Dingle dangle Dingle

Dingle.

Well we got here at about 1500. Saw the harbour master got the secret code for the gate and our 2Euro tokens for the showers. Went walk about had a pint at John Bennys Sally thought she was ordering a Beamish but got a Bulmers Cider instead the bartender kindly took it back and brought her the pint and change to boot and didn’t want it(the change as a tip either) so it was put into the pizza retirement fund instead. Dianne met us there and then took us out for a very nice dinner at the Bistro (recommended to us by Whalbix). We returned to the good ship exhausted. Sally noticed that the AIS antenna was at a 90*angle to what it should be! Gosh Darn another job to do! Made arrangements with harbour master for a ladder.  Weather will dictate travel plans for the morrow.

Friday July 8 2016. We’re still here! Weather is the I’ll just leave it at that. I serviced the engine and had a think while Sally and Dianne went for a walk. Tides dictated an 1230 departure for Fenit. Decided not to go. Dianne contacted Kevin and Meta to tell them we wouldn’t be coming to Fenit so they agreed to come to us on Sat. Hammering down rain so we hired a cab to take us out to some of the Neolithic sites and to see some of the scenery. A very agreeable way to spend a half a day. Returned to Dingle and did a bit of shopping

Saturday July 9 2016. Kevin and Meta came for lunch and picked us up and drove us back to their place in Tralea where we spent the night.

Sunday July 10 2016 Tralea. Up around 0900 breakfast downtown for walkabout Garda Station to see about extention and Goodbys to Dianne. Sally and I bus back to Dingle got the ladder and fixed the antenna after everyone had gone home so as not to be a witness if one of us fell off. We had to put the ladder on the boat and lean it against the radar post. Sally then braced it while I gingerly crept up it. It was 1 step to short so I had to stand on the very top against the wobbly post brace myself with my chin on the top of the radar while holding on with my right hand and using my left hand to try and take the wire part of the antenna out. I managed to hold onto the antenna as the wire was completely  loose and I couldn’t tighten it up! Phooy I said so then I had to take the whole thing off and get back down into the cockpit to fix the (*&^%)#@! Thing. It had never been tightened down from the factory 4 years ago! I have no idea how the whip stayed in all the way up to and around Norway for 3 years and 3 winters and this long this year! I put it all together put the crimp on and tightend it right up. Sally then went up the ladder while I braced it and put it back on. I then went up and secured it all.

Monday July 11 2016. Walk about stuff and went in search of propane. After 3 tries we found the right place and they would deliver. Bonus did some shopping and pretty much had an easy day just the two of us. Called the Garda about an extension for our stay. Sally talked to the officer said no problem she would do it if we had our flights booked. We made an appointment for Tuesday as we would be in tralea anyway to meet our new crew Mark. No problem. Emailed our Travel Guru Dianne Webb done deal.

Tuesday July 12 2016. Up early to catch the early bus that we missed by 5 minutes! We also got a Sad call that our friend Chris McKibbon had a heart Attack and died in Kemptville. A Real Bummer. Had a coffee and sticky bun and caught the next Bus and were just in time to see the Garda Officer. Nice lady she came in on a holiday day to help us. We got stamped and walked outside and our buddy Mark was standing on the sidewalk. Our other friend David Brown was driving in to see us for lunch so had a good visit with him and he kindly drove us out to the marina at Fenit to pick up a new radio. And he showed us the big Bronze statue of St. Brenden pointing out to the West. We then went for a pint and we three got the bus back into Dingle walked to the Marina got a cart and went and bought some diesel. Installed the new radio and made the boat ready for the morning.

Glengariff and places West.

Glengariff and places West.

Monday July 4/16 Happy Birthday to the Rebellious Americans! Bet you wish you’d stayed one of the colonies now!

I slept in! 0700 again I get up and are nice to the crew and make them their tea. Eventually we get underway for the bottom of Bantry Bay. It is a cold WET foggy day with 20 knots blowing out of the West right into the Bay. Unfurled the 130%, the bow lifted and off we went at 7 knots yahoo the bestes sail so far this year!! Flew down the bay and decided Bantry not protected enough and besides Glengariff had an old house with fantastic gardens. WE screamed into the harbour avoiding all the mussel farms rounded up and secured to a mooring ball.

