Aleria's Adventures

Visitor moorings in Clifden By Daria and Alex Blackwell Pontoon at Clifden Boat Club makes access easy This summer, we spent a month sailing Ireland’s beautiful southwest coast. We encountered many foreign vessels, more than we’ve ever seen before, mostly from Britain and France. The first questions a cruiser asks when arriving in a new destination are: Are there visitor moorings and are they secure and easy to pick up? Is the anchorage sufficiently protected from wind and seas and does it offer good holding?  What type of bottom composition does it have? Where is the access to shore? Is it a pontoon, a pier, or a beach? How can I dispose of garbage and recycling? Are there showers and toilets ashore? How far are the closest restaurants and pubs? Can I get water and fuel? Is there a shop for reprovisioning? Are there laundry facilities? What's the best thing to do here?

Jenny in Lofoten (OCC Jan Isaksen) I spend the winter thinking about where to go and what to do the next summer. Living here in the west of Ireland makes it difficult because that's the best time at home as well. Do we really want to leave our flower gardens, berry patches, orchard, vineyard and vegetables to someone else to tend while we go off on adventures via sea?  That's always a hard question to answer.