OK,OK! I know I have been neglectful in not keeping you up to date! No excuses I
was just having too much fun .
Where to start?
When Sally flew back to Canada I was still
in the boatyard working on getting Kalinka1 ready for the summer. I installed a
new to us windlass that would only either go up or down not both so I chose up
and ordered a new control box. Finally left the yard and went to Waterford for
a couple of days and to do some food shopping. Leaving there I motored down the
river and picked up a mooring in Dunmore East where I spent a few days waiting
for the control box to come in. Well it didn’t so I went for a sail down to
Dungarven. I motored up into the harbour
and found no room for me in the anchorage and as the harbour dried out it
wasn’t a place to be so sailed back to Dunmore and picked up the mooring again.
Went back up to the yard no part so hung around and made a nuisance of
myself had a visit with John and Caroll
and spent a couple of days with them as I had my own room in the Castle!
John was getting his boat ready to sail
West to the area of West Cork. He had John and Ronan as crew I had me. I left a few days ahead of them and we had
agreed to meet in Oyster Haven which we did. I then headed into Cross haven as
I had a problem with the water pump. I had to have it rebuilt which took about
a week waiting for parts and weather. Spent some time with Ross Anderson who we
had met earlier. Eventually Got underway again and met up with John and Crew in
Baltimore. Waited out some weather and then sailed up to Schull where we
celebrated John’s Birthday and his crew changed with John leaving and Mark and
his son Daniel joining. The weather was terrible for a couple of days. On the
worst day the Harbour master ? came out and told me I couldn’t stay on the
mooring that I had been on for 4 days because it wasn’t safe nor mine. So I had
to move over to the visitors moorings which were another ¼ mile away from
anything and no longer free. Think the no longer free was the main reason I had
to move!
John and his bunch sailed a little further
up the coast I decided to sail out to the Fastnet Rock to see it as when we
crossed a few years ago it was in the middle of the night and we only saw the
light. I left the anchorage and sailed out under a bright sunny day. About an hour out into the ocean Fog began to fill
in and I couldn’t see much except grey. I thought to myself this is dumb I’m
going to sail out to a rock that has sunk numerous bigger boats than me, not be
able to see it and then have to sail back. I went below to put the kettle on
and make a coffee. I returned on deck with cup in hand and there was the
fastnet with the sun shining on it and a circle of fog surrounding both of us.
Wow!! Worth the drive.
Now what to do? Took a bunch of pictures
and some video the what the heck I went
fishing! I even managed to catch a cod for my dinner. While I was doing this a
French boat sailed in through the fog and around the rock and then left into
the fog again. Weird. I sailed into Crook Haven where I met up with John and
crew again.
After a day we all headed East again. I was
outside Baltimore running with the wind
behind me and a preventer rigged on the boom. (A preventer is a line
running from the boom to a fixed point either on the side of the boat or
through a block at the bow and back to a winch or fixed point in the cockpit.
It is rigged to prevent an accidental jibe that can potentially take the rig
out or seriously injure or kill anyone it hits).
I had it rigged and went to adjust it to
let