Pinned down on Inishbofin

Alex and I were back to double-handing from Inishturk to Inishbofin as James had abandoned ship in Turk, opting to ride back to Clew Bay with Jarlath and John aboard Nimrod. Our sail to Bofin was quite nice despite the wind being southerly as we headed south. 

Our dinner on Bofin was scheduled for Murray's Doonmore Hotel Bar and Restaurant. We had ordered a water taxi which was fortunate as conditions that evening were to be a bit boisterous. The ferry captain's son, Charlie, was our driver. He had a brand new boat that was perfect for the task and another friend assisted people in boarding and disembarking. What a nice young man he is, and a very pleasant and informative skipper. 

We walked up to the hotel early as our dinner was scheduled for 6 pm. We convened for drinks at the bar, met up with some new attendees arriving by land, and then shifted to the event room at the back of the hotel, which is a labyrinth of corridors leading every which way. We occupied several tables and were offered a buffet dinner of chicken curry or beef stew. 

It was St John's night and several crew members climbed the hill to join in on the bonfires ashore. It's a tradition to light a fire, share a meal and float flowers out to sea. 

The following morning, we made a quick trip ashore to reprovision. We stopped in the church for the first time and visited the craft shop on the way. The conditions were to deteriorate by noon and they did, rain and wind lashing across the harbour. That meant everyone was confined to their boats. Just about everyone remained on anchor watch through the night. 

Additionally, the weather forecast was dire for the next two days afterwards which meant we were stuck in Bofin without even being able to go ashore much. Plus, we'd be needing to cancel the Commodore's raft-up in Gorteen and the dinner ashore in Kilkieran. Meanwhile, Ray O'Toole the organiser of this section was still sick with Covid and could not attend any of the events. Fortunately the gastropub was grateful to have advance warning of the cancellation. 

Some of the faster boats opted to leave on the morning of the third day when there would be a weather window for the sail around Slyne Head. We'd made inquiries and were informed that there was room in Rossaveal to accommodate us all. As we watched the weather forecast change by the hour, it soon became clear that the smaller boats would not have the time required to make the journey safely before arrival of our worst conditions yet. Gaia and Aniar made the break for it and reached Rossaveal having been able to tie up securely in the marina with little time to spare before the next gale hit worse than the previous. They were able to take a bus trip to Galway the next day so their time in the region was fruitful. 

We opted to leave on the morning of the fourth day when the seas would be 2-3 meters but the wind would have abated. Still southerly, it had enough west in it to make a fast but boisterous passage to the Aran Islands. As we arrived at Inishmore, just ahead of us were Aniar and Gaia sailing across from Rossaveal. The last two boats, ReeSpray and Ballyclaire, waited until the day of the Inishmore event to sail over.