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!

Baltimore Harbour Single-handed Failure

The Cove, Baltimore

Yesterday ended with a beautiful red sunset, so theoretically I should be delighted. But the weather is turning for the worse. The forecast is reasonable enough to go for a sail, but it's a bit complicated to organise. The girls have an appointment with the hairdresser in the afternoon so I’ll realistically only get an hour of sailing, but I want to practice some more single handing.

Arriving at the boat, it feels much windier than it has been lately. I’m preparing the boat to leave, going through the list as quickly as I can. I’ve been trying to reduce the amount of time required to get the boat ready to sail, as that is always an issue with the girls. We head out to the boat and they are ready to go, but then it takes another 30 minutes before me and the boat are ready.

I’m concentrating on ticking things off my list when I notice something floating in the water next to the boat. Upon closer inspection I realise that it’s my boom crutch! I grab the boat hook and stretch over the side and am just able to hook it before it drifts away. Whew. I've been trying to get Eileen to read items off the list for me to check off, or to check off things herself but I just can’t seem to compress the procedure any further beyond 20 minutes. I think it’s related to the fact that the weather can get very bad even here in the harbour so it is important that things are done properly. I’m just not willing to take short-cuts on stuff which might come back to bite us later. This time I rowed out and prepared the boat myself, then went back in for Eileen when everything was ready.

I set up my temporary mooring bridle, start the engine, and slip the bridle. I motor us out from among the moored boats and find a bit of clear water. I tie off the tiller and point to windward under engine while I try to raise the mainsail. The bows blow off immediately, and it’s a real struggle to stay clear of the numerous dinghys, kayakers, and moored boats. I give up and ask Eileen to steer to windward while I hoist the sails. We have a good bit of sailing, reaching back and forth across the harbour. It’s already time to head back in, so I point towards the pier and go forward to take down the staysail. 

I get the idea that it might be a good idea to leave the mainsail up while picking up the mooring. I rig the bridle and prepare to pick up the mooring buoy from the cockpit. I come downwind of the buoy and turn sharply to windward, shifting the engine into neutral as we approach the buoy. Unfortunately I misjudged things a bit and cut power too soon. We don’t have enough way on to reach the buoy before the bows blow off. We start coming around with the main uncleated and soon I realise we are going to gybe. Eileen warns me that the boom is coming across, and I try to slow it down but it’s too late. I slow it down a bit but it still flies across with some speed. Thankfully nothing is damaged except my pride, but it’s another lesson learnt! I hadn’t thought about the possibility of an uncontrolled gybe if we missed the mooring buoy and had to go around again.

I sheet in the main tightly and approach the buoy again. This time I judge the drift better and I’m able to pick up the buoy and feed the bridle through the mooring loop. But a strong gust blows the bow off before we drift back on the bridle, which leaves us beam-on to the wind, hanging awkwardly from the mooring. I release the bridle, and just then as we start to circle back towards the channel the Sherkin ferry is about to enter the harbour and gives us a hoot of his horn, letting us know he is there and warning us not to cross his path. The shame!

I give up and ask Eileen to go forward with the boathook to pick up the mooring buoy, which she does first try. She helps me furl the main, but she has to get going to her appointment so I row her ashore and come back to finish tidying the boat myself. This was a very humbling experience after the previous successful single handed outing. This time there was a lot more wind, and more traffic as well. But pretty much nothing I did worked. 

Techniques that were fine in a feeble breeze are clearly not up to the job when the wind is gusting to force 4 or 5. I’m going to have to rethink some of this, and obviously it’s also a question of practice and experience. I found the actual sailing part to be relatively easy but the transitions were very difficult. Especially hoisting and dousing sails in a busy harbour with gusty wind. The one thing that sticks out is the need to be able to easily fix the tiller, go forward to sort something for a few seconds, and be able to take over steering again quickly. I’m going to have to try to rig some kind of tiller tamer or maybe even look into tiller pilots. Although there is a question of whether or not we have sufficient capacity to power a tiller pilot. 

