A Spin Around Baltimore Harbour

Taking Inishceim down from Oldcourt

The winds were supposed to be calmer today, and I was hoping to go up to Oldcourt to see if the Ilen was there, even if the tides were not going to be favorable for heading up-river in the morning. But then Mary phoned and said that Con is bringing Inishceim down from Oldcourt and do we want to go with him? We decided to do that instead, so we drove over to Oldcourt and arrived just as Inishceim was being lowered into the water by the massive Travel-Lift. 

We climbed aboard, and shortly after leaving we passed by Liam Hegarty’s boatyard where the Ilen was tied up among several yachts and fishing boats, looking very good indeed, and very nearly finished. I cheekily ask Con if we can get a bit closer for some photos. The tide is falling and he doesn’t want to hang around, but he does what he can to get us in for a closer look.

We have a lovely trip down the river, spotting birds, seals, sheep, and cattle! The wind is rising, and it looks like the afternoon will be blustery. I convince Eileen to accompany me for a last sail of the season in the harbour. The forecast was for the wind to die down by afternoon, and I had fingers and toes crossed, but it didn’t. 

Conditions are not looking great and the fact that only the windsurfers and racing keelboats are out gives an idea of how windy it is. I don’t bother trying to single-hand, and take full advantage of Eileen’s help. The boat is heeling a lot, so I try easing the main sail. But even with that we are still heeling more that I would like. It’s also difficult to tack, with the bows being blown off before coming through the eye of the wind. A few times we’re forced to wear around instead. We don’t last too long, so I take down the sails and Eileen helms as we motor back to the mooring. I go to the bow with the boat hook, and we pick up the mooring buoy on the first try. I row Eileen ashore and come back to tidy up myself. I take everything off and load up the dinghy. Tiernan will be taking Treo back to Roaringwater to be lifted out on Friday or Monday.

Treo selfie: Rob, Laura, and Eileen

Another season is over, and this year I had the satisfaction of achieving a major goal, that of taking Treo to Cape. Along with that came the challenge of dealing with a recalcitrant teenager! In the end a satisfactory compromise was found and that’s the main thing. But I'm still secretly hoping that Laura will find a boyfriend who is into sailing!