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Keeping Ireland to StarboardKeeping Ireland to Starboard
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  • TravelerKeeping Ireland to Starboard
    Day 11

    Maybe Tomorrow?

    June 3, 2021 in Ireland ⋅ 🌧 14 °C

    Woke up in the middle of the night and couldn't get back to sleep so picked up my book and finished it before going back to sleep.
    The wind had been straightening but it was nice and calm inside the breakwater.

    I was still in bed checking the various forecasts when Brian handed me a glass of orange juice. The man's a treasure.

    We had our crew meeting on Second Chance and it was looking hopeful that the wind was going to drop tomorrow morning. All going well we decided we'd head for Smerwick Harbour for an overnight anchorage and head off for Inishmore early Saturday morning.

    Later I borrowed the trolley after Jim had finished with it and brought my jerry cans to the petrol station and filled the fuel tank. I expect there will be very little chance to fill up on the west coast.

    Brian went uptown to collect our laundry and we both did a few boat jobs and made ready to leave tomorrow if all goes well.

    We met for drinks and passage planning before heading uptown again to provision and got diner on the way back.
    A dvd put Brian asleep half ways through but I foolishly stayed till the end.    Read more

  • TravelerKeeping Ireland to Starboard
    Day 12

    Wind not doing as forecast

    June 4, 2021 in Ireland ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C

    Woke up to hear the wind in the rigging. Don't think we're going anywhere today.
    We're due to have our planning meeting at 11.15 but I already know the outcome. However there are blue patches in the sky so things are still looking better.
    At our meeting we decide if the wind goes down early enough, we'll leave for Smerwick tonight otherwise we'll leave for Inishmore at first light tomorrow.

    We met Jim & Angela at 15.15 and decided to wait till tomorrow.

    Brian and I had had showers after our dinner and we had an early night ready for dawn.    Read more

  • TravelerKeeping Ireland to Starboard
    Day 13

    Dingle to Kilronan nonstop

    June 5, 2021 in Ireland ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    Alarms were set for 04.10 with a departure at 05.00 but once Jim saw we were up and nearly ready they slipped their lines early at 04.45 and ‘Eureka’ followed the stern light of ‘Second Chance’ out of the harbour in the dark, five minutes later.
    For an auld fellow he doesn’t hang around and puts us young fellows to shame.

    Jim hoisted his main shortly after leaving Dingle harbour but due to the wind direction we waited until Slea Head before putting up our sails.
    We sailed past Trá Bán on the Great Blasket before heading north through the sound, clearing it at 07.30.
    Originally I had hoped to anchor and go ashore but conditions weren’t suitable. One of these days………

    Except for the ‘Round Ireland’ in ’96, I had never sailed north of Fenit so everything from now on was going to be new for me.

    The morning started bright but chilly but as the day went on it heated up nicely.
    The wind eased and went around to the south so we spent the morning motoring with just the main up.
    Every so often one boat or the other would unfurl its genoa to see if we could sail but without success.
    At 15.30 we noticed Jim had his genny out again and it seemed to be pulling nicely so we did the same and were rewarded with a good sail until we were about to enter Gregory Sound between Inishmore and Inishmaan four and a half hours later.
    We dropped sails and were joined by a large pod of dolphins and as we motored through the sound we also saw a Minke Whale close by.
    ‘Second Chance’ didn’t see it so it’s one all, whale wise for the trip so far.

    Kilronan was fairly shallow. I wanted to tie up and leave the visitor moorings until tomorrow. Even better there was another yacht already tied up at the end of the pier so we didn't have to worry about shore lines from Eureka in the calm sheltered conditions.
    We rafted up outside the yacht at 21.00 and ‘Second Chance’ rafted to us and they put lines ashore to keep both of us from wandering.
    We had a celebratory beer after a long day where we had only seen two other yachts.

    We didn’t have a second drink as we were too tired. We had put our dinner on the stove as we were approaching the harbour so we went down below, ate and all headed to bed soon after, very pleased with ourselves having completed the longest leg (84 miles / 16 hrs.) on our round Ireland.    Read more

  • TravelerKeeping Ireland to Starboard
    Day 14

    Summer has returned

    June 6, 2021 in Ireland ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    Woke up refreshed to warm sun. It was lovely to be in t-shirts and needing the sun protection again.

    Had a nice chat with the crew of the yacht inside us before heading out to a visitor mooring as out berth was required by the ferries from 10.00.
    We weren’t in the mood to rush anywhere and instead sat in the sun and watched the ferries busily bringing tourists from the mainland.
    It was about 11.30 before we went ashore in the dinghies and found that all the electrical bicycles had been hired. The early bird catches the worm!
    We had hoped to cycle to Dun Aengus which is mainly uphill but decided that with no power assistance to compensate for dodgy hips and knees that we’d put it off until tomorrow instead.