I’m also pretty sure that I’ll be asking Tiernan to fit lazy jacks this winter, to ease handling of the mainsail. Treo already has a lot of string and I’ve been hesitant to add any more, especially due to windage, but the main is just too big to handle easily by myself. Especially on a lively boat like this which does not have a lot of momentum. In any case, I’ve got my work cut out for me.

13/07/2018

F3 gusting to F5 

R & E 

Baltimore Harbour

Cape Clear > Baltimore

Overlooking North Harbour on Cape

The night was blissfully calm and quiet. We get up and make a leisurely start before heading to Séan Rua’s for a full Irish breakfast. We have a very enjoyable breakfast at one of the picnic tables on the pier. Then we get Laura ready and send her off back to Baltimore on the 12:00 am ferry. Again, it feels a bit strange seeing her head off by herself! We’re waiting for the tide to turn and the wind to come around to the west southwest, se won’t be leaving ourselves for another few hours. . 

In the mean time, I’m thinking about pictures I’ve seen of the castle ruins on Cape and wondering if we can get a closer look at it. We start by heading to the Tourist Office and asking if there is a path leading to the castle. The girl there tells us to walk past the graveyard, then take a left and another left. There will be a strand or you can go through the fields. We head up the road, pass the graveyard, turn left but then find ourselves unsure about where to go next. We decide to head off across the field, and find ourselves overlooking the spectacular remains of the castle perched on a tiny island of a rock jutting out into the ocean. We can even make out the Fastnet Rock in the dip between the main island and the promontory on which the castle is perched. 

Dún an Óir castle

We walk back to the pontoons and prepare the boat to leave. A group of sailors off another boat walk past on the pontoon and heap more praise on Treo. We slip our lines and Eileen drives us out of the harbour and into Roaringwater Bay. The weather is calm and there is almost no wind at all. I keep trying different combinations of sail before giving up and taking them down again. As we pass the Catalogues the wind finally arrives from the west. We raise the sails and have a cracking sail through the Sound and into Baltimore Harbour. A Laser sailboat approaches from astern as we pass the Narrows Ledge off the northeastern tip of Sherkin. I’m tempted to put out more sail but I restrain myself. A bit of tweaking of the sails is sufficient to keep him astern. Laura is watching from the Jolie Brise and texts to say “where are you going to turn for Baltimore?”.

11/07/2018

F0-3 

Sunny and hot

R & E 

Cape Clear to Baltimore

Baltimore > Sherkin

Sunset on our Sherkin Island anchorage

The weather has been so unbelievably good that I’ve been hoping we might make an overnight trip to Cape. I’ve been watching the forecast wind direction especially, because with a south-west or north-east wind we could sail across on one tack. Beating to windward for two or three hours to Cape is out of the question for the girls. I have to make this as easy and enjoyable as possible. It looks like things are coming together with a favourable forecast for Cape and back. But in order to make the falling tide out of Baltimore Harbour we will have to make an early start. That seems to be almost impossible, so I hatch a plan to sail across to Sherkin in the evening, anchor off and sleep aboard. Next morning we’ll be ready to get an early start no problem. 

Well, maybe one small problem in that Laura doesn’t want to go. I try to find out what is bothering her, if she afraid of capsizing or sinking or drowning or something? No, it's not that, she just doesn’t want to go. A grumpy teenager face that does not respond to logic. She’s fine taking the ferry across, but she doesn’t want to sail over. She doesn't like sailing. My plan is getting more and more complicated. I can't force her to come with us, so I propose that she sails with us across to Sherkin, spends the night onboard, and then takes the ferry back to Baltimore first thing in the morning where she will catch the Cape ferry and meet us in Cape. Unless the wind ends up being unfavourable for Cape and we end up heading for Schull instead. In which case we will text her and tell her to get the Cape to Schull ferry and meet us in Schull. What could possibly go wrong?

