A winter project

We have not done any sailing this year. Aleria is in the water in Kilrush but we have not gotten there. The weather has been pretty miserable all of July and August is not faring any better. July was the wettest July on record, four times wetter than last year. And it's been cool. May and June were hot and dry, July and August are wet and cool. Despite the North Atlantic being warmer (4C warmer off Ireland), we've had no hurricane activity since Don mid-July. Nevertheless, NOAA and others are predicted a more active hurricane season than normal for 2023. 

What's happening around the world is actually quite scary as climate breakdown is obvious now. Last week, a firestorm on Maui fanned by Hurricane Dora which is now a typhoon, destroyed Lahaina and its harbour. I so remember sitting at a restaurant sipping a cocktail and enjoying the buzz of the historic town in the 1980s. Walking over to the harbour and oggling the schooners and other classic yachts and imagining sailing there one day. We never made it to the Pacific and aren't likely to now. At 69, I'm slowing down and I truly believe that Climate Change is going to change cruising indelibly.

So we are refocusing on our land life, having built a large shed that will house our winery and our fleet of small boats in inclement weather. Among them is the Black Demon, a classic Century Boats speedboat from the 1950s. 

I love what we've built here. I don't want to leave it. My wanderlust has flown away.