    Hold that thought!
    Remember what I said about Jim loving to walk and never giving up on Cape Clear?
    Well, Jim and Brian thought it would be nice to go for a bit of a walk ………..
    Guess where we ended up? Yes, Dun Aengus, 7.5 kms. uphill later.
    Stunning views and a must visit for anyone who visits Inishmore.
    A mutiny by me meant we got the minibus back but the other three didn’t put up much of a fight.

    That evening we were invited for a barbecue on ‘Second Chance’.
    Brian and I found some short lengths of rope to use as ties, collars were optional and being good guests we didn’t go empty handed.
    We had a long pleasant night and made it back to ‘Eureka’ safely if not quite in a straight line.    Read more

  • TravelerKeeping Ireland to Starboard
    Day 15

    Upright Tombs

    June 7, 2021 in Ireland ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

    Another lovely sunny day greeted us on our second day in Kilronan.
    We went ashore again but somehow my idea of sitting, watching the world go by, accompanied by a nice coffee and cake didn’t come to pass.

    Jim and ‘Duracell Bunny’ Brian headed off at a trot. However this time Angela and I were able to guide them in a direction where we could at least see an end to the road.
    Along the way we came across what looked like upright tombs along the road dating from about 1811 to 1892.
    Martín O’ Bríain, an elderly local fisherman told us they were upright tombs.
    He knew Cobh fairly well as he had fished on Spanish trawlers for many years and they often put into Cobh. Jim had a good conversation in Irish, Spanish and a bit of English thrown in.
    I’m sure he is still having a quite chuckle at our expense about the ‘tombs’ though.
    Goggle it if you want the truth.

    We walked over to the other side of the bay and saw a Coast Guard helicopter landing at the aerodrome and an ambulance going out to meet it.
    May have been an exercise as nothing seem to happen after that.

    We called to the hotel on the way back and had soup and sandwiches. Our stop coincided with a heavy shower. For once our timing was impeccable.

    In the late afternoon we headed back to the boats both crews must have had enough of each others company that day as we stayed apart.
    I went for a snooze leaving Brian to make the dinner. Don't know what we had for dinner as all the log states is the the dinner was lovely and we had homemade garlic bread.
    Belly's full, we had an early night and plan to leave for Inishmaan tomorrow.    Read more

  • TravelerKeeping Ireland to Starboard
    Day 16

    Proper Pints

    June 8, 2021 in Ireland ⋅ 🌧 15 °C

    Three days of summer was all we got as we woke up to a showery cloudy morning.
    We headed off to Inishmaan at 11.15 and by the time we got there the showers had stopped.
    As it was such a short distance both boats left the main alone and sailed with just the genny especially as there was a good wind.

    Just over an hour later after a nice quick sail we were entering the small harbour of Caladh Mór.
    I entered first, the small harbour of Caladh Mór. If this is big, I'd hate to see Caladh Beag. For those who don't know Irish, the translation is basically large or big landing place. Beag means small.

    There was a bit of a swell so I had to borrow a fender board from Jim as the fenders were complaining about the concrete pier.
    ‘Second Chance’ rafted up to us and after lunch we went ashore to have a look around with the sun having made a reappearance and it got very warm.

    It was a steep climb towards the centre of the island where most of the houses are and nearby on the summit we found another fort, smaller than Dún Aengus but this time a complete oval shape called, Dún Conor
    The small church nearby has an altar made by Padraig Pearce’s father and windows by Harry Clarke. Not things you expect to find on a small isolated island.

    Brian and Jim followed the signs for John Millington Synge's chair where he sat while writing 'The Playboy of the Western World' etc. Angela and I waited for their return on another chair while admiring the view towards Inishmore and the mainland.

    Eventually they arrived back and we went in search of the island’s only pub, sat outside and had lovely pints, this time in proper glasses. Angela stuck to a
    G & T.

    We had lasagne for dinner and later tried to watch tv but the signal kept breaking down. Ireland playing away held Hungary to scoreless draw so maybe I didn't miss much. I listened to Johnny Creedon on the radio instead.

    Brian had an early night while i stayed up reading before eventually retiring to my cabin with the gently constant swell rocking me to sleep.    Read more

  • TravelerKeeping Ireland to Starboard
    Day 17

    A quick sail back to the mainland

    June 9, 2021 in Ireland ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C

    A ferry came in at 08.00 but I stayed in the bunk and caught up with the news and read as the weather outside sounded miserable.

    We were both up just before 09.00 and had a look outside. The weather sounded much worse down below than it actually was but it was still cold and cloudy.
    The fender board did its job during the night but the pier chewed up the ropes tying it to the boat. Wonder what the fenders would have looked like without it?
    (Note to self-Get fender board before next season)

    Conditions didn’t allow us to visit Inisheer, the smallest of the Aran Islands as there is no harbour and you have to anchor off, so instead we were heading to Rossaveal on the mainland where Jim and Angela were leaving ‘Second Chance’ as they had to return to Cobh for about a week while Brian and I were going to continue onto Sligo where I’d wait until they caught up again.

