Aleria's Adventures

Adrigole was lovely, but Glengarriff at the top end of Bantry Bay beckoned. This is the legendary harbour for cruising in Ireland. It's where the Irish Cruising Club was born and the place that must be checked off the cruising destinations list in Ireland. We were really looking forward to exploring this iconic anchorage. I hoped we would not be disappointed. We sailed past Bere Island, promising to stop in another time. We weren't disappointed. We had a great stay in Glengarriff. Our first impression was that it was akin to the Adirondack lake region, but full of salt water. It was a rocky inlet lush with forest and spectacular "camps" all around.  With small islets strewn throughout, it was truly reminiscent of a lake rather than a sea loch.

Today, for the first time since we sailed to Ireland in 2008, a Customs boat came to visit. Three officers were on board a rib and two let us know they were coming aboard. We welcomed them and offered them some tuna salad as we were just having lunch. They declined.

Here we are in one of the most beautiful harbours in the world -- at least in Ireland -- Adrigol in Bantry Bay in the west of Ireland, and instead of marveling at the beauty we are fixing things. We cruisers know that cruising is all about fixing things in exotic places. But this time it’s bit different. We were on our way to Spain yesterday. We had worked our way down the coast of Ireland from Clew Bay our home, stopping in Clare Island, Tralee, and Dingle. We set off from Dingle to cross the Bay of Biscay for a grand adventure.

As Lambertville was only half an hour's drive from the christening party, I booked a room I the Lambertville Station Inn. Lambertville House, where we had stayed before, was booked. It was on the expensive side but it was also July 4th weekend and I had been worried about finding a place to stay at all. We had a large lovely room on the creek side of the hotel, which is right on the Delaware River and just across the bridge from New Hope. Lambertville is quieter than New Hope, which has many restaurants and bars and shops. We walked across the bridge and found a place to have drinks on a terrace overlooking the river. Martine's was so pleasant that we stayed on for dinner and were not disappointed.

The Christening we were in the states for was to be just on the outskirts of Philadelphia, in the Ukrainian Catholic Church I once belonged to. I was born in Philadelphia, but back then it was not a nice place to be. It's very different now. Quite lovely and vibrant. A big city with a small town attitude. We booked a night at the Club Quarters on Chestnut Street and made plans to join our cousins, the Kowals, who live downtown with their two children, for dinner.

Our next stop on our eastern seaboard journey after Annapolis was to be Cape May. Rather than travelling around the Delmarva peninsula we decided to take the ferry from Lewes to Cape May. We arrived with a half hour to spare before the next sailing and we hadn't eaten. So we grabbed burgers at the restaurant at the ferry terminal, On the Rocks Bar & Grille. It was surprisingly good and the waitress had a wicked sense of humour. She got us out in plenty of time to catch the ferry.

Our next stop in our land journey was to be Annapolis, the Sailing Capitol of the world. When I sailed there I learned that Annapolis is the Capitol of Maryland, hence the Sailing Capitol as a motto. This is as opposed to Newport, the Sailing Capital of the World.

As happens when cruising and living overseas, we don't get to see much of the family often. It takes big occasions to get us across the pond and we had a biggie this year. We traveled to America this time to meet our niece and nephew's new baby and visit their new home in Alexandria, Virginia. We flew into JFK (which is amazingly better now) and drove down to VA, then worked our way back up the coast for the christening in Philadelphia.

We are currently planning a passage to a place even more remote than ours, the Faroe Islands. The Faroes are half way between Denmark and Iceland in a desolate stretch of water. Like Scotland to their south, they have little tide range but strong tidal currents. Navigation can be tricky, but we are figuring it out. Self-sufficiency is paramount. One of the joys of having a sailboat is being able to get to remote places that are not so easy to get to otherwise.

Hurricane Alex in January 2016 The season for tropical cyclones in the Atlantic begins June 1 and ends December 1. Here we are two weeks into June and we've already had three this year. El Nino has apparently been snuffed out and La Nina has not yet reared its head. A La Nina pattern may develop as early as late summer or early Fall. In this situation, sea surface temperatures in the equatorial Pacific usually run below normal as opposed to the above-normal temperatures of an El Nino pattern that we've seen in the past couple of years. We are currently experiencing a neutral pattern that may continue over the next several months. This is often associated with a more active Atlantic hurricane season and a less active eastern Pacific cyclone season. After the devastation caused by cyclones in Vanuatu and Fiji, that will be welcome news in the Pacific.