I’ll now describe how we pick up the balls. First of all, they are not just lying there docile uh,uh, They lie in wait. The crew in this case Sally as she has had extensive training in subduing malcontent mooring balls. The first step is for Sally to get the BIG one piece long boat hook. Place it under a line securing the Zeppelin on the foredeck. If the zeppelin isn’t secured it flies away and is a pain to catch. I degress. Second she goes forward outside the life lines balancing on her toes into the front part of the boat. During all this I am skillfully maneuvering the boat up to ball so as not to disturb it. Third boat hook securely in hand she motions to me to sneak up and when in range she deftly reaches out and snags the ball. Now the fun begins. We’ve got it! Sort of. I stop the boat sort of. Sally is hanging onto the hook attached to the ball which doesn’t want to be attached to. She then has to pass a mooring line through the balls eye. Yup the ball really doesn’t like that so bounces around just out of reach. Sally then has to lie down on the deck half way out under the lifeline boat hook in hand and the with the other hand pass the line through the eye without causing any pain and then scurrying backwards with said hook and line and making the line fast to one of the bow cleats. She then gets to stand up place the hook back in it’s holder. She then gets another line and repeats for the other side of the boat. Meanwhile I’m cheering her on with very good suggestions. Still not sure why she wasn’t listening Oh well I’ll get better!

The next stage. Launching the dinghy.

We untie all the tiedowns. We then loosen the spinnaker halyard and attach it with a snap shackle to a ring on the bridle at the bow of the dinghy. We then put 3 turns on a mast winch and lift the dink from the horizontal to the vertical high enough to clear the life lines. The dinghy is then swung over the side and gently lowered stern first until it is afloat hopefully right side up. The painter is then secured allowing the dinghy to drift backwards until it’s transom is in line with and underneath the outboard motor. Don’t know why it’s call a motor as motors are electric. The we secure the back of the dinghy to the stern of the mother ship. I get in the dink, Sally then hooks the crane to the lifting harness on said misnamed engine, Lifts the engine off it’s mount and lowers it down to me. I then mount and fasten it to the back of the dinghy. Attach the plastic gas can open the choke (actually I think the correct term is to close the choke) pull the starting recoil rope and more times than not it starts! Load the crew and trash and off we go for a wander about town.

As Towns go not much of a wander only one main road lined with Touristy traps etc. I didn’t get trapped. We all returned to the bot had dinner and then I was forced to beat Sally and Dianne at a game of Cribbage not thrones. Then to bed.  

After Crookhaven

What happens after Crookhaven stays after Crookhaven.

0600 on the 3^rd day of July 2016 in the harbour of Crookhaven, Republic of Ireland in the County of Cork. I awoke. Notice I said I as the rest of the crew just rolled over and muttered no yet. So being a very good skipper I didn’t do what I wanted to do which consisted of an inch and a half fire hose. But instead I got up and put the kettle on and made tea for us all.

0715 we finally got underway on a flat oily sea so it was a boat ride at 2,000 RPM. We motored out to and around Mizzen Head and over the overfalls. Overfalls for you who don’t know are what happens when the tide runs over an uneven bottom and piles up the sea so that it disturbs the surface of 1 degree or another. Ie not much or OOOHHHHH poop!!!! Why did we come through here. We had ½ the ooohhhhhh stage. Then an easy ride up to the entrance to CastletownBearhaven dodging Dolphins rehearsing for the dolphin Olympics. Once into the Bay we decided to keep on going East to Lawrence Cove Marina on Bearhaven Island. Just in case you were skeptical about Bears in Ireland especially on an Island? Your right. As we were steaming down the bay I spied a Mast sticking up out of the water! Being a trained observer I immediately deducted that there was a sunken boat underneath it. I was right! The tide was falling so as we got closer it (the wreck) became bigger as the water level lowered. Turns out it was an old freighter brought in to bay to be broken up. A mysterious fire broke out and it was dragged down to where it sunk. It is now a home for fallen fishes lobsters crabs and other inhabitants. We passed along and eventually arrived at Lawrence Cove. We wended our way in through the shallows and past the curious cows and not so curious sheep until we arrive on the visitors pontoon at 1130 AM. We made ourselves secure.

I then sent the crew off on a mission to find a left handed right sided deep dish adjustable box wrench. When they were gone I swamped out the boat cleaned the head and generally tidied up. *** We all then went for a walk about to find a Neolithic tomb. We succeeded and then walked down a field road until we came to a gate. The crew opened it and went through so I had to follow and off we went down to the sea and we walked along the shore line back to another road and made our way back to a nicely cleaned boat. The weather was grand.

*** Crews notes: Cut the skippers hair and sent him for an overdue shower…We then the crew of two, swepped and tidied, removed the forepeak mattress’s for airing and the sheets for washing… 13Euros/load and Dianne and I did three loads while skipper played with water filling the tanks following his shower. We went Dolman searching on our walk and got back to the 2 dry loads and the 3^rd was finished before the evenings crib game. We ate late so none of us slept really well despite the marathon of boat work and long walk. Skipper was told to mind his own tools.

