that brought us to the beach at Porthloo and then we walked back along the shore to the pier.
    We decided to have dinner ashore before we returned to Eureka but first I had to go back to Eureka as I had forgotten to bring clothes to wear after our showers. Wouldn't want to shock the locals.

    Fed and watered we headed back to Eureka for an early night as Chris & Eddie were getting the morning ferry back to the mainland.    Read more

  • TravelerA cosy boat
    Day 21

    Busman's Holiday

    June 17, 2017 in England ⋅ 🌙 16 °C

    After a good night's sleep we headed ashore to catch a ferry to visit the island of Tresco.
    This was going to my first time on a ferry here as up to now I had always found my own way around. I was looking forward to having a day off.

    As the ferry approached New Grimsby Sound between the islands of Bryher and Tresco, it had to slow as there were swimmers in the water ahead of us. They were taking part in a 37 km race around the islands and the only way to do that was to swim from island to island and run while on dry land.

    In the 1834 the islands were leased to Augustus Smith who did much to improve the lives of the islanders and in Tresco, built his house 'Tresco Abbey' and like Garnish Island in Glengarriff, created gardens where he could grow plants and trees from around the world that thrived in the mild climate of the islands. The family still live in the Abbey.
    We walked to the famous gardens and after our walk around we had lunch in the café. Luckily there was a good amount of shade in the gardens as it was after getting very hot.
    There is a nice museum that had to be visited of figureheads and other bits and pieces from the various wreaks that litter the seas around the islands.

    We later had to walk to the south of the island to catch the ferry back to St. Marys as it was now low tide and too shallow to by picked up in New Grimsby.

    Dinner took place in 'The Mermaid' washed down with the odd pint . . . . . . . . .for medicinal purposes of course.    Read more

  • TravelerA cosy boat
    Day 20

    The Isles of Scilly

    June 16, 2017 in England ⋅ 🌙 16 °C

    Never call them the Scillies or the Scilly Isles, the locals won't like it!

    Right, we had done the Helford River both north and south and even ventured upriver to Frenchman's Creek in the dinghy. It was time to move on.

    The Isles of Scilly were a day's sail to the west and have a reputation that scares many sailors from visiting due to its many rocks and difficult navigation. Well they don't know that they're missing!

    I had first visited the islands in 1993 and have been there a number of times since but it was ten years since my last visit.

    If you can navigate around the coasts of Cork and Kerry you can navigate in the IOS, you just have to watch the depths a bit more carefully.
    However it's a horrible place in bad weather but in good weather, it's the Caribbean on your doorstep.

    We planned an early start to get there sometime in the afternoon and have enough time to have a look around Hugh Town on the main island of St. Marys before dinner and a good night's sleep.

    All the alarms went off excepts the skippers.
    Despite the crew being told that I only needed one of them up to be able to leave, they were all on deck at 05.00.
    Eddie cast off the mooring we left Helford as the sun began to rise

    Unfortunally the seas were a bit lumpy and the wind was on the nose once we rounded The Lizard and turned west.
    It was only when we were near the islands that the seas calmed and at 15.00 we were able at last to hoist the sails and sail the last hour and a half into St. Marys harbour.
    It's lovely to see the look the excitment on peoples faces then they arrive somewhere they havn't been before and the longing to get ashore.

     We picked up a visitor mooring. The harbour master was sick and tired of pulling yachts off the beach in bad weather so now the only option is, "do you want a small or large mooring?" which depends on the size of your boat.

    We went ashore in the dinghy calling at the showers on the pier before finding Chris & Eddie, the first two ashore, sampling the beer in 'The Mermaid'.
    We later found our way to 'The Atlantic' where we had dinner on the balcony overlooking the harbour and the other islands as the sun slowly began to head for the horizon .

    Four sleepy contented persons headed back to Eureka that night.    Read more

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