    We had a slow breakfast and I replaced the ropes on the fender board before giving it back to Jim. It was about 10.30 before we got going.
    ‘Second Chance’ got a head start as we were delayed in the harbour as a ferry entered.
    There was a good wind allowing up to have a broad reach and we soon closed up on them and were delighted with our sailing ability until we saw that they had only the genny unfurled while we were under full sail.
    We both dropped our sails off Cashla Bay eight miles later and we followed ‘Second Chance’ in.

    Pádraic the marine superintendent, was on hand to take our lines on the fine marina in Rossaveal. It’s nice to see our taxes being put to good use.
    The marina was doubled in size in recent years and there is another application in to increase it yet again by about 30%.
    Facilities ashore had been delayed by covid but were being built while we were there.

    Jim had gone to Irish college nearby so he knew his way around and lead us on a walk to Carrarue which looked close enough across the bay from the marina but Angela and I were soon wilting on the 8 km walk as Jim and Brian stepped it out and we tried to keep up.
    At least there was a pub at the end of it and we got Chinese takeaways and brought them back to the boat in a taxi and settled in for the night.    Read more

  • TravelerKeeping Ireland to Starboard
    Day 18

    Plenty of wind and a free dinner

    June 10, 2021 in Ireland ⋅ ⛅ 12 °C

    Again it was back to being showery, windy and cool. For once I was up before Brian I was wondering when the summer was going to arrive? We have had brief spells of lovely weather but I was getting fed up of this.

    We weren’t going anywhere today unless we walked as Rossaveal is about 8 kms from any centre of civilisation.
    After spending much of the morning doing domestic chores we all got together in the afternoon for a ‘short’ walk along the coast.
    It was very breezy, probable blowing 25 to 30 knts. so we were glad we weren't going anywhere but at least it was dry and even a bit sunny.

    We got together for drinks which this time included dinner on ‘Second Chance’, Angela had made too much and being gentlemen, the crew of ‘Eureka’ helped her out before returning to our own boat.    Read more

  • TravelerKeeping Ireland to Starboard
    Day 19

    Feck the forecast!

    June 11, 2021 in Ireland ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

    Woke up at 08.00 and listened to the wind in the rigging.
    Not going anywhere today. So much for the winds to drop last night and us to be leaving sometime today. So no need to get up soon.

    Brian and Jim headed to the showers and we held our morning briefing at 11.30 and decided . . . . to stay put.

    After lunch the lads went for a walk but I stayed put as Brian had been cleaning most of the morning and I had to up my game and spent the afternoon exploring the depths of the fridge as I cleaned before attacking the bilges and doing the same to them.

    Having explored the fridge I discovered we were heavy with beer and light on food. maybe we should go on a liquid diet?

    We joined Jim & Angela again as it was their last night aboard as they were heading home in the morning and had a pleasant evening before returning to Eureka known we are definitely sailing tomorrow.    Read more

  • TravelerKeeping Ireland to Starboard
    Day 20

    Drinking in the rain

    June 12, 2021 in Ireland ⋅ 🌧 15 °C

    We were up early as we are leaving today. Yipee!!

    We headed or the showers and back on the boat we had porridge for breakfast.
    Now normally I don't have porridge in the summer but this doesn't feel like summer.
    Over the past few days we have been getting messages from Cobh and Dublin asking us if we're enjoying the heatwave.
    Yes, we know Ireland is basking in a heatwave from watching the forecasts but while the rest of the country are splashing on sun protection we are sitting in a small area bad weather sitting right over us and it ain't budging.

    We said goodbye to Jim & Angela who had to walk a few kms to the cross roads to meet the bus and at the same time Brian and I left the marina at 10.00 and hoisted the main, motorsailing until out of the bay and the wind no longer on the nose.

    We had to keep a lookout for the many rocks that were waiting for the unaware but soon the genny was out and had a lovely sail west across Greatman’s Bay and on to Gotams Point.
    We took the inside passage and passed the many islands reefs and rocks, remembering to give a bow while passing McDara’s Island, an old tradition of the Galway Hookers.
    The tradition is to actually dip the mainsail but we decided to modify it slightly while still giving proper respect to the patron saint of the hookers.

    Soon after we changed course to the north towards Roundstone and as we entered the bay it began to rain gentle.
    We had just enough water to get over the bar but we couldn’t see any visitor moorings so anchored in a pool close to the pier and went ashore in the dinghy.
    The rain stopped for long enough for us to have a walk around the village and do some provisioning before sitting outside ‘Doyle’s’ having a pint under the awning as the rain began again, then we headed back to the boat.
    Shame, we had a lovely sail to get here and it looked a lovely place, just a pity about the weather at the end.

    Brian made the dinner which included adding a glass of wine, the rest we drank.
    We talked and talked for the rest of the evening before Brian went to organise his cabin and I wrote up the log.    Read more

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