Aran islands

Hazel’s parents were our first visitors from the UK. Their planned ferry was cancelled due to bad weather so they didn’t arrive in Dingle until gone midnight after a tortuous drive right across Ireland in the rain. We treated them to a night in a marina but I’m not sure this was fully appreciated when we told them we planned to set sail at nine the following morning!



After waiting three days for fair weather, we didn’t want to miss our window and we had two amazing sails, from Dingle to the Shannon river, and from there to Inishmore, one of the Aran Islands. Unfortunately for Hazel’s parents this meant a long drive each day to meet us at the other end, and in the case of the Aran islands, a ferry trip too! For us as well, it was a full 10-hour sail each day but the conditions were perfect and we enjoyed our first 'proper' sailing (without the engine) almost since leaving the Exe.

It turned out to be a wise decision to keep moving as the wind did its usual trick of blowing at gale force for the next three days. We moved from the anchorage to the sheltered harbour wall but even so, there were real waves inside the inner harbour. Our boat was fairly still but the two yachts tied alongside of us were jumping about nicely and water kept crashing up over our deck.



Weather aside, we had a warm welcome from the local community, where the ‘Ros Ailither’ was based in the 1960’s. Michael Conneely, son of the then-owner, was waiting for us at the harbour after being told of our imminent arrival by one of his colleagues at the airport who had flown over us as we were sailing towards the island! His father had owned the Ros Ailither for several years and Michael had spent a couple of years fishing on her.



Sadly, Michael's father, Martin, is now physically unable to climb on board but he came down to the quay to take a look at his old boat bobbing at anchor. Michael’s brother appeared the next morning with a load of fresh fish and prawns for us, and we had a fairly constant stream of visitors who knew the boat or had fished on her. One man showed us which of the old coffin-bunks was his for a year and a half!

Between rain showers, we managed to explore the island. With Hazel’s parents we found a secluded beach to take Katie for a paddle, and took a ride on one of the tourist horse and carts. Mac the driver told us how much the island has changed. For one thing, all the little fields partitioned by stonewalls used to be full of potatoes to sell at the big Galway market. This has been killed off by cheap imported potatoes. The main income now comes from tourism, hence the masses of hired bicycles, tour buses and horse and carts that fill the tiny roads. Not a peaceful place to walk unless you go off the beaten track.



As soon as you are off the two main roads, you feel like you have stepped back in time. The stone walls go on forever, but nowadays the fields are full of grass and the odd cow. It is quite a bleak place, fully exposed to the Atlantic winds and with hardly a tree in sight. Lots of the old stone houses have been abandoned and larger modern houses built next the ruins. It is beautiful in a rugged way and there are some lovely quiet beaches, with weird and wonderful eroded lava rocks and gritty grey sand, reminiscent of those sand ‘pictures’ you turn upside down. There are at least a good selection of pubs to while away the rainy days. And of course a vast selection of hand-knitted Aran jumpers to keep you warm, but at €90 a go, we gave those a miss!



We also had the Whittons to visit, as they were nearby in Ireland. They caught the ‘Happy Hooker’ ferry from Doolin but were less than impressed with the wild seas that made everybody on board seasick. We tried to revive them with a hot bath, a pint of Guiness and a meal of local salmon and mash but they were still on for an early night. Happily for us, they were willing to babysit and Dave and I joined the neighbouring boat crew for a trip to the pub to hearsomne live music. The musicians turned out to be three young brothers (aged 14, ten and eight!!) and gave an incredible performance of traditional Irish music and dance!



The wind finally abated a little on Wednesday and, after waving the Whitton off on their return ferry, we set out to sea again. Michael Conneely came down to see us off at the dock and his father watched us head out to sea with all sails set.

Dingle Bay

Well, all my talk of rabbits seems to have turned the weather against us!
The force 3 or less forecast for our trip from Schull turned out to be a force 5, gusting up to a 7. And of course from the wrong direction (NW), so we had a pretty bumpy trip motor-sailing into the seas. Luckily both Katie and Jessica (also aged 2) had a good long sleep after lunch, as Kathy and Fergus (aged 7) were feeling rather seasick and unable to move much.

approaching Castletownbere

Thankfully, they both made an immediate recovery on entering the smooth waters of the harbour, where Simon was waiting for us, and we all went for a pint in the famous McCarthy’s Bar. From here, they had to drive home in time for Simon’s gig and we said a fond farewell. We have enjoyed our two short days together - dining on Bantry Bay mussels & beer, visiting Simon & Kathy’s idyllic cottage, (complete with vegetable patch and free-range chickens), and taking the children to the local playpark with a stunning view over the bay. Thanks guys!



True to form, we had another day of strong winds to wait out in Castletownbere. We took the dinghy to nearby Dunboy Bay, had a walk ashore to see the castle ruins (dating from 1602) and found a tiny beach for Katie to practice throwing pebbles in. We also found three half-sunken shipwrecks so that kept Dave happy.

From there, we have come to Valentia Island, at the head of Dingle Bay, this time with no wind to speak of but a nice bit of leftover swell. We passed several uninhabited offshore islands – The Cow, the Calf and The Bull off Dursey Head, Puffin Island and the impressive Skellig islands. The smaller one of these is a gannet-breeding site and the other used to be home to a group of 12 monks, living a tough existence in tiny igloo-shaped stone huts from the 6th century onwards.