We head across to the lee of Sherkin and anchor off in our usual spot. There seem to be many jellyfish around this year. We see several of them from the boat. Won’t be swimming here… We cook up a pasta dinner, which for some reason always tastes ten times better than it should when cooked on board the boat, anchored in beautiful surroundings. We turn in early, and things start out so well. Calm, quiet, peaceful. Sleep comes quickly, but unfortunately doesn’t last very long. First there is the squeak. Where is it coming from? Ah, I think I found it. Lash the tiller a bit tighter and head back to the bunk. But then again maybe it wasn’t the tiller. There it is again. Getting louder. This scenario is repeated several times over the next few hours with various other bits of the boat being tightened, lashed, and snugged down. The one positive aspect of this is that there is a clear sky and the view of the stars is simply amazing. 

In the end I give up on the squeak, partly because I’m too tired to care anymore, and partly because there is something even more annoying which has taken over my attention. The current combination of wind and tide have set the boat rolling, wallowing back and forth. See-saw see-saw see-saw. Ugh. Sleep comes eventually, but is shortly interrupted by the alarm clock.

9/07/2018

F1-3

R, E, L

Baltimore to Sherkin

Baltimore Harbour Single-handed Success

Single-handing!

Our first week has passed and we have to vacate Number 3. We pack up our suitcases and tidy up the house. Back in Creagh we help Danny bring in the cows. The weather is still good, with light winds forecast for the day so I’m hoping to go sailing this afternoon. Laura says she is not interested, and I’ve been thinking to myself that it would be very useful if I were able to single-hand the boat. Then I wouldn’t have to rely on an unreliable crew, I could sail when the girls can’t or don’t want to sail. So Eileen agrees to accompany me for a few hours today where I will try to do everything myself and she will be there if I need help, or to call for help if I fall in!

Before heading out, we stop at Bushes for a toasted sandwich and a drink. We get a table outside on the square, which is busy with holiday-makers taking the sun. While sitting there, I feel something hit my shoulder. Looking over, I see that a seagull has dive bombed me! Crap! Literally!! I wipe it off as best I can with a napkin and remind myself that this is in fact supposed to be good luck… I place the dirty napkin on the table in front of me, and it just sits there. Doesn’t even flutter. I can’t believe it, I’ve never seen it so calm in Baltimore. This weather really is exceptional.

I decide to go with the jib and main, as the jib can easily be rolled away without having to go forward. For getting on and off the mooring, I’ve been studying some of the methods in a book called “Stress-Free Sailing: Single and Short-handed Techniques” by Duncan Wells. Already, the title of the book is reassuring and inspires confidence. Duncan describes a technique where you set up a sort of bridle to the mooring which can then be released from the cockpit. Coming back to the mooring you reverse the procedure, and pick up the mooring with the same bridle from the cockpit. It all sounds good in theory, and I’ve gone over and over it in my head, but I can’t help thinking of the old saying “In theory, theory and practice are the same, but in practice they are different”. We’re about to find out! No pressure there…

Eileen lounges in the cockpit enjoying the sun while I go through my check list. I’ve given her strict instructions not to touch anything, and she seems fine with that! There is just a hint of a breeze as I start the engine and release my Duncan Wells mooring bridle. It works like a charm. Maybe this won’t be so difficult after all? I motor out past the moored boats and quickly hoist the main sail. Then I unfurl the jib and adjust the set of both sails. I sit back in the cockpit and quickly realise that I can let go of the tiller and Treo sails herself! I put my hands behind my head, look over at Eileen and let out a woo-hoo! It doesn’t get any better than this! 

