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  • TravelerWas heading for Dun Laoghaire

    A peaceful night in East Ferry

    May 29, 2018 in Ireland ⋅ 🌙 10 °C

    The Moody Owners.......
    Ok better rephrase that, the owners of Moody yachts were holding a rally in Dun Laoghaire so I thought why not join them.
    I had met a few of them at an AGM of the owners association and they seemed a nice bunch of lads who didn't care about how much money or the size of the boat you had.

    We had been in a heatwave which had no sign of ending and Maeve was going to drive up after work on the day I hoped to arrive so everything was looking good.

    Maeve dropped my down to the marina as I was staying overnight with an early start tomorrow. I was hoping to reach Kilmore Quay.

    (The photos are pre-departure the following morning)    Read more

  • TravelerWas heading for Dun Laoghaire
    Day 1

    Hot but little wind

    May 30, 2018 in Ireland ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C

    The alarm went off at 04.20 and I was soon up.
    The sun hadn't appeared and it was dead calm with a little bit of fog.

    I was preparing to spring Eureka's bow off the marina when I remembered some wise words of George Butler "See what the boat wants to do and don't work against it".
    The stern wanted to go before the bow so I revised my plan and sprang the stern out and reversed out instead.

    I motored out of the ferry stowing the fenders and the lines as I went.
    It was stunningly beautiful and peaceful with the only ripples in the water being caused by my wake. I was on my way.

    I passed Roches Point at 05.57 and increased speed under power as it was still flat calm and it turned out it would remain that way for most of the day.

    The sun appeared and burnt off the last of the fog as I was passing Ballycotton and by 09.00 I was off Youghal and listening to the Beach Boys on the radio.
    Life was good and would have been perfect it we had some wind.

    Two large dolphins passed me later but took no notice of me and kept going and soon after I saw a sun fish flopping around on the surface.

    I had hoisted the main off Ballycotton but it did little except steady the boat a little but when I was just east of Dungarvan I had enough wind to sail on a beat into an easterly breeze.

    My destination was Kilmore Quay but with the wind on my nose, my course taking me North East, on a course just east of Dunmore East which meant that I'd have to tack out around Hook Head to make Kilmore.
    The wind was slowly increasing to 20 knots and I put reefs in the main and genny.

    An hour and a half later I decided having had three hours of sailing into a lumpy sea and with the wind strengthening to change course for Dunmore East and go a bit further tomorrow.
    I entered the harbour and rafted up to a ketch, the 'Ilen River' on the visitors pontoon at 17.25.

    I couldn't find the rice so had bread with my curry for dinner before heading up the village where I found someplace to have a coffee and watch the remainder of the Ireland v. France under 20's rugby.
    Despite a strong finish by Ireland, France won 26-24.

    When i returned to Eureka I met 'Mel' the owner of the Barbary Ketch 'Ilen' inside me and guessed correctly from the name of the boat that he lived in Skibbereen.
    We had a good chat and he told me he kept his boat in Union Hall and was on the way to Scotland.

    Soon I felt my eyes begin to close and went down below to put my head down for the night.    Read more

  • TravelerWas heading for Dun Laoghaire
    Day 2

    Around the corner and into the Irish Sea

    May 31, 2018 in Ireland ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

    Woke up in the early hours to visit the heads but when I was back in my berth I couldn't go back to sleep.
    I felt refreshed after my sleep so decided, why not leave now?

    I crept around so not to disturb Mel on the boat beside me and waited until shortly before leaving to turn on the engine and then slowly moved away, leaving the harbour in the dark at 02.45.

    When I turned on the chartplotter shortly after leaving I was blinded by the bright backlight.
    On my previous boat I had a Standard Horizon plotter which was brilliant and had a night time mode which turned on automatically just like the sat nav in a car.
    My new Raymarine plotter doesn't have this and you'd need an instruction manual to discover how to dim the screen.
    I had been so pleased with the Standard Horizon that I had tried to buy a larger model but discovered that they no longer made plotters and I was unable to find even a second hand one for sale so I got the Raymarine thinking that it would be better than the SH budget model. It isn't!

    Anyway after pushing buttons and searching menus as I ranted, I let the autopilot do its job and stayed forward of the plotter as much as possible so I wouldn't be blinded.

