Aleria's Adventures

Aleria in Kilrush We splashed Aleria in Kilrush over two weeks ago now. Actually, it was July 10. We had intended to go down once more and clean her up some more, hank on the sails and dodger, finish cleaning below and servicing the generator, before bringing her home in a 2-3 day passage.  After 9 days of temps in the high 20sC low 30sC in the shade, the weather has broken and today it is cool and raining. What a relief! There's a status yellow alert for rainfall and thunderstorms but I don't think we are going to have them. Ours today is a gentle rain. Ally and Gilly came by for lunch after visiting at Ross House and we were able to sit outside but on the porch avoiding the sprinkles.  I'm sure I am going to miss the incentive to go swimming and kayaking on the Bay but not the exhausting heat, and catching up on the gardening and the polytunnel will be useful. And of course, a weather window to bring Aleria home would be welcome. There has been little to no wind, and

Fog over Clew Bay as seen from Mulranny.  We had visited Blacksod Bay and Elly Bay by sea before but had never actually gone ashore. Yesterday, we needed to get cow matting from the manufacturer, Cow Comfort, in Belmullet. So we stopped in Ballycroy to see Marie Wood's art exhibition in the Ginger &Wild Cafe, went on to Belmullet picked up the cow mats and then decided to go to the end of the road at Blacksod Bay. It was a beautiful day for a car ride and a gander. On the way there, we saw a most extraordinary sight -- fog or low cloud over a segment of Clew Bay, likely an inversion as the weather had suddenly turned quite warm.  Marie's art exhibition was superb. Her work is always impressive, but this selection I found especially appealing. My favourite piece was called 'Let there be light' but I loved them all. The views from the Cafe and visitor centre were beautiful but we didn't take the time to walk the loop as it was a bit breezy and we wanted to be sure