All the way to Crook Haven

Thursday June 30/16. 0800.

It’s getting better and extra 2 ½ hours! Tea and underway at 0930  with the new crew for the awfully long sail to Sherkin Island. It took us all of  ½ hour to arrive and pick up a mooring. Moorings seem to range from free to 6 or 10 Euro. We prefer the free!. Anyhow we got moored jumped into the dink(short form for dinghy) made it to shore damp day walked up to the hotel had a pint and coffee payed the 10Euro fee went for a walk. Castle all boarded up so off to the advertised Friary(place for Friars not chipper) It was all barred and closed. Bummer. Walked the other way saw some cows! Walked back went to the advertised Jolly Rodger. Had lunch expensive and not good! New owners will not survive. Back to boat. Outboard and dinghy stored on deck.

Fri. July 1 2016 HAPPY BIRTHDAY CANADA OUR HOME AND NATIVE LAND!

0700 I’m up doing the usual. Wake the crew with some difficulty! And we get underway at 0900 for Schull. I know what it looks to sound like but it’s not school it’s Skull as pointed out to me as Bob from Tara sailed by tapping his head and shouting Skull! So after a short 10 mile run under power we arrived and took a mooring between Tara and Walix. We went walk about and then had Birthday party on Kalinka1 with Crown Royal. It went well and I still have some left!

Sat. July 2/2016 00900 Tara away we had Tea. An easy morning as Sally not well. Then underway at 1315 for Crookhaven. Motorboat trip and we arrived at 1515 took a mooring and made ourselves comfortable watching lazer races and boats going upsidedown a fun day. We then went ashore in the evening for a walk and a pint after Jeanmark and Beatrix arrived. A Good day. 

Glandore, Castletownsend and finally Baltimore the original not the copy!

Sunday June 26/16. Glandore.

0530! Up sort of awake? Kettle and tea. Foggy, Drizzly Cool morning or night depending on ones view. Aroused the crew and managed to get slip the mooring and get underway for parts further West.

A Cold mizzerable motor beat against the tide. We get a phone call? Sally’s cousin Caroline. Go figure the middle of the sea and a phone rings supposedly on a phone free vessel! Kept going and at 1230 thanks to my wonderful and expert navigation we arrived safely in Glandore. Picked up a mooring and once we were settled we sat back and spent the rest of the day watching a rowing regatta. Have never done that before but found it quite entertaining. The day turned out to be sunny and warm enough to put shorts on! Early night.

Monday June 27/16. 0730.

Up! A Beautiful morning, warm and sunny had tea in the cockpit and got underway at 1000 and had a grand sail (Main and Jib) around the corner and down the coast to the village and harbour name after that famous person CastleTownsend. We picked up a mooring and wiled away the day on board as it was too windy to launch the dink. Actually we were too lazy. I messed around with the ground for the link 1,000 battery monitor and managed to kill the vhf and the engine shut off! Have no idea why disconnecting a ground wire would kill those two pieces of electronics and leave everything else alone but it did $%$#@&^*. And the link still tells me I only have 10.5 Volts in my house bank of 3x 115AH 12V Brand New Batteries. Oh well on to the rest of the day. Consoled myself with a weee dram and we had Lamb Burgers and mush for dinner and whilst I was doing the dishes Yup you read right I was doing the dishes the sailing vessel “Tara” with Bob an Herve sailed into the harbour. We met them last year in Stornaway Scotland. A quick Gam as the current was quite strong we exchanged destinations and they anchored further up stream.

Tuesday June 28/16. 0530!

Another one of those early morning departures that I promised myself not to be doing  this year! How ever the tides do dictate when one should or should not leave. Just ask Cnute. I did my usual morning routine and we got underway at 0630 for Baltimore on a cold heavy rain morning. The rain was so heavy it pushed us down into the sea by a good foot and my foulies couldn’t stand up to it! So as a result we had a wet boat and a wetter me. You can all guess which got the sympathy. I was told to look in the dictionary! Good thing it wasn’t a long trip and we were moored in 8 ft of water off the town.  A short time later ”Tara” A 50ish Alden sailed in and asked us the depth I mentioned 8 they went oops we need 9 and away they went for a deeper spot. I sweated a little bit as we were on the edge of 4 but it turned out ok and we stayed afloat for the duration.

We launched the dinghy installed the 1973 Johnson fisherman outboard two stroke engine. Engine because engines use fuel to run on either externally or internally while a motor runs on electricity. But you all knew that right? Anyway we sort of zoometted into the pontoon . Zoomett being a new word invented by me to describe a ride in a dinghy against the wind and waves with a passenger on board sitting in front of the driver in such a position so as to stop and prevent any of the spray kicked up from striking said driver.