    I opted to go south of the Saltee Islands rather than crossing through St. Patrick's Bridge in the dark.
    Once off the Coningbeg Light I changed course and headed east towards the Tusker.
    I was getting about an extra knot from the tide and this increased to 2 knots once I got close to Tusker Rock and I was able to carry the tide with me as far north as Courtown.

    The fog remained with me till midday, sometimes bringing visibility down to half a mile but mostly much better than that. Strangely the fog was not cold or wet. The sun then burnt it off in the afternoon and the temperatures rocketed upwards.

    A pod of Common Dolphins joined me for a little bit but they too found the heat too much and headed off for deeper waters.

    As I approached Arklow the depth sounder showed just how shallow this part of the coast is with its sandy bottom.
    I came across a basking shark feeding on the surface leaving a long lazy S shaped wake.
    There were plenty of pot buoys to avoid but they were easy to spot on the flat calm surface.
    There hadn't been a puff of wind all day so the sails stayed stowed.

    This was going to my first visit to Arklow.
    I motored slowly past the empty disused quays and continued upriver until I came to a long pontoon on the river Avoca, tying up at 13.35.

    The marina manager soon came down to relieve me of some cash and showed me the facilities and told my the best places in the town for food and drink.
    I saw an old price list of berthing fees from 2009 before the crash and was pleasantly surprised that to find the fees nine years later were still 30% less that those of the Celtic Tiger era.

    After a shower I wandered up the quays, bought the Examiner, got a coffee and sat down and chilled out as I read the paper.

    Later when I walked into the town, I found that it was the centre of activity during the 1798 rebellion and also that it was the birth place Ronny Delany, the Olympic medallist.

    The dock area had all the signs that it was once a busy port but now with the big factories long closed, the docks were mostly empty but hopefully will be repurposed for leisure activities in the future.
    It was a nice friendly place and the town itself seems a busy place.

    I returned to Eureka, had my dinner and did a bit of reading afterwards.
    I had an early night as the heat had sapped all my energy.
    I am looking forward to reaching Dun Laoghaire tomorrow and meeting Maeve and the other Moody owners.    Read more

  • TravelerWas heading for Dun Laoghaire
    Day 3

    Made it!

    June 1, 2018 in Ireland ⋅ 🌧 17 °C

    Woke up at 06.30, rolled over and went back to sleep!
    Eventually I got up at 08.00. I didn't have far to go today so was feeling lazy.

    Strangely it was raining when I woke but it had stopped by the time I was ready to leave at 09.30 and it had taken the heat away so now it was now only warm.

    The flow in the river helped when leaving the pontoon and all I had to do was point the bow out slightly and hold position with the engine. As the water hit the keel, Eureka was slowly pushed sideways away from the pontoon and off I went.

    Again, once outside it was foggy but this time the fog stayed for most of the day. I turned on the nav lights just in case with visibility mostly down to about a mile
    The tide was with me as I travelled inside the banks adding 2 knots to my speed as I headed north.

    I discovered on the way that there is a Mizen Head between Arklow and Wicklow Head, which means that at Roches Point, you can turn left as well as right for Mizen Head.
    This one doesn't look half as impressive as our one in Cork though.

    I had to keep an eye out again for pot buoys which are all along this section of coast and I could also hear a ship approaching sounding its horn but couldn't see it, except on AIS.
    It was travelling south at 17.8 knots on a converging course. I turned a little to port to put more room between us and as it passed, it came slowly out of the fog before disappearing again almost immediately.

    At 13.35 I was about 8 miles south of Dun Laoghaire but couldn't see it until I was only 2 miles off the harbour when the fog at last began to lift.

    About 10 miles south of Dun Laoghaire with visibility down to 50 meters another ship sounded its fog horn. It sounded like it was right in front of me but I could see on the plotter that it was a mile away, safely off to starboard. This one passed without ever been seen.

    Shortly afterwards the fog began to lift and the large piers of the harbour began to appear ahead of me when I was still 2 miles off.

    I contacted the marina as there had been berths allocated to the owners assoc. They gave me directions and kindly offer to send someone own to take my lines.
    I was tied up by 16.00 and found that only one other Moody had arrived so far.

