Aleria's Adventures

Pat Adair handing me the Wild Goose Cup As a member of the Irish Cruising Club, I am now expected to contribute to the Annual and ICC Newsletter from time to time, which I have done. My first contribution to the Annual technically did not qualify for any awards because it was about sailing over to Ireland which was too long ago to qualify. This year, I wrote about our return to Ireland from Galicia. I was totally taken aback to open the hefty tome of the Annual when it arrived and to see my article as the first in the book and labelled as having won the Wild Goose Cup. The award is not for a cruise per se but for the literary merit of the story that was written. The adjudicator thought mine was the best-written log in the book! Happy Daria! Coming from the Irish, who hold literary ability most sacred, I have never felt more honoured. The Awards were presented on Friday evening after the AGM. To hear the adjudicator's reasons for selecting my work almost brought tea...

I just found my notes from a diesel mechanics course I took at Mack Boring in NJ years ago. According to Larry Berlin of Engine City Technical Institute, the following points are the critical things to do with a diesel engine, specifically a Yanmar: Follow the engine manufacturer's Operations Manual.  Get a service manual. Operations Manual tells you what. Service Manual tells you how.  Keep fuel oil (diesel) tank full at all times. Top off from 5-gallon spare to keep condensation down and keep algae from growing.  Fill water in lead acid batteries even if they are labelled maintenance free. Clean wire connections with wire brush or sandpaper, put on dielectric grease , and cover with electrical tape. Tighten all nuts, bolts, and hose clamps at 50 hours. Every 50h retorque cylinder heads. Head gaskets blow at about 400-500 hours if you don't retorque the heads and adjust valves. New service manual (15 years ago) says its no longer needed to do. Tighten hose ...

Jim Wilson telling what is known of the first Antarctic Explorer, Irishman Edward Bransfield Yesterday, we got up long before dawn to attend the Irish Sailing Cruising Conference. Held at the National Yacht Club in Dun Laoghaire, it was a sellout. Driving there was a chore for Alex, as storm Dennis had arrived that morning with lashing rain and high winds. But as we got closer to Dublin, the weather cleared a bit. It rained most of the day, so it was a good one to spend indoors. Driving to Dun Laoghaire as Storm Dennis approaches. Note the masses of cranes marking Dublin's skyline.  After a warm welcome from Harry Hermon, CEO of IS, and Gail MacAllister, organiser of the conference, the packed agenda kept the pace up the entire day. Harry opened by acknowledging that there are far more cruisers than racers in the world of sailing and that cruisers have been underrepresented and underserved by the sailing world representational bodies. He asked for input on how IS can...

For some, the joy of sailing  has to do with the thrill of tacking and jibing around in circles for honours, fighting storms and powering through calms, then retiring to the bar to recount a victory at sea. For me, the joy of sailing comes with the thrill of sighting land and dropping anchor in a foreign harbour to find the lone stillness of remote places we have yet to explore, but not tonight. This night, our anchor grips firmly  to the sediment beneath our keel and we rock gently into deep slumber, when uncomparable peace descends, no worries about anything at all,  in the anchor we trust. 

After being on the Ocean Cruising Club (OCC) Committee as the Chair of the PR & Digital Communications SubCommittee, I also took on environmental programmes or citizen science initiatives and an effort to create a series of papers on Best Practices in cruising. Things calmed down and we stopped hearing complaints daily. In fact, we started hearing praise. When the Chair of the Awards Subcommittee stepped down, I was asked to co-Chair the subcommittee with Jenny Crickmore-Thompson. There was too much on my plate and it wasn't fun, so I wasn't unhappy to give up a portion of it, though I still maintain the PR aspects today. An opening came up for a new flag officer, and I was convinced by several Board members to run for the office of Rear Commodore. I wasn't sure that was a good idea, but they convinced me that the OCC needed my level headed thinking. I fell for it. I won the seat uncontested. My first act was to write a paper to the Board proposing rationale why ...

Founding members of YOFS John, Alex, Sam (not qualified) and Toby When Hurricane Lorenzo passed through this past October, he made a direct landfall over Clew Bay. The eye passed right over our house. It was blowing pretty hard but not as hard as had been predicted. We had several sailors (Toby, John and Sam) sheltering at our house and we amused ourselves by establishing the Old Feckers Society. YOFS is now officially in service to yachtsmen the world over as they reach the age when everything becomes a struggle. We completed the objectives of YOFS when Toby returned to pick up Truant with two friends from the Lake District, Mike and Richard. Really interesting guys. The harder we laughed, the more seriously we took it. Do you qualify to join? Ye Olde Feckers Society (YOFS) Purpose:   A fellowship of grumpy old curmudgeons who suffer from CRS (Can’t Remember Shite) and wallow in self-pity. Clubhouse:  The Old Salt Gathering Place Events: ...

I've been a volunteer with the OCC since about the time we returned from our Atlantic circuit in 2010. I joined OCC after our third Atlantic crossing, having finally met a member who could sponsor me. It would have been much better to have joined before we sailed off, as some of the difficulties we experienced might have been ameliorated. But that didn't happen. It wasn't as simple to join then as it is now, with online applications and global referrals. There were serious obstacles then, one secretary in particular. So I joined when we settled in Ireland, and Alex joined several years later when the joining fee was waived for joint membership applicants. Soon after I joined, I was co-opted by John Franklin onto the Strategy Team led by Beth Leonard. Our purpose was to determine how the OCC could alter the profile of the organisation from stagnation to growth. For years, the OCC had barely enough new members to make up for those resigning and passing. Beth and I wo...