Aleria's Adventures

Onyx was a brave adventurous seafaring cat, crossing oceans to visit new lands, make new friends, and try new things - except when it came to food, as only seafood would do.  Onyx was a great friend and companion and the ruler of the house and the clan. She loved her humans and they loved her. She will be sorely missed.  Rest in Peace, Onyx.    8 August 2000-29 September 2014 Love and hugs forever, Your People, Daria and Alex

Onyx is a very special cat. For one thing, she is all black except for one white hair, which Alex likes to pull out (mean Alex!). That makes her rather difficult to photograph. Of course I have photographed her more than any thing else in my life. You see, Onyx originally came to me in a dream. I sat up in bed one night and shook Alex awake, "Alex, I dreamt we had a cat and she was all black and her name was Onyx."  "Yeah, yeah, go back to sleep," was Alex's response.

Meeting up with like-minded people There is an interesting thing that happens when sailors meet while cruising. Because they start out with so much in common, they tend to form instant bonds. Not always. Sometimes you run across people you want to have nothing to do with - but that's a matter of personality. More often you meet like-minded individuals who have lots of stories to tell and lots of advice to share because they haven't been sitting in their armchairs, noooooo, they've been out there doing things. Ordinary people doing extraordinary things out on the world's oceans and their shores. If you are sailing a circuit, chances are you will meet up with the same people over and over as generally everyone is heading in the same direction

The Skelligs on approach to Dingle Bay Convenient pontoon and the oldest evidence of life on earth Selfie with Skelligs When transiting the west coast of Ireland, it is prudent to know where to hole up for the night should the weather turn sour, which it can do so very quickly. Lying off the Iveragh Peninsula in the southwest of County Kerry, Valentia Island (Dairhbre; the island of the oak forest) offers such refuge.  Just past the remarkable Skelligs rising up from the ocean’s depths to dizzying heights, this is a place that’s easy to tuck into, except in a NW gale. There are at least five things that distinguish Valentia Island as a stopover while transiting the West Coast of Ireland: Knightstown is unlike most Irish villages by the sea in that it appears more Victorian English in architectural style It is geologically distinct and has a famous fossil It has a rich place in modern history as the place where the transatlantic telegraph...

Caher Island, like a giant stationary sperm whale Mystical historical treasure  Landing area at Portatemple Just off the coast of Inishturk, between there and Clew Bay, lies a small 128-acre uninhabited island, one of many that at one time were the salvation of holy men of great renown. These monks established bases on many of the islands off the coasts of Ireland and Scotland, creating a trade route of connected safe havens where they took refuge from persecution. They set up scriptoriums and preserved the ancient texts that would have likely been lost for all time.  It is where it is conjectured that "civilization was saved". They lived in simple stone huts and built crude churches, travelling the coastal waters in their hide-covered currachs. They erected massive stone crosses and carved elaborate burial slabs. They left behind evidence of a mysterious existence in isolation. Their names - Colmcille or St. Columba, St. Brendan the Voyager, St. Brigid - were...

Graphics: Oliver Lüde / CC: Museum für Gestaltung Zürich, ZHdK / plasticgarbageproject.org No more messages in a bottle For generations, blue water cruisers have separated out garbage underway to dispose of  the "degradable" items from garbage into the sea.  Food scraps were definitely in that category, as was paper and glass. Metal tins were often considered degradable as well, given how quickly things rust away if left on their own.  But no more. MARPOL Annex V adopted for international waters as of January 2013 delineates that discharge is prohibited of plastics, synthetic ropes, fishing gear, plastic garbage bags, cooking oil, lining and packing materials, paper, rags, glass, metal, and bottles. 

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.