    Keith, the owner of 'Oransay' a M42 came over to welcome me in.
    He informed me they had sailed from Plymouth and were heading for Scotland, stopping off at Dun Laoghaire to catch up with friends at the rally.

    Later when Maeve arrived, we joined him, his wife and his crew for coffee. Brexit was a hot topic for them as Keith was a brexiteer while his crew Eric was a remainer. Little did any of us know that was ahead for all of us.
    Sadly Keith told me they were on their last cruise as they were going to sell their boat due to their age.

    Later I treated Maeve to a slap up meal in Burger King and we wandered happily back to Eureka in the early hours    Read more

  • TravelerWas heading for Dun Laoghaire
    Day 4

    Don't forget your tie if......

    June 2, 2018 in Ireland ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

    Maeve and I had a lazy morning.
    After showers we had a chat with Keith & co then we met Jimmy Kelly who had organised the rally. He invited us to visit his boat, a M38 for coffee.
    Jenny, his wife made us welcome and we were soon joined by Roy Totten & his wife Paddi (Patricia) who travelled by road from Carrickfergus.

    Maeve and I returned to Eureka, did a bit of tidying and chilled out till it was time for the visit to the Maritime Museum where we spent a pleasant hour or two. Part of it was a guided tour by an very pleasant elderly gentleman. All the staff are volunteers.
    On the way back to the marina we did a bit of provisioning.

    Later, all spruced up, we went ashore to the 'Royal Irish Yacht Club' where dinner had been organised by a member of the assoc. who is also a member of the club.
    Luckily I had been able to contact Maeve before she left Cork to ask her to being a jacket and tie. They are compulsory in the club or at least in the dining room. A bit over the top in my opinion but I was the guest and it was those were the rules. They do have some jackets and ties available for those who turn up without.
    The meal was lovely but no one dared take off their jackets at the table.

    The company was good and Maeve and myself had a very enjoyable evening. Some of us stayed in the club to have a drink or two before heading back to the boats in the early hours.    Read more

  • TravelerWas heading for Dun Laoghaire
    Day 5

    How the other half live

    June 3, 2018 in Ireland ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

    Brian & Brenda were dropping in today and we are going for a short sail.
    Brian had introduced me to sailing way back in about 1976 in a Vagabond dinghy from Monkstown and despite the fact that he moved to Dublin over twenty years ago, we still sail together on a yearly basis.

    They arrived at noon and we set off hoisting the mainsail before we left the harbour. We had a lovely breeze and decided to head towards Dalkey Island where we planned to have lunch before sailing back to Dun Laoghaire.

    We had a beat south towards Dalkey and had a good quick voyage.
    I got Brian to helm while I took a back seat and kept an eye on the navigation as I hadn't been in this area before.
    We went outside Dalkey Island and tacked around the south of the island before dropping the sails.

    As we entered Dalkey Sound Maeve thought she saw a man in the water and wanted go over to check if he was ok.
    Her eyesight for once was better than mine and it was only when we got closer I saw a man clinging to a waterlogged kayak.
    There was a crowd ashore looking at the scene but strangely none had been waving to attract our attention as we motored towards them.

    There is a strong tide in the sound and the kayaker was being swept south and out to sea. If Maeve hadn't seen him, he would have been out of sight of the shore in another ten minutes and I doubt he would have been able to hang on for that length of time given the temperature of the water.

    I manoeuvred Eureka so that we'd be able to pull him aboard via the stern steps as the sea was calm and made sure the engine was in neutral when we got close. He was very weak from the cold and we had to pull him aboard and then see to his kayak. We soon had him wrapped in towels and the girls were pouring hot drinks down him to warm him up.

    It turned out that he had been kayaking along the shore with his dog. The dog got a fright, jumped overboard and headed for the shore. The kayak overturned as a result and he couldn't get it upright or onto it.
    What I can't understand is that none of the onlookers had rang the coastguard or waved to us when we got close. We did get a cheer from the onlookers when we had him aboard but nothing beforehand.

    Once he had recovered we went as close to Coliemore Harbour as we could and dropped him off in his kayak where he was reunited with his dog.
    We then headed back out to Dalkey Island and anchored off it.
    Brenda had prepared a lovely lunch but due to the cool breeze we decided to eat in the saloon rather than the cockpit.

