ICC visits Clare Island

The ICC fleet anchored at Clare Island

Clare Island at the mouth of Clew Bay was once the home of the pirate queen, Granuaille, otherwise known as Grace O’Malley.  We sailed out of Rosmoney in the evening with James Cahill aboard so we could be there in the morning. We had a nice early dinner with a few of the ICC crowd at the Community Centre as they serve food only until 7 pm. We called it quits early and had a pleasant night aboard. 

Before the lunch gathering at the Sailors' Bar, many took in a short loop around the east end while others took showers and did laundry at the Community Centre. There weren't many people around as it was still early in the season. In fact, the Sailor's Bar opened just for us but did take in quite a few tourists as well. They managed a nice BBQ lunch with massive burgers, baked potatoes and salads. 

After lunch, Carl O'Grady gave a talk about the history of Clare Island since megalithic times. He's a storyteller, not a historian, and it was an easy listen. After that, we all walked up to the Abbey. It was sad to see how the paintings on the ceiling had worn away, with plaster falling off in many places. That is tragic. 

For dinner, I had the great idea to invite several of the boats over to Aleria for a pizza party. There's a young woman named Alice with a daytime cafe who is industriously making pizzas in the evening near the pier now. We all placed our orders, and Alex and Neil, the single-handed British sailor stranded in Clare and serving as our water taxi driver, picked them up. As we were preparing, another yacht arrived from Northern Ireland having suffered abysmal conditions. 

First, the crews of Ree-Spray and Gaia arrived, then the crews of Aniar and Nimrod arrived and took their places. Neil was invited to take part as well. The drinks flowed freely, the pizzas were consumed with gusto and the talk was hilarious. James and Neil had impeccable off-colour comic timing. All of us remarked that we haven't laughed so hard in years. 

It was a great day to remember on Clare Island.