We sail around a bit more and I realise that I need a better self-steering solution, since the cleat-to-tiller rope I’m using doesn’t really work. Also, with the light winds the jib sheet gets stuck on the forestay and I have to sprint forward to free it. I start the engine, take in the sails, rig my bridle, and prepare to pick up the mooring. I start my approach and Eileen reminds me that I might want the boathook! Oops, that might come in handy. I approach the mooring buoy, put the engine in neutral, and try to hook the pick-up line. I miss and the boat drifts away from the buoy. I go around and try again. And again. But this time I snag the pick-up line and thread my bridle through the loop. Cleat off the end and wait. The boat drifts back and lies on the bridle. Another woo-hoo! I sort out the real mooring lines and tidy up the boat. We meet Laura in the Jolie Brise and order apple pies with ice cream to celebrate my first successful single-handed outing (with emergency back-up just in case).

7/07/2018

F1 - F2

R, E

Baltimore Harbour single-handed

Baltimore > Sherkin > Baltimore

Tying up to the pier on Sherkin

The plan for today is to sail around the bay a bit, stop in on Sherkin, and return to Baltimore. We prepare to set off, checking things off our list. I hank on the staysail, but then I can’t find the staysail sheets. I take it down again and put it back in its bag. We’ll go with the main and jib and I'll figure out the staysail later. We prepare the main with the intention of putting in the first reef but then end up putting in the second one too, and decide to just go with that. The first sail of the season can be like that sometimes, where things don’t come easily to hand, don’t seem to fit, or can’t be found at all! Human and machine both need time to get back into the groove.

The winds are light and we sail around the harbour a bit but I’m very conscious of not wanting to overdo things. The girls can quickly get bored of seemingly going around in circles in the harbour, while I'm loving every minute. Must keep the balance right. So we take in the sails and prepare to anchor in our usual spot off Sherkin. Once we are confident that our anchor is well dug in, we climb into the dinghy and row across to the pier. Tie up to the handrail, then climb the steps and up the hill to the Islander’s Rest where we take our usual table in the bar. The chowder is lovely, and washed down nicely with a pint. 

We head back to the boat and pull up the anchor. The wind has picked up and it’s a bit blustery now so we don’t bother hoisting the sails. We're all feeling a bit tired and lazy. We motor across to our mooring just west of the pontoon, stow everything and row back ashore. We can’t seem to pass the Jolie Brise without going in, the pull is just too strong. And it feels like a bit of a reward for having successfully sailed a small boat around a mildly windy harbour with lots of rocks, tidal currents, traffic, and other stuff that can ruin your day. We deserve it!

5/07/2018

REL, F1-3

Baltimore to Sherkin and back. Sunny and hot. Flat water.

Roaringwater > Baltimore

Kilcoe Castle

We arrived in Cork on Saturday, and drove straight down to Baltimore. We have a house for the first week, at No 3 Castle End. The weather is settled with high pressure, warm and sunny. Con took us out for a rib ride on Sunday. We pottered around in the passage between Spanish Island and Ringaroga, where numerous seals were also enjoying the glorious weather. There’s not much water in this stretch and plenty of rocks so we had to keep a careful eye out. On the way back in, Laura helmed and came out through the gap planing at full throttle. Less of a wake when on the plane, and Laura likes the speed!

Tiernan launched Treo early on Monday morning, and Con and Mary offered to take us and our gear over to Roaringwater in their rib. This is a great help as it means we don’t have to ferry people and cars back and forth. We load all our boat gear plus deflated dinghy into the rib and head off. Laura is once again at the helm and we have to convince her to take it easy, as contrary to her, Mary does not like the speed! 

The weather is perfect, calm, sunny and hot. Con is at the helm now, and he slows down as we approach Jeremy Irons’ Kilcoe Castle. I ask if we can go in closer for a gawk, and he turns in between Manin Island and Manin Beg. We potter around a bit enjoying the spectacular views of the castle from the water. A few minutes later and we’re alongside Treo on her mooring. We drop off Laura and a bunch of the gear, then head for the pier where we will inflate the dinghy. It’s only about half-tide so we need to be extra careful going up the last stretch to the pier without going aground. We tie up and drag the dinghy over to a patch of grass and start pumping. Once she’s inflated we thank Con and Mary and row back down to Treo to find Laura stretched off in the cockpit sunbathing.