    We left the main down and just unfurled the genny for the run back.
    We passed many of the huge houses on the shore. One even had a crane to lift a rib into a boathouse. No hard labour with a block and tackle for that family.

    We tied up on our berth with a bit of help from Jimmy before saying goodbye to Brian & Brenda.
    Maeve and I then headed for dinner at friends of ours who live in Dun Laoghaire where we had a late night before returning to Eureka.    Read more

  • TravelerWas heading for Dun Laoghaire
    Day 6

    Tall ships and Maeve heading home

    June 4, 2018 in Ireland ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

    Maeve was heading home later so we stayed put in Dun Laoghaire and explored the town.
    We went for a walk along the long east pier and watched the tall ships leaving Dublin Port while we enjoyed ice-creams in the sun that had returned this morning.

    Maeve headed away at 16.00 and I headed to the marina office to get a new bottle of gas as I began to get the Eureka ready for tomorrow.

    We had decided seeing that the weather was still excellent that rather than going straight home that I'd continue north, and visit a friend of mine in Warrenpoint. I had been threatening to visit by sea for over twenty years, time to call my own bluff.
    Well, I had done the hard bit getting to Dun Laoghaire so it would be a shame to turn back now?
    Hence the title 'Was heading for Dun Laoghaire....'

    I was settling in for the evening for an early start tomorrow when I got a phone call from my friend Tom who we had dinner with last night.
    He too is a sailor and he was thinking of joining me for the trip to Warrenpoint but when he heard that I was planning to leave at dawn he had second thoughts.
    He rang me back 10 minutes later and said he'd join me and stay onboard tonight. Great.

    Veronica his wife dropped him down to the boat and stayed for a cuppa before going home, reassured that I'd look after her hubby.
    We sat and talked for a bit before having an early-ish night.    Read more

  • TravelerWas heading for Dun Laoghaire
    Day 7

    Always wear a lifejacket!

    June 5, 2018 in the United Kingdom ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

    I woke before the alarm and got up at 03.40 and Tom was not far behind me.
    We very quickly got ready and left the marina at 04.10 in the dark and without a puff of wind.

    I contacted Dublin Port for permission to cross the shipping lanes but I think that I must have woken them as they were a bit cranky.
    We headed north towards Howth Head leaving it about two miles to port as we had breakfast 'on the go'.

    Shortly afterwards it began to get bright and a bit of a breeze began to come up however we reached Lambay Island at 07.00 before it was worth hoisting sail and turning off the engine.
    We were soon sailing on a close reach at 5.5 knots which later increased to over 6 knots when we put more distance between us and the coast.

    Tom was very impressed with the speed of Eureka.
    It was great to have a good wind as we headed north past Drogheda.
    We needed to eat up the miles as we had to be entering Carlingford Lough by 16.00 at the latest due to the strong tides at the entrance.

    We made great time and had a comfortable fast sail up the Irish Sea reaching the mouth of Carlingford Lough at 13.16.
    When we entered the lough the tide was adding 2.5 knts. to our speed over ground as we flew past the buoys which due to the strength of the tide are mounted on boat shaped hulls.
    We furled the genny on the way in to give us better visibility but the entrance was not as difficult as it looked on the chart.

    We had a nice sail up the lough passing first the village of Carlingford with its marina on the southern side. Then Rostrevor on the northern side where Mary McAleese is from, before reaching the town of Warrenpoint.

    We had problems contacting the port on the vhf and it was only when we were close that they picked up signal.
    For some reason they would only give us permission for one night instead of the two we had asked for.

    We were berthing on the visitors pontoon next to the main port and as we came alongside, Tom jumped off a few seconds early, just before we came to a complete stop.
    Because of this he stumbled backwards as he landed and couldn't stop himself from falling off the far side of the pontoon.

    Luckily he was still wearing his lifejacket which inflated and fair dues to him, he never left go of the line and had the presence of mind to wrap it around a cleat which was within reach before thinking of saving himself.

    As it was the amidships line, Eureka was now not going anywhere and I was able to jump off within seconds of the incident and help pull him back onto dry land.