After said zoomett we safely arrived at the pontoon scrambled onto same undressed and walked casually up the main street. Now at this point I have to refresh your memories, Memories because there is probably one or two people reading this. You remember the mid sea telephone call from Sally’s cousin Caroline? Well it was an invitation to meet in Baltimore on the day of our arrival as She, Uncle Mike and a couple of ladies whose names escape me at the moment were in the area on holiday.

OK back to our arrival on shore. We did and then another phone call and alakazam (that’s Arabic for holy cow) there they were. Hugs and hand shakes all around and we went for a restaurant bought lunch of Seafood chowder and coffee and a very nice quick visit. They left as they were off to a posh party and we wandered out onto the street and who did we spy sitting outside the pub but the crew of Tara and some other people.  Jean Mark and Beatrix from Walenbix  a small 22 footer from France we all had a pint and then Sally and I went back out to the boat to a wait our arriving crew.

At 2000 I zoomed into shore with Sally’s foulies and waited for Dianne to arrive. She didn’t! I waited, She didn’t! I waited some more,,,,,,,,,,,,,,the phone rang! Where are you? In Baltimore! What are you doing there? Waiting for you, Where are you? Castletownsend! Why are you there? Because you told me you would be here! No, I sent an email saying we would be here. I didn’t get it! I’ll come there. I waited some more and around 2200 a taxi pulled up Dianne got out. The gate wouldn’t work! Sent her over to the next pontoon. She got into the foulies we zoometted out to the boat. All on board finally.

The next morning Wed June 29 I sent the crew ashore and into Skibberene. I spent a nice day doing boat chores . The crew re arrived with a new pair of foulie pants for Dianne.

Thursday June 30/16 0800 up usual routine then at 0930 we dropped the mooring and off we went for Sherkin Island.

Oyster Haven, Kinsale or how to wile a way a week!

Wednesday June 22/16.

So it’s 0730 everything is quiet, the crew is asleep. Got up made tea, contemplated my navel and decided to leave. I awakened the crew without too much difficulty fed and watered her and we got underway at 1100. It was a long arduous passage but we finally arrived in Kinsale at 1130.

We caught a mooring ball on the ebb tide made ourselves secure, installed the outboard put the foulies on and zoom zoom we’re on the dinghy dock in the YC marina. Walked up to the club house had a pint met the harbour master and arranged a club mooring which was guarantied to have been serviced this century. Bonus.  Back into the dinghy and out to the yachet dropped the mooring and motored over to the new one made ourselves secure to it and then back into the dink and returned to the shore.Did a short reconnoiter of the town downloaded a couple of geo caches and made arrangements for the next day to get a ride to the battery store to get a new starting battery! Walked about some more went to the recommended pantry for a coffee and sticky bun. Both were very good and then we strolled along window shopping in some of the back lanes. Finally returned to the marina and out to the good ship Kalinka1.

We stayed in Kinsale for 6 days for one reason and another doing land touristy stuff. We walked 4 km out to Charles Fort. The high road because we missed the sign for the low scenic road! Wandered around ooying and aweing had a cuppa and sticky did a couple of easy caches and then walked back into town. This time on the scenic route along the water. Got back into town did a bit of grocery shopping visited the club for a pint and ended the day back on board with a nice dinner of Lamb burgers and Salad.

Next day.

Don’t remember what day but it was the next day into the club for a shower and more walky this time up hill to get a cache near the town offices. We got it so had three for five. Then down hill to the medieval church for a look see and the graves of three of the victims of the Lusitania. Two identified men and one unidentified woman. However the story doesn’t end there o no! The woman was identified in 2010. I didn’t think of it at the time so didn’t take a picture or her name.  We were returning to the boat and were getting ready to get in the dinghy when Sally struck up a conversation with Jerald who is a lovely soul in a special way. This led to an invitation to go racing that night. I chickened out and stayed home cooking a nice dinner of roast pork and veg. Sally went racing! They won.

It was good and windy with lots of gusts yet where the race course was the seas were flat. One start with two courses. Big boats had the longer course. Skipper Alan and mate Mary were great and chatted away the evening and fed me red jellies.  These were a godsend as the bowl of cereal was ages ago as we were planning big roast park feast. Well it was like racing with John and Carol the winning record was such that the rating was massively adjusted. Even with a 5 minute lead on the 28’ boat that crossed astern of the  26’ boat corrected to second but what fun we had! Got delivered to Kalinka1 just as Noel was serving. It could have been chicken and I would have enjoyed it. But then fell fast asleep missing getting up to the club house. Almost too much walking and sailing in one day.  

 Nothing much else happened and then the weather  changed for the better.