Aleria's Adventures

  Coral Reefs is an illustrated look at corals and the reefs they build around the world, as well as the causes and dire consequences of their rapid destruction. Corals are among the most varied lifeforms on earth. Bridging the space between plant and animal, these marine invertebrates serve as nurseries and homes to an abundance of fish, mollusc, crustacean and echinoderm species which find refuge from predators within their complex shapes. They share symbiotic relationships with photosynthesizing algae, which provide corals with their nourishment. Each square centimetre of coral holds captive millions of single-celled algae. This stunningly beautiful book profiles the astonishing diversity of the world's coral groups, ranging from mushroom corals and leather corals to button polyps, sea fans, anemones, and pulse corals. It describes key aspects of their natural history and explains why coral reefs are critical to the health of our oceans. Representative examples of corals ha

  We've been using the polytunnel as a sail and spray hood drying and flaking area. We removed everything in misty weather so it was quite wet. It's convenient on a sunny day to have a space big enough to stretch the yankee out when the RTV is not in it. 

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

The cruising sphere has some sailing superheroes, none of which are represented in the National Sailing Hall of Fame in the US.  Here are a few of my favourites.   Lin and Larry Pardey Larry died in 2020, but he and Lin spent a lifetime cruising the world on their two engineless boats that Larry built himself. Lin wrote books and magazine articles at a time when journalists still got paid reasonable wages. Larry did repair work on boats to keep afloat. They sailed more than 200,000 miles both east about and west about circumnavigating slowly so they could experience the world.  https://pardeytime.blogspot.com/  Beth Leonard and Evans Starzinger Beth Leonard and her husband, Evans Starzinger, completed two circumnavigations and logged more than 110,000 nautical miles. Between 1992 and 1995, they sailed westabout by way of the Panama Canal, Torres Straits and the Cape of Good Hope, and from 1999 to 2009 they completed an eastabout circumnavigation by way of all of the Great Capes that to

Aleria is safely out of the water in Kilrush. Alex says her bottom is as clean as when we launched her. The crew are all home and I didn't have to drive down to pick them up. Ciaran drove them home. It all worked out just fine.  That's great because here's what's coming at us next week. Tuesday and Wednesday are going to be messy so we have to get down there and remove sails and cover her up before then. 

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

Rain, rain won't go away, raining all day long today.  Post-tropical cyclone Sam has stalled between Ireland and Greenland. Alex, Cormac and Louise are going to get mighty wet heading out to Clare Island tonight. Michael Murphy's son is also joining them. At least it's warm. Supposed to hit 21 degrees at 2 pm.  Alex has been finding false widow spiders everywhere. One was in his wallet in his pocket. One in the mailbox. And now one was spotted under the sprayhood on the boat. How did it get there? Swim? They are apparently almost as venomous as real Black Widows.  PS Murph's son cancelled. And it's still raining.