    My friend Ger had been waiting for us at the town pier but we had tied up at the town dock, a similar name but a different location.
    She was soon down to us as Tom changed and then instead of whatever we planned to do, it was back to Ger's house for a shower and to wash and dry the clothes.
    Except for a bruise, probable got when being dragged out by me, he was none the worse for his experience.

    The three of us later went out for dinner and tired after all the fresh air, Tom and I headed back to Eureka for a good nights sleep.    Read more

  • TravelerWas heading for Dun Laoghaire
    Day 8

    Tourists

    June 6, 2018 in the United Kingdom ⋅ 🌙 20 °C

    I got up and headed ashore to look for the showers leaving Tom to continue his dreams in the forecabin.
    Found the ladies showers and there was someone inside but couldn't find the gents.
    A few minutes later while still searching I heard a shout behind me.
    It was Tom!
    He hadn't been in the forecabin............he was in the ladies!!
    He had already been there...done that....whatever about the t-shirt.

    We had been invited to Ger's for breakfast so off we went up the hill to her house and later Ger took us on a tour of the surrounding area in her electric car.

    It was both Tom's and my first experience of travelling in one and were both impressed on how quite it was inside. There were many steep climbs but with Ger using the braking regeneration going back down, we didn't loose much range.

    Anyway back to being tourists.
    Ger took us up the Mourne mountains, to Cloughmor which is a big rock with brilliant views of Warrenpoint and the surrounding area.
    We then headed for the southern side of the lough and up Flagstaff Hill where we had great views of the lough.

    It turned out that Tom's father was from Warrenpoint and he remembered visiting his relations when he was young.
    Ger knew his uncle and showed him where he lived as she drove him around the town which brought back many pleasant memories for him.

    We dropped Tom off at Newry train station for his return journey to Dun Laoghaire.
    I took Ger out for dinner to thank her for her hospitality and we wandered back to her house with a few cans for beer to continue our talking but soon I headed back to Eureka as I just couldn't keep my eyes open.

    Right, the weather was still good with no change in the forecast so seeing that I'm so near Scotland ...............ya, you guessed it. I'm heading north!    Read more

  • TravelerWas heading for Dun Laoghaire
    Day 9

    Lovely Ardglass

    June 7, 2018 in Northern Ireland ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

    The alarm went off at 07.30 and I was leaving the harbour an hour later.
    It was flat calm and I didn't hang around waiting for a breeze as I needed to get to the mouth of Carlingford Lough before the flood started.

    Shortly after leaving a 'Seatruck' ship left the docks behind me and slowly caught up as we travelled down the lough. I kept a close eye on him and I increased my speed thinking I might get out into the open sea before him but shortly before the 'narrows' at the exit of the lough it caught up, so I moved future out of the channel to give it plenty of room to pass.

    It got very hot during the morning and I was nearly at Newcastle 4 hours later before I got enough wind to sail. From there I had enough wind for a close reach doing about 4.5 knts. for the remainder of the day. It was a pleasant but not fast sail and I ended up deciding to pull into the small harbour of Ardglass rather than continue onto Bangor which had been my original intention.

    I called up the marina and was told to tie up wherever there was room.
    Having examined the photo of the marina in the sailing directions, I decided to tie up to a long pontoon on the outside if there was space.
    There was, it was empty!

    I was tied up by 15.30 and went ashore to the office where I was giving warm welcome by the elderly gentleman on duty. The marina seems to be a community run enterprise and it proved to be a nice spot to break the voyage.

    I wandered up to the village and got an ice cream at a shop.
    The gentleman behind the counter informed me that he had been an extra in the 'Game of Thrones' as were two of his sons.
    I've never watched it... yet.... but looking at his beard and hair I had no reason not to believe him. He would have fitted into the cast of the 'Vikings' no problem.
    (a few years later I saw him being interviewed on TV about it, he was telling the truth)

    There is a castle in the middle of the village and a golf course overlooking the sea with an impressive castle-like clubhouse just south of the harbour.

    I wandered up to the supermarket and got some provisions and on the way back to the harbour, spied a Chinese restaurant and decided why not?
    I dropped the provisions to the boat and headed back for a takeaway and sat eating it in the cockpit with a glass of wine as the sun slowly went down.

    I tried to read for a while but by 23.00 I headed to bed suffering from more fresh air sickness.    Read more

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