T-shirts and shorts for the first time in years Leaving the inner bay past Inishoo and Croagh Patrick The Met Eireann office released its climate report for May which was confirmed to be the dryest, sunniest month in years. People were flocking to the Blue Flag beaches and coastal islands in droves. Compared with last year, the year that summer never arrived, we've had our fill of summer already with little brown bodies tanned for the first time in the absence of the need for wetsuits. Long may it last. We sailed out in beautiful weather though not much wind. In fact it was glass calm. So we motored most of the way to Clare Island, our destination for the June Bank Holiday weekend.

Double-Handed Sailing  is after all like  Single-Handing Half the Time  - Daria Blackwell  After crossing oceans a few times, I was often asked if I didn't get tired of my husband during three weeks together at sea. I always answered no, because I hardly ever saw him. "What?" they said, "But you're together on a boat 24/7?" Yes, but you're rarely together and awake at the same time. So basically, sailing double-handed is like sailing solo half the time.

A few of the fishing vessels in Killybegs We got underway right from the Killybegs Sailing Club mooring, having raised our mainsail and mizzen in the harbour. The wind direction made for a perfect line right out of the harbour close hauled. As we unfurled the yankee and Alex raised the staysail, she soared out the channel.

Killybegs, Donegal, Ireland Last week we had the luck of a weather window and a high spring tide, a good combination of conditions to relaunch Aleria .  She had spent the winter in Killybegs at the Mooney yard. Alex had spent many days servicing and replacing through hull fittings all winter. He found several worrying decay elements -- not surprising given her advancing age. Aleria is 40 years old this year. Although her hull was created in 1994, she wasn't finished and launched until 1996. The machine shop at the yard proved immensely helpful, building several new components, testing metals, advising on replacements and building special tools. Alex couldn't have done it without them.

From Yacht Club Cruising to Ocean Crossings By Daria Blackwell Humans are interesting creatures.  There are those who get a notion and immediately pursue it – risks and obstacles notwithstanding.  Matt Rutherford and all those who were first to attempt a feat fall into that category.  Take Saint Brendan, Leif Erikson, and Columbus – each having crossed the Atlantic to “discover” the Americas when there was nothing known or recorded about crossing oceans. That took a great deal of courage. Or density. Or destiny.

Your ticket to freedom Some people just dream about sailing away all their lives. Others just do it. We did it at the age of 55, with a great deal of preparation. I wish we had done it much sooner.  Stop buying stuff All that stuff weighs you down. The more you have, the more stuck you get. One exception: buy a small boat to get comfortable with sailing and learn what you really want in a boat to live aboard before you head off.

When on occasion I speculate aloud where we would be if we had stayed in America, Alex always interjects with, "We'd be dead or worse." And I know it to be true. Our health was suffering. The stress really did take a lot out of us. Knotted muscles pulled spines out of alignment, acid ate away at our organs, and blood pressure increased with each passing day. Since living here in Ireland, we've managed to decrease our stress level significantly.

Anchor Video Series by s/v Panope A recent series of anchor tests bears mention. Steve Goodwin from s/v Panope has created a series of videos in which he set out to answer questions he has always had about anchoring. He wondered what happened when he dropped an anchor to the bottom and what happened when the wind shifted or current reversed. Would the anchor hold, would it flip around and reset, or would it just pull out?

The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame The Wind in the Willows is a classic, particularly for anyone who loves boats.  The oft quoted story is a mantra for boaters: “Believe me, my young friend, there is nothing - absolutely nothing - half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats.” If you have a chance to visit Henley in the UK, go to the Rowing Museum where they have an amazing exhibit of scenes from the book in diorama style. Some are larger than life sized, others are miniatures. Do the audio tour and hear the story come to life before your eyes. It's well worth the time.

On Sunday morning, the breakfast hall was full of chatter as everyone convened for yet another round. Many people were heading home that day, and only a few stragglers were staying behind. There was pandemonium in the lobby as everyone tried to check out by 9 am, the earliest check out anyone had ever heard of.  But groups had formed in the dining hall and last minute questions, future plans, and pressing issues were discussed. "I need to Skype with you this week,"  was a common theme for Committee members. "We're sailing from Iceland to Greenland in June. Do you have any advice?"  "We've got a full set of charts for Norway if you need them."  These were snippets of conversations floating in the air.