Aleria's Adventures

We'd have to be somewhere sheltered from the south and west by Monday when the next gale was due. We had choices: a) sail through to Kinsale or Cork or b) work our way out via Schull, Baltimore and/or Glandore.  We decided to stop in Schull as neither one of us remembered much about it. As it turned out, neither one of thought we'd ever been there before once we saw it!

I'm going backwards but I did not get a chance to fill in a few details about Bantry Bay. The Bay itself is lovely with high hills all around catching light in interesting ways. Aside from Adrigole and Glengarriff, there's a lovely marina on Bere Island servicing mostly sailing vessels. The approach to the marina is now marked so access is straightforward. Castletownbere on the other hand, as well as many small harbours along the shores, cater more to fishing vessels.

We'd spent three nights at anchor in Glengarriff we loved it so much. But it was time to move on despite the misty weather. We thought about Schull but there was a strong gale on the way and Schull could be exposed from the South. Better to head to Crookhaven. Exquisitely sheltered from the south and west and south east, we'd be secure in the spacious anchorage and within reach of O'Sullivan's legendary pub.

We came into Glengarriff with the expectation that it would be beautiful, as it is legendary among Irish Cruising Club members. What we didn't expect is for both of us to see in it the resemblance to the great lakes and camps in the Adirondack mountains in New York. Fringed in forest so unusual in Ireland and tall peaked hills, with tiny islands strewn throughout and camps perched on rocks jutting into the waters, it was hard to remember we were on the sea and not a lake. We liked it so much we stayed an extra day. The weather was good so we decided a walk was in order.

We left Dingle mid-morning. It didn't matter as we had about 4 days at sea if we were lucky. If we were really lucky, the wind would hold out the entire way. First out of the west, then moving to the northwest. It could be ideal for a southerly passage.

We were tracking a system which appeared likely to form a gale over Ireland and track to the North. We would have southwesterlies veering to northwesterly. We knew we'd need to find safe harbour for Tuesday night into Wednesday. We had spent plenty of time in Bantry Bay and it was time to move on. At first we thought Schull as we hadn't been there in a long time, but as the forecast developed we realized that Crookhaven would be safer. Schull is open to the south east and any southerly swell might come around Long Island. So Crookhaven it was. Completely protected from the south, north and west, it's an easy harbour to access and hunker down in.

No chance to anchor in the Blaskets today.  We rounded the Dingle peninsula or the "Ring of Dingle" from Tralee to Dingle in dense fog and mist. There was little wind and it was on the nose to begin with and the seas were much bigger and more confused than the amount of wind would suggest. We have to come back and see the Blasket Islands proper like another time. This day we could barely make them out in the fog as they kept appearing and disappearing mysteriously.

Leaving Ross in drizzly weather I have to work backwards now as I did not manage to blog when we got underway. Our first night was quick stopover at Clare Island for the night since we left on the evening tide. Ian from Xena came by to welcome us but shore leave was not in order. Freebird was in the harbour and had come in just before us. But we were heading for Spain. We had stuff to stow and distance to make! We were in cruising mode (which of course meant we should have gone ashore to party!).

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.