Roaringwater pier

We store our gear and get ready to head off towards Baltimore. There is no wind, but I optimistically unroll the jib just in case a breeze picks up out in the bay. We motor our way down, and as we pass the last line of mussel barrels, there is still not a breath of wind. The jib is hanging straight down from the forestay, limp, not flapping in the slightest. There isn’t a ripple on the surface of Roaringwater Bay, except for our wake. I have never seen it like this and I can’t imagine there are many times when it's like this. 

We'll have to motor the whole way to Baltimore, and we found in the past that a full tank lasts about an hour. I’m a bit worried about running out of petrol as a ferry bears down on us, or just as we try to pick up a mooring in Baltimore Harbour. So we stop for a minute at the entrance to the harbour and put a splash of petrol in the tank. Probably not completely in line with health and safety best practices…

We pick up Con’s easter mooring, but the buoy has somebody else’s name on it so we are unsure of having the right one. We drop it and pick up the middle white one, which we are certain belongs to him. A successful, if very unusual, start to the season!

1/07/2018

Rib ride with C, J-A, and D. Laura at the helm. Seal colony off Ringaroga. Full throttle back through Green's Channel. 

2/07/2018

REL

Roaringwater to Baltimore

Winds F4-5 in the AM, then F1-3 by late afternoon. Tiernan back from hols. Launched boat AM. 

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

Baltimore -> Roaringwater

Cape Ferry overtaking us off Sherkin

It's the last day of our holiday, and we agreed with Tiernan that we would bring Treo back to Roaringwater. We dinghy out to the boat, go through the checklists, and motor off the mooring. Then we hoist the staysail and the still double-reefed main and sail out towards the north entrance, or in this case, exit. The wind in the harbour is light, so we decide to shake out the second reef. I'm slightly worried about running out of fuel so I'd like to sail as much as possible. We have a full tank and about a litre in the jerry can but if the wind disappears we might need to motor a lot. I really should have refilled the can... 

Soon we are tacking up the sound, gaining on a small open boat ahead of us. Then to our amazement, a rib comes along and takes the small boat in tow. Cheaters! We grit our teeth and sail on. The wind was forecast to be NW, which would give perfect conditions for sailing to Cape. We’ve been to Cape twice this holiday (once by ferry and once on Inishbeg with Con) and to go a third time in our own boat would just be so perfect. I really want this to happen. But I haven't shared that thought with the others yet for fear of the reaction.

When we come alongside Sandy Island and the Catalogues, Laura wonders why we aren't turning towards Cunnamore and going back the way we came. I tell her there is not enough water in Goose Island Channel at this state of tide, and we'll have to go the long way around. That's a little white lie, because I'm still hoping to make Cape. But I'm also willing to turn around if it's too rough and the girls complain. The wind stays in the west as we beat up between Heir and Sherkin, so I settle for going around the outside of Heir. Continuing on to Cape would be too long and uncomfortable. Although the sea is smooth, there is still a moderate swell left over from yesterday’s strong winds. The Cape ferry approaches from behind and passes on the inside as we head towards Drowlaun Point on Sherkin, and her wake gives us a good shaking up. We had been hoping to see dolphins, as we had spotted a few around here from the Cape ferry the other day, but there are none around today. We even tried calling "Here dolphy, dolphy, dolphy!" but it didn't work.

It's taken us nearly two hours to get this far, and the girls are starting to complain. We decide to take a shortcut between Toorane and Bream rocks, which should knock a few miles off our journey. There's no risk (another little white lie) since there's not much wind and we're near slack tide so it should be fine. As we approach the passage we can see a fisherman in a small boat pulling up pots over on the western edge of the Toorane rocks. It's slightly comforting to know we're not alone out here. Since there is still a risk of strong currents flowing around and between the rocks, we start the engine and motor-sail through the gap. Shortly after passing through we spot a group of 4 or 5 seals swimming near the north side of the rocks. 

