Aleria's Adventures

Alex and crew got Aleria down to Kilrush and hauled out last week. But they didn't get to remove the sails and take home all the bedding etc, only fresh food and dirty linens. So yesterday Alex and I drove down with the trailer in tow behind Lilly. There's a huge storm churning in the Atlantic and will be delivering waves of nasty weather to us. It was imperative to remove the headsail at least and to reduce windage overall.  We got up at 6:00 am and were on the road shortly after 7:30. Three hours later, we were on deck and working hard and fast. It was supposed to be calm and dry in the morning. It was neither. A heavy mist kept descending and ascending, while a breeze blew steadily but not too hard. We took down the headsail first, sort of flaking it on deck, then with a halyard dropped it into the trailer parked beside the boat. Alex guided the sail while I worked the winch. It was a huge messy ball but it was down. Next alex worked on the mainsail while I worked on the mi...

View from the dock at sunset in Kilrush I asked Alex to organise crew for the delivery. I just didn't feel like pushing through on a delivery trip. Cormac and Louise were co-opted for the trip, although Louise would have to bail out at Inishmore as she has to be at work on Monday. Ciaran Murphy, Michael Murphy's son, asked to join the crew. However, he called Friday that he'd had a car accident and would have to bow out.  They departed Friday evening from our house. It was pouring rain and had been for three days due to post-tropical cyclone Sam dumping buckets of rain on us. The plan was to head out on the high spring tide and anchor at Clare Island, then head out early for Kilronan on Inishmore. Depart Inishmore at 10 am sharp the next day (after dropping Louise off to take the ferry) to catch the incoming tide in the Shannon River at 4 pm. Cormac and Alex would take her from Inishmore to Kilrush. Aleria would be hauled Monday and I would drive down to pick them up.  Nau...

The Skellig rocks The Skelligs (Na Scealga) are two rocks off the west coast of Ireland. One of the rocks is inaccessible. The other has a landing site that is untenable in some states of weather and sea. The allure of these rocks is twofold: 1) They are home to an exceptional number of seabirds, especially gannets and puffins and 2) they have exceptionally well-preserved early Christian remains.  Skellig Michael has a rather impressive monastic settlement, including beehive huts where the monks lived, a beehive church, a large beehive communal kitchen, a high carved cross and a burial area. Most astonishingly, the monastery is at the top of the rock. To get to it, you must climb 618 steps with precipices on either side. The steps are uneven in height and width, so it is not straightforward.  Alex and I have been trying to visit Skellig Michael since we moved to Ireland and we have sailed around it on our own boat. But there are only a limited number of boats licensed to land...

On April 3, I wrote on another blog that the world pandemic had just reached 1M documented infected with the novel coronavirus. Today, just 12 days later, the count has reached more than 2M confirmed and 127,000 deaths due to Covid-19. Thousands of cruisers are stranded, some in paradise, others in very remote places without access to supplies, unable to move on as borders everywhere remain closed. Such an unprecedented situation. 2km radius from our home There's an app that outlines the 2 km limit on distance we are permitted to transit at this time, other than going to the pharmacy or food shopping. We feel so fortunate to live on 10 acres on the sea. We are unable to launch Aleria which is the only major downside. But Alex spruced up Moytura and yesterday we got out on the Bay. Fortunately, the weather has been spectacular and we are out and about on the land every day. The garden is shaping up, the vegetable seeds have germinated. As one friend said, this year, sai...