Just as we entered harbour, we heard yet another gale warning on the VHF. So we are now anchored in a quiet (but rolly) corner of Valentia Harbour and have an amazing view of endless green hills dotted with a few houses and the odd ruined castle. Directly behind us is ‘Glanleam’, the former home of the Knight of Kerry, one of whose ancestors was responsible for laying the first trans-Atlantic cable from Newfoundland to Valentia Island in 1866. Apparently there are also footprints from prehistoric tetrapods somewhere on the island.

The Barracks

The weather was still ok this morning so we took the dinghy the 2 miles to Cahersiveen for a wander ashore and ended up at an amazing castle-type building known as The Barracks. This was built by the British in 1870 to protect the transatlantic cable station after it had been threatened by a serious Fenian uprising the year before. It was later gutted by fire and left derelict for years before being turned into the current Heritage Centre. Katie wasn’t too impressed by all the history but she did enjoy climbing the spiral staircase up the turret!

By far the most amazing experience in this historic place was to arrive back after a bouncy dinghy ride (wind picked up by now) and find dolphins frolicking near our boat. They were playing right next to a group of children merrily capsizing sailing dinghies near the beach and we sat watching on deck for ages. Magic!

Rabbits

There are many superstitions on boats.
Don’t wear green. Don’t whistle. Don’t leave port on a Friday. Don’t leave port on the 13th. Definitely don’t leave on Friday 13th! Never say ‘rabbit’.
I don’t know the origin of this one but I do know that when I inadvertently uttered the word on a friend’s passenger boat the atmosphere in the wheelhouse became icy. I worried that a calamity might befall us simply from the change in mood of the skipper. Very disconcerting…

leaving the Scilly isles

Just before we left Topsham one of Dave’s parents’ friends gave Katie a fluffy rabbit. She was so delighted with it that I couldn’t throw it away, but I did hide the rabbit in her toy box before setting off. Just in case!
While waiting to leave Scilly, we went for a hike around St Martin and came across lots of rabbit droppings. Back on board, Katie kept talking about this ‘rabbit poo’. Could this be a bad omen?
We left Scilly in rough seas and since Katie couldn't walk around, she wanted me to sing to her. Which song did she choose - ‘Hop little bunnies!’ And insisted on me singing it over and over again.
On all these occasions that ‘silly’ superstition came into my mind. What if it did all mean something?



It seems the rabbits didn't bring us bad luck and, once the seas had calmed down, we had a good trip to Ireland, covering the 150 miles in just over 24 hours.
We arrived in Schull harbour, near the Fastnet rock, and were met by friends who live nearby. Guess what their little boy Fergus brought out to the boat with him? Billy the bunny rabbit! Which prompted Katie to dig out her bunny too...

We spent a day and a half in Schull while more strong NW winds blew through. Kathy and the children are now about to join us for the 20-mile trip up the coast to Castletownbere at the mouth of Bantry Bay. Bunny rabbits permitting! And anyway, Dave is flouting the most basic rule of all – no women on ships! He has two on board…

passing Clear Island on arrival in Ireland

Scilly Isles

Some progress, but slow!
We spent three days in Falmouth while strong westerly winds blew through. We had our fill of delicious pasties, managed to find some second-hand charts for Ireland, caught up with friends Graham and Heather and even went swimming twice. However, the ₤10-a-night anchoring charge didn’t sit too well with Dave so we moved 5 miles down the coast to the lovely river Helford (and free anchoring!). From there it was a long day’s motor-sail to the Scilly Isles, where we are currently anchored.



We spent a rolly night off the main island of St Mary’s, then moved to neighbouring St Agnes, where we walked across the island, sampled the delicious local ice cream and wandered around ‘The Maze’, a curly puzzle of stones apparently set on a ley line.
Katie enjoyed perching in the front of the dinghy for a visit to the puffin colony on Annet island, where we also scared a sleepy seal off his rock!






We had strong winds and rain yesterday so had moved to a more sheltered but remote anchorage at St Helens Pool. After a drizzly morning expedition ashore, we spent the afternoon holed up on board with two fellow yacht crews, sharing a roast dinner and several glasses of wine!
The seas have subsided today and the sun is back out but still no obvious weather window for the 160 nautical mile-trip to Ireland.
While we are waiting, we are surrounded by different islands to explore and plenty of sandy beaches to keep Katie amused.

Off to Ireland

Ros Ailither is on the move again after a year of near total inactivity. We left the river Exe on Thursday 2nd July to begin our summer trip around Ireland.
We hope to sail to the Fastnet area then hop up the west coast to Killybegs, where the boat was built more than 50 years ago (in 1954). We have planned several stops along the way to visit friends and hopefully a couple of previous owners of the boat. We aim to go around the top of Ireland and back down the east coast via Dublin. All, of course, depends on the weather!

The first leg was a short hop to Brixham where we met up with an old friend and had a pleasant evening dining on fresh Exe salmon and catching up.
Dave’s brother Ian and friend John joined the crew for the second leg to Plymouth. John seemed to enjoy the day and took a long stint at the helm as we sailed up into Plymouth Sound.
Ian started out well, helping Dave hoist the main sail and entertaining Katie but soon succumbed to seasickness and spent the rest of the trip laying prone on the hatch getting sunburnt! I think he recovered after a hearty meal ashore.

The third leg took us from Plymouth to Falmouth, where we are now waiting for a big low to pass through before heading off around Lizard Point and out beyond Lands End.

Incidentally, Katie has been fine with the motion!