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East Ferry

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    • TravelerWest Cork here I come
      Day 1

      East Ferry Marina

      July 17, 2022 in Ireland ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

      Sitting on Eureka sipping a can of beer with a book in my other hand.
      Starting to cool down in the gentle breeze but still in T-shirt and sandals
      Looking forward to an earlyish start and south easterly winds and nice sunshine.
      This beats the med any day 😉      Read more

    • TravelerA cosy boat
      Day 1

      Off to Falmouth

      May 28, 2017 in Ireland ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C

      Having got Eureka to Ireland we spent the rest of the season day sailing and had a voyage as far as Castletownbere in West Cork where Maeve's brother in law was giving a talk on sailors from West Cork who took part in the battle of Jutland. It was as good a reason as any to head west.

      We had always planned to have heating onboard as the temperatures in the North Atlantic are much cooler than those in the Mediterranean.
      I had got a good quote at last years Southampton Boat Show but I had to bring the boat to them and not the other way around.
      So we were starting 2017 by heading to the south coast of England to get the heating fitted to Eureka.

      We put a plan together and basically it was to get to Lymington quickly, get the heating fitted and then cruise back slowly calling to the Helford River & Isles of Scilly before crossing the Celtic Sea for home.

      My brother Declan was joining me for the outward journey and Maeve, Chris and her husband Eddie would join me for part of the return journey.

      Maeve brought Declan and I to East ferry early but it was 09.30 before we were ready to leave. Then we remembered the spare bottle of gas.
      We had so send Maeve home again to get it and at 10.15 we were ready at last.
      We waved goodbye and motored down the ferry and set a course for Roches Point at the mouth of Cork Harbour.
      By the time we passed Roches Point at 11.20 we were under full sail and the engine was off.
      Outside the forecasted NE wind was in fact East and stronger than expected so we soon put a reef in the main and a few rolls in the genny and we raced SE towards Land End at 7 knots on a close reach.

      Unfortunally it wasn’t to last and in the afternoon it began to rain and the wind died but came back up later so we had plenty of practice taking out and putting back in, the reefs in the sails.

      We turned on the engine for an hour but that was only to charge the batteries. The rain eased and we had a pleasant night and calm seas.      Read more

    • 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

    • TravelerKeeping Ireland to Starboard
      Day 1

      Introduction / False Start

      May 24, 2021 in Ireland ⋅ 🌧 15 °C

      The winter had a strange effect on many sailors.

      It is often too windy, cold and wet to think about going sailing and for others like myself who have out boats out of the water it’s just not possible anyway.
      So instead we sit at home reading sailing magazines, looking at cruising guides and any of the hardships of last season are quickly forgotten as we instead dream of idyllic voyages to magical islands as we wonder where we’ll go next summer.
      It is always doing to be better next year!

      During the winter of 2020 I had the ‘luck’ of sitting for too long in Jim O’Meara’s company and chatting about ‘next year’.
      Before I knew it, I had agreed to accompany Jim’s boat ‘Second Chance’ around Ireland.
      I’m still scratching my head wondering how it happened as there wasn’t even a drink to give me an excuse.

      Once I got home, I got out the books, the charts and the dividers and began putting some flesh onto what Jim had been talking about.
      I soon had put together a plan which I hoped coincided with what Jim was thinking.
      Mainly it was to day sail around Ireland while visiting as many of the islands as possible keeping in mind that Jim’s wife Angela doesn’t like to be out late.

      Due to Covid we didn’t get to meet too often so the plan remained fairly loose and it was only when we got going that things firmed up.

      Jim picked Monday the 24th of May for a start as the days would be at their longest as we went around.
      I couldn’t argue with his reasoning but I had to get my finger out as I had been thinking of at least a month later and also I needed crew.

      I put out some feelers and I almost immediately a friend of mine phoned and said that he was onboard for the first thirty days.
      Brian has been a friend of mine since we began secondary school and it was he who had first taken me sailing.
      His family had a Vagabond dinghy in Monkstown which he took me out one day and such was his confidence in me that time that I was told not to touch anything on the dinghy!
      I was hooked and my sailing abilities I hope have much improved since.

      Well things were looking up, I was sure to get another couple of volunteers to crew……wasn’t I?
      Yeh! Dream on Fleming.

      Monday the 24th of May arrived but the forecast wasn’t great with WNW Force 4 to 6 winds so we delayed 24 hours.
      Brian and I continued with last minute jobs as ‘Eureka’ heeled over in the gusts at East Ferry marina. Right decision to stay put!
      It’s great to have a deadline to make you do things that had been put off again and again but also to have an extra day at the end to get them finished.
      With a boat you’re never finished………!

      That evening found Jim & Angela aboard ‘Second Chance’ and Brian & I on ‘Eureka’ as it turned out that both crews were planning on sleeping aboard due to the early start tomorrow.
      An invitation was issued and Brian and I joined the O’Meara’s for a glass of wine.
      A pleasant hour or two passed with Brian getting to meet and know Jim and Angela and visa versa and we even put a plan together for where we were sailing to tomorrow.      Read more

    You might also know this place by the following names:

    East Ferry

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