Sherkin > Baltimore

Sherkin Island in the fog

The morning starts off foggy, the tide is high, and the wind has died down. The combination of tide and breeze is pushing us towards the shore, and the rocky ledge that juts out. But with a high and rising tide we have enough water below the rudder to stay a while longer. 

We have a leisurely breakfast, enjoying the views and watching the birds. Eileen finishes an apple, and is about to pitch the core over the side when I protest. She claims that it will either sink and be eaten by the crabs and fish, or float and be picked up by one of the large seagulls perched on the nearby rocks and keeping a close eye on us. I recount a recent study which found that food waste on the sea bed takes years to disappear, and the deeper the water the longer the stuff sits there. She is not convinced and chucks the apple core towards the seagulls. They barely even look at it and it floats off towards the rocks. Then the biggest of the gulls starts laughing tee-hee-hee, tee-hee-hee, tee-hee-hee...

We tidy up and get ready to head off. We plan to take Danny out for a sail around the harbour today, and we called ahead and agreed to pick him up off the pier in Baltimore. It is foggy with a bit of mist, but visibility is good enough to sail. This will be Danny’s first time out sailing on Treo, and we're not sure why it has taken so long to organise. I guess part of it is that we needed to gain some confidence in ourselves first. 

We motor across and come in towards the inner harbour with Laura at the helm. The two ferries are on the south pier but they are not showing any sign of leaving. There is a whale watching boat tied up to the north pier just above the steps. I ask Laura to go in and do a circle bringing us up alongside the whale botherer. We’ll raft up to him and bring Danny aboard. The whale boat is much bigger and higher than us, and the only tricky bit is making sure not to hit our bowsprit as we come alongside. I go forward and put out a couple of fenders. Laura is a bit stressed by the presence of the ferries and the possibility that they might start to move out, but they stay put and she does a near perfect manoeuvre to bring us alongside while Eileen and I fend off and tie up. 

Ferrying Danny out to the boat

Eileen isn’t sure about Danny going down the ladder to the whale boat and then climbing over to our boat, so she goes over to the steps in the dinghy and picks him up there. Soon we are all aboard and ready to go. Winds are light and we have a lovely time sailing around the harbour. Eventually a light rain starts falling and we decide to come in. We take down the sails and pick up our mooring. After a quick bit of tidying we dingy ashore. Another successful outing!

The next few days are wild and windy and our holiday is coming to an end. Early on the Friday morning, before heading to the airport, we make a quick run to Baltimore for a last look from the Rocket House. Treo is fine, but we notice a small motorboat nearby which is half-sunk on its mooring, the bow pointing skyward. I text Diarmuid as we head for Cork.

Tuesday, 25/07/2017

Sherkin to Baltimore

R, E, & L + D

Fog and light mist

Wind W, F1 gusting to F3

26/07/2017

Dinghy out, 5 gusting 6

27/07/2017

Pay for two more weeks mooring

28/07/2017

Last look from the Rocket House, small motorboat sunk, text Diarmuid

Baltimore > Sherkin

Mad windsurfer in action

Over the next week the weather alternates between very windy and very very windy. With some heavy rain showers thrown in as well. Con gave me a lift out to the boat on Thursday so that I could put the boom crutch back in place. I had noticed from the pier that it had fallen into the cockpit from all the shaking it was getting. I'll have to tie the legs back from now on to make sure it doesn't come adrift. The forecast for the following day showed gusting to F8, so I double check that the hatches are well battened down. On the Saturday after the blow I row out and everything is OK except for a small porta-potty leak. It must have been bumpy out there during the night!

The forecast for the beginning of the week looked much better so we plan on an easy trip across to Sherkin on Monday afternoon, staying overnight and coming back to Baltimore on the Tuesday. The wind hasn't yet died down as forecast, so it ends up being much windier than expected. I suggest to the girls that we just motor over to the lee of Sherkin and anchor off. Thankfully they agree to that, rather than wanting to call it off, and we head across and anchor north of the pontoon. As we approach Sherkin we get buzzed by a couple of mad windsurfers who are zipping back and forth across the harbour at breakneck speeds.

As hoped for, there is good shelter in the lee of the island and we lounge a bit in the cockpit.  I take the dinghy and paddle around a bit, investigating the rocks astern and exploring a short stretch of this jagged coastline. As evening sets in we get ready to go ashore for dinner. 

Dusk setting in on Sherkin Island

We dinghy over to the pier and walk up the hill to the Islander’s Rest. We take our usual table in the bar and treat ourselves to a well-deserved dinner, a drink, and some Wifi. Laura doesn’t finish her pizza, so we get a doggy bag and take the leftovers away with us. We must look like some kind of weird pizza delivery service as we dinghy back to the boat carrying a pizza box…

Thursday, 20/07/2017

Get a lift out to the boat from Con on his rib. Fix up the boom crutch which had fallen into the cockpit. Check mooring lines and prepare for a blow (forecast for Friday). 

Saturday, 22/07/2017

Row out after a wet and windy night (forecast had gusting to F8). All OK, except for a small portapotty leak. Pay for mooring. 

Monday, 24/07/2017

Baltimore to Sherkin

R, E, & L

Baro 1025 rising

Partly cloudy

Wind NW to W, F4 gusting to F6

Inishbeg > Baltimore

Sandy Island from The Sound

We depart late morning near high water Baltimore. We run down the river under staysail only, running and reaching, gybing downwind. Conditions start out relatively calm, and of course things are always calmer with the wind from astern. As we approach Quarantine Island we spot a seal who thinks he is a dolphin. At this point I have to admit that I have no idea what that means, but it’s what I wrote down in my log so I’ll have to go with it. The wind is rising.

