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