The next danger we need to keep an eye on is Anima Rock, lying half way between Heir Island and the Easter Calf. We try to make a heading which will take us west of Anima Rock, but we can't make headway that close to the wind and have to tack to avoid it. We keep in mind Con's tip that you're on a line through it when Jeremy Irons’s castle is visible between the Skeams. 

The wind is finally veering to the northwest, but too late for us to make for Cape, and it means we have to tack up between Heir and the easter Calf. I hesitate for a minute over taking a short-cut between Heir Island and the Skeams, but quickly decide that one big risk and two little white lies are enough for today, so we go outside the Skeams. The wind is now NNW and getting a bit gusty as we pass Horse Island, and Laura is not happy about the boat heeling over. I must remember to let out the main more when we start heeling. We head for Kilcoe Castle, and I tell Laura that we’ll drop the main when we get behind Manin Island, as it will be a bit more sheltered. 

Soon the lines of mussel farm barrels start appearing in the water. We grab the binoculars and try to identify a clear passage through. Finally we grab the iPad and look at the recording of the track we took on our way out, and decide to follow that in reverse. We drop the mainsail and start the engine, and motorsail up Roaringwater Bay, keeping between the lines of blue barrels. When we come alongside Lisheen Pier we turn to port and head for the moorings. I can’t identify our mooring buoy at first, but then manage to pick it out with the binoculars. We pick up the buoy, attach our mooring lines, and prepare to leave the boat. That means taking everything off, as Tiernan will be hauling her out. Con had offered to pick us up with his rib, but in the mean time he got sidetracked by somebody needing help with a pump, and he won't be able to come over. 

After several phone calls, Laura ferries Eileen ashore to be picked up by Julianna, who will take her back to Baltimore to get the car, in which she will return to pick us up. Laura rows back to the boat and we take all the stuff off and row back ashore. As we approach the pier, a fisherman's car and trailer full of lobster pots are blocking the slip. He comes over and gives us a hand to carry the dinghy past and get it up to the top of the slip. We start chatting, and it turns out that his sister was good friends with Eileen in school! 

We deflate the dinghy, but still can’t squeeze it in the boot of the car so we leave it sticking out. And we almost left without the oars. It's been a long day and we're all nearly starving at this point, so what a pleasure when we get home to discover that Danny has prepared a wonderful leg of lamb for dinner. 

Back on the mooring in Roaringwater

Looking back at the sailing we did this summer, several things stand out. When we picked up the boat three weeks ago, Tiernan had left the rolled up jib tied down on deck. There was bad weather forecast, and he wanted to reduce windage and the risk of it coming unfurled. When we left the boat the jib was still lashed down on deck. We never hoisted it. Does this boat have too much sail area? Does this area have too much wind? Probably a bit of both, but it's also related to the level of confidence of the crew. 

There is still a problem with chafe on the mooring lines, as tubing and webbing chafe-protectors continue to wear through. The boom crutch is a big success, if a bit rough and slightly too long to store easily below. Tiernan said he will make a new one over with winter, nicely finished and maybe a bit shorter. 

With respect to the crew, my ears got sunburnt so I need to get a good hat. Laura is afraid of the boat heeling too much and capsizing. Eileen is obsessed with hitting a rock and sinking. At the same time, we are slowly but surely pushing back the limits, getting more comfortable with the boat, and getting more familiar with the area. At least I am! We might not have done much sailing in terms of quantity, but I feel like we got some real quality time afloat, and that's the essential.

Logbook

Friday 29/07/2016

Baltimore towards Roaringwater

R, E, & L

Baro 1012.4 steady

Mostly cloudy, temp 18

Wind W veering NNW F2 gusting to F4 later

The Learning Curve

Summer holidays seem to have snuck up on us this year. We've been so busy between moving and work that we haven't had time to think of anything else. So even when we're sitting on the plane heading for Cork it still hasn't sunk in that we're on holidays. Of course the lack of sleep last night didn't help either. There was the usual 2AM packing in a panic, made worse in this case by the cockpit cushions I picked up over the winter. Hmm, one of these cushions fills half my large suitcase, so taking both is simply out of the question. We also have three sleeping bags, binoculars, VHF, iPad, computers, various boaty bits, wet weather gear. Oh, and some street clothes as well. Good thing I got extra baggage allowance.

