Aleria's Adventures

We are conducting our Happy Hooking webinar online this coming Saturday, May 4 through Seven Seas University of the SSCA. It will begin at 1100h EDT and we'll be broadcasting from the west of Ireland. You don't have to be a member of SSCA to join in. Anyone can listen in and ask questions in this interactive online session. If you've never taken part in a webinar, it would be a good idea to test your system in advance as it requires a small download to activate. We'll be including new material from the latest edition of our book, which has been trending at No. 1 in anchoring and Top 100 in sailing books on Amazon. You can sign up online here . SEA102: Happy Hooking - the art of anchoring Speakers: Alex and Daria Blackwell Saturday, May 4, 2019 11:00am EDT Registration fee: $20 members, $25 non-members The Happy Hooking - The Art of Anchoring webinar is loaded with valuable information on anchoring tackle, anchoring technique, tying up and rafting, and anchori...

For Immediate Release Contact: Alex Blackwell Ablackwell@knowledgeclinic.com White Seahorse Publishing announces the release of the 3rd edition of Happy Hooking – the Art of Anchoring. USA and Ireland, 13 February 2019 – White Seahorse Publishing is pleased to announce the third, expanded edition of the best-selling book on boat anchoring, “Happy Hooking – the Art of Anchoring”. Receiving consistent five-star reviews from verified purchasers on Amazon, the authors and licensed captains, Alex & Daria Blackwell, reworked and updated much of their book. This latest edition includes new gear, new reviews, many new illustrations and much more. “Anchoring is a subject very close to our hearts,” says Capt. Alex Blackwell. “Not only does confidence in anchoring have important safety implications but sitting in the cockpit on a lovely evening anchored in a spectacularly beautiful location watching the sun set rates up there with the most enjoyable things one can possibly d...

Use your chartplotter's features to your full advantage By Daria Blackwell Don't let your boat run into the navaid that's between two waypoints.  In a companion article to the one posted last week, today I am covering the positive aspects of GPS use beyond navigation that many people don't take advantage of.  You have lots of capability in that instrument, and it pays to make full use of it.

On Saturday the 11th January we conducted a Happy Hooking seminar on  boat anchoring on behalf of the Great Lakes Cruising Club. We had 17 people strewn all over the United States tuning in to us in Ireland. Lucky for us that day the weather cooperated so our wireless internet connection held true. Sometimes, the gales here in the west of Ireland blow the antenna just enough off course to lose signal.  Half way through, nevertheless, the connection to the "webinar room" just shut down.

Morning brings dense fog yet again Bumper boats and and crystal waters Onyx watching the action  We decided it was so beautiful, we’d stay an extra day in Tinker’s Hole. Besides, overnight a fog settled in so we used that as an excuse – we wanted to be able to actually see Iona! We’d been moving about every day and sometimes twice a day, and we just needed to chill. That’s what cruising is supposed to be. Drop anchor and stay awhile. So we were permitting ourselves an extra day. It was a beautiful sultry morning, people postponed departure until the fog lifted, but all the boats eventually left except one other.  

Parting Company Vicki and Paul aboard Nokomis Daria studying the coast pilot We agonized over the decision. Should we continue on with the OCC fleet which was heading around the bottom of Jura and back up Jura Sound where we had just been, or should we part company and head north while we had a good window to do so.  The forecast was for westerly wind of about 15 knots today, dying out to less than 5 knots and variable the next day as another high settled over Scotland and all of Europe. That high was to remain in place for at least a week.  If we went south and then around Jura, we’d be motoring all the way north after that.  We’d had enough motoring, but we really wanted to stay with the group.

Making way out of Clew Bay. Well, sort of. Aleria on her mooring in Clew Bay Greetings friends! We're off to Scotland, well sort of. As usual, it's a bit of a story. It’s been a while since Aleria took off on an extended trip, and it has been an interesting couple of years for Alex and me.  If you recall, we arrived in Ireland after crossing the Atlantic for the third time and started cruising up the coast when a big old heavy wooden fishing trawler ploughed into Aleria broadsides while she was at anchor.  We were thankfully ashore. So, Aleria went to the Shannon for repairs while we started a new business to keep us busy. A year later in 2011, we got her back, better than ever and cruised the islands off the coast of Ireland in our home waters.  We went to Galway for the Volvo Ocean Race finale, sailed to the magical Aran Islands, then Inishturk, Inishbofin, Caher and Clare.