Aleria's Adventures

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 ...

We've been to Kinsale in County Cork several times by boat and we love it there. This time we went by land, driving there via Kilrush in County Clare where our boat is on the hard. It was an Irish Cruising Club (ICC) Committee meeting and Alex is a member. I'm a member of ICC but not on the Committee so I get to tag along without having to work. Aleria with Lilly our new VW Passat Estate (2017) Aleria was just fine in Kilrush, propped up nicely and firmly against the shed. Alex hooked up electrics while I scraped the few barnacles off the prop and bottom. They came off so easily. We shortly continued on to Cork and got stuck in abominable traffic trying to get through the middle of the city. I was driving our new used car - an amazing VW Passat Estate. It was the first time I've driven in city traffic in many years. We checked into the Trident Hotel just in time for Alex to make his meeting. Dinner with Maeve and Adrian Bell was a joyous occasion at the Black ...

View from Knockranny over Croagh Patrick, Clew Bay and Clare Island For the past two weekends, we have taken part in the annual meetings of first the Irish Cruising Club and then the Ocean Cruising Club. I am a new member of the ICC this year, which has about 650 members in Ireland. I am a flag officer of OCC, which has about 3000 members around the world.

Crown Estate approves new wave and tidal installations   Last week, two separate proposals from opposite sides of the Atlantic drew the attention of groups that represent the interests of boaters.  Although very different issues, they illustrate what happens when a body makes decisions in the absence of input from all affected parties. A case in point is the Crown Estate's eager approval of proposals by commercial ventures to explore wave and tidal energy installations. This is not a go-ahead but it is a nod in favour of continued development. What they failed to take into account is the precarious navigation in some of the chosen locations. The RYA, rightly so, and the ICC on behalf of Irish cruisers, are preparing arguments against such development.