Due to ongoing delays in getting planning for the dairy, Treo spent the winter at Whooley's Boatyard. Tiernan from Roeboats launched her on Thursday evening and put her on a mooring in Roaringwater Bay. The weather is not looking good for the weekend and Con will be needing his moorings until Monday, so I suggested to Tiernan that we bring her to Baltimore ourselves on Tuesday. I sense that he is quite busy at the moment and might appreciate not having to bring the boat over, and since our trips up the Ilen and over to Hier Island last year gave us some confidence with the north entrance to Baltimore Harbour, it feels like we are ready for this. The only slightly worrying thing is getting out past all those mussel farms.

Lisheen Pier

Our replacement dinghy showed up last September, and we haven't had a chance to try it out yet. Hope it floats! We unpack the dinghy, oars and pump, and load them into the car along with all the other boat stuff, plus food and extra clothes. Good thing we got upgraded to a bigger car... They gave us a Passat, which has an enormous boot. I suspect that there were loads of these diesel Volkswagens going cheap after the dieselgate scandal, and car hire companies snapped them up. 

We arrive at the pier, unload everything, and try to find a place to leave the car. We inflate the dinghy and carry it down to the water. Wasn't bad to inflate it with the foot pump after all, as long as you're not in too big of a hurry. It floats and doesn't seem to have any leaks, so we load it up with all our gear. I'm elected to row us and all the gear out to the boat, and it's a very long way! At last we get to the boat and transfer all the bags of stuff. Eileen and Laura are busy storing things below while I look things over, and prepare for sea. Last year I made a checklist for departure and found it to be a great help. Don't have to worry if you forgot something. Now I make a point of adding to and refining that list. 

Nearly ready to go. Just need to start the engine and then we can cast off. Kill cord, oil, fuel, breather cap, primer, choke, throttle, no lines in the water. Check, check, check, check, check, check, check, check. Pull the start handle, and the engine starts on the second try but quits after a few seconds. Probably because it's been sitting all winter. Check the throttle position, try a bit less choke, and pull. Doesn't start. Pull a few more times but no good. Maybe it's flooded now? Let it rest for a minute or two as bad thoughts start creeping in. What if it doesn't start? Of course it will start! Why wouldn't it start!? Repeat the process with less throttle, same thing. Runs for a second and stalls. Look for fuel leaks or anything suspicious and try again. Nothing. Verify tank breather is open, but then open the filler cap completely just to be sure it's not an air lock problem. Same thing. Now the bad thoughts are getting louder and I can't block them out. Not only is there the terrible disappointment that we would have to deal with, but there are practical considerations too. What if we can't leave the boat here? Laura is starting to get uneasy and doesn't want to head off on a boat with an unreliable engine. Neither do I, but this engine has always been perfectly reliable and this just doesn't make sense. 

We started off from Creagh later than planned this morning, so now it's well past lunch time. We were going to eat our sandwiches on the way to Baltimore, but it seems like a good idea to eat them now. That will give us some time to calmly deal with the bad thoughts and come up with a Plan B. And who knows, maybe it is just flooded and will sort itself out. We eat our sandwiches while going over everything again. What could it be? It started on the second pull, then died after a few seconds. Has to be fuel related, but the tank is full. Blocked fuel filter? Bad fuel? Water in the tank? Strange because Tiernan brought the boat over a few days ago and would have said if the engine was acting up in any way. 