We round Quarantine Island with Sandy Island to starboard. The wind is now funnelling through The Sound towards us. I want to put up some main sail, but Laura doesn’t want me to hoist the main. I’m not sure if we’ll be able to beat to windward under staysail only, and in the end that turns out the be the case. We advance at a reasonable pace for a while, but at one point we are heading towards the rocky shore of Spanish Island and we need to tack, but the bow will not come through the wind. We put the engine in gear and Laura steers towards the centre of the channel as I go forward to take down the staysail. We motor back across the harbour to the mooring. 

As we approach the mooring we notice that both the Sherkin and Cape ferries are in the inner harbour and both look like they are about to leave. Hmm… what should we do now? The wind is very blustery now and we decide to go for it. Laura is at the helm with me at the bow with a boathook. I miss the buoy on the first attempt but we spin around and I catch it on the second try.

We tie up and do some basic tidying and then load up the dinghy and head in. The conditions are quite choppy in the harbour, with a strong gusting wind against the falling tide. After a while I’m getting tired of rowing and ask if there might be any volunteers to take over. Laura is game and rows us the rest of the way back to the pontoon while I rest my weary arms. I have to admit she surprises me. She is getting very good at helming and handled the boat very well today in difficult conditions. She can be grumpy and unwilling sometimes but when the going gets rough she comes through in the end.

We take up our usual table at the Jolie Brise and order pizzas followed by apple tart with ice cream. As we are enjoying our meal, the wind dies down and the sun breaks through the clouds. We made it back in one piece. It feels good to be alive!

Tuesday, 18/07/2017

Inishbeg to Baltimore

R, E, & L

Baro 1015 falling slowly

Mostly cloudy

Wind E to ESE, F4 gusting to F6

Baltimore > Inishbeg

At anchor between Creagh and Inishbeg

We land in Cork on July 9th. Accompanying us on the flight is Oriane, a friend of Laura’s who will be spending a week with us in Baltimore. We have a house for the week, the “Bungalow” which has spectacular views from the modern kitchen addition to the side of the house. Oriane is not a sailor, so we spend the week doing touristy stuff. We hike up to Spain Tower, walk to the Cove for some sunset photography, take the ferry to Cape and visit the goat farm, drive to Drombeg, walk out to the Beacon, and climb up to the top of Knockomaugh. The weather is good and the week passes by quickly. Soon we are taking Oriane back to Cork to catch her return flight home. On the way back down we stop off in Kinsale and wander around a bit. 

All this time I’ve been watching Treo swing on her mooring in the harbour. I can even see her from the house. I’m watching the weather forecasts and planning our escape. The beginning of the week looks good, with a few settled days. I manage to convince the crew to head for an overnight trip up the river to Creagh. The advantage being that the trip up/down the river is more sheltered that the bay, or even Baltimore Harbour itself.

We want to catch the flood tide up the river, so we’ll be leaving mid-afternoon. In the mean time we get lunch in Bushe’s but the Wifi doesn’t work so we relocate to The Jolie Brise for coffee and a fix of Wifi. We get a few overnight supplies from Cotter’s and then start ferrying stuff to the boat. I bring back the water tank to fill at the pier, and we are ready to leave at low water.

The crew is not very enthusiastic, and Laura is doing a bit of a miserable teenager impression. To make things even worse, just as we are about to leave she accidentally knocks her sunglasses off her head and over the side. Plop. Gone. She’s really upset but there’s nothing to be done. Winds are light and we are using a combination of motor and staysail to get through the Sound and up the mouth of the Ilen River. Eventually the slow tempo of the river does its magic, and everyone starts to relax and enjoy. 

We spot the seal colony off Ringaroga, and as we come up the west side of the island I spot a pier marked on the chart. We slow down and do some reconnaissance, hoping to be able to come in there and go ashore for a bit. But the only thing we can see is the big storehouse-converted-into-a-mansion and its very private pontoon jutting out into the river. To add to the non-welcoming atmosphere there are two hungry-looking guard dogs running around and barking at us! We are close enough to see the grand piano in the window, and remember the stories of porno films having been filmed there.

Having given up on the idea of going ashore, we continue up the river past Inishbeg, and then try to identify the edge of the channel where we can safely drop our anchor clear of any traffic, and at the same time benefiting from the maximum amount of shelter from the nearby land. We take in the sails and end up finding a spot up towards Barry’s boathouse. With the anchor set we tidy up the boat a bit and start preparing for dinner. The fresh air really builds an appetite! We cook up the traditional pot of pasta with sauce, which as usual tastes absolutely delicious. Food always tastes better outdoors. Unfortunately we forgot to bring the bottle of wine, but once again there is nothing to be done.

Sunset, looking towards Inishbeg

The tide is falling again as night sets in, and the wind has died down completely. The mud bank between Inishbeg and the mainland slowly appears next to us as the water level continues to fall. The mud brings out the birds, who scurry around picking for their dinner. Herons are fishing the increasingly shallow water nearby. A rowing scull passes quietly by on our opposite side where there is still sufficient water to navigate the main channel. 

Darkness slowly falls, and we can hear a dog barking in the distance. The bark sounds familiar, and we are sure it's Josh in Creagh! I hang the anchor light from the staysail halyard, check the anchor one last time, and then we get the sleeping bags out and climb in to our bunks. At first it’s blissfully quiet as I nod off to sleep, but then it starts. Plop, plop, sploop. Splash, bump, knock, knock. Knock knock knock knock knock…

Wednesday, 12/07/2017

Roaringwater to Baltimore

Tiernan

Puts her on mooring 27, about half way between the end of the South pier and the tip of Coney Island. 

Monday, 17/07/2017

Baltimore to Inishbeg

R, E, & L

Baro 1024 falling slowly

Mostly sunny

Wind E to ESE, F2 gusting to F4