What about a Plan B? Can the boat stay on the mooring? If yes, then we could take the engine off and dinghy it ashore and put it in the boot of the car and take it to Diarmuid. Or maybe Diarmuid could come over in his rib? If it can't stay here then maybe Con could tow us to Baltimore?  Has to be fuel related. We won't be able to sail out of here with a west wind and those lines of barrels in the water. Not enough room to tack between them. Maybe I'll text Tiernan in case he has an idea. I describe the situation and he quickly replies, asking if we checked the kill cord and fuel tap. Of course we did, ten times! I carefully check the fuel tap again and realise that it is in the wrong position... I had been sure that left was for the external tank and right the internal tank, with "off" in the middle. Logical, right? Maybe so, but wrong!!! Oh crap, the middle setting is for the internal tank and right is "off"... Try again, and the engine starts right up and runs perfectly. Boy, talk about feeling stupid, a right thick eejit as they would say around here. But what a relief! 

We motor out towards the pier and then head southwest, directly into the wind and towards the start of the long parallel rows of floating barrels. We saw a boat going out earlier and try to head in the same general direction. Between the binoculars and Navionics on the iPad, we pick a corridor between two lines of barrels and head for open sea. My biggest fear is getting caught in a dead end and having to run between barrels and possibly pick up a rope in the prop. But so far so good. The sea gets choppier as we clear the mussel farms and pass between Mannin Island and Carraigbhiglas, but we keep on motoring into the headwind. 

Finally we can head south towards Goose Island channel, and I'm looking forward to getting the sails out. Before doing that I take a look around with the binoculars and spot a large flock of sailing dinghies just north of Heir Island. They seem to be racing so we decide to leave the engine on, and wait until we've threaded through them to hoist our own sails. Just as we approach the fleet, our engine quits. Panic! Do something quick! Are we out of fuel? A bit of headless chickening ensues. Laura reports that she has lost steerage, we are drifting on the tide. Thankfully the dinghies are clearing off in front of us. Eileen wants me to refuel quick. The tide is carrying us towards the rock-strewn gap between Heir Island and Cunnamore. I go for the jerry can and start to pour, but then change my mind. What if we’re not out of fuel and engine still doesn't start? Best to get some sail up. I go forward and hoist the staysail. Laura almost immediately reports that she has regained steerage. Whew! With things back under control, I add some fuel to the tank and give it a tug. It starts right away. We turn it off and sail the rest of the way to Baltimore. An eventful trip, and a good lesson in having sails ready to hoist when motoring. Should probably have prepared the anchor as well, just in case. We put our dinghy on the inner pontoon and text Diarmuid to say we'll come by tomorrow to pay. 

Yacht Inishbeg (right) in North Harbour, Cape Clear

Bastille Day brings news of a tragedy in Nice. It's been a bad year for France. The weather turns and it's bad for the rest of the week with rain and fog. Then our friends from France arrive, and they bring good weather with them! We take advantage and do lots of touristy things like Inishbeg Gardens, Knockomagh, ferry to Cape (and see a few dolphins on the way back), a bit of farming, Drombeg, kayaking at Rosscarbery, kite flying at Inchydoney, crabbing in Baltimore Harbour, and walking to the Beacon. 

Con is taking an American couple out for a half-day sailing on Inishbeg, and asks if we would all like to come along. They are hesitating between cruising up the Ilen River or looking for dolphins in Roaringwater Bay. Finally they choose dolphins. Nathaniel is given the helm at one point, and says his dream has come true! We stop off in Cape for coffee and I'm blown away by Con's incredible boat handling to get us into the inner harbour. We return to Baltimore passing through the Gascanane Sound and outside of Sherkin. Conditions are a bit tricky with the wind aft and a fair bit of swell, so we have to be careful of gybing. An exhilarating bit of sailing. The dolphins have been shy so far, but finally just before entering the harbour we see a few in the distance. A fabulous afternoon!

We accompany our friends for a little bit of their journey as they head farther west, going as far as Gougane Barra, where we have a lovely hike in the woods and finally leave them at Glengarriff.


Logbook

Tuesday, 12/07/2016

Roaringwater to Baltimore

R, E, & L

Baro 1016 rising slowly

Partly cloudy, dry

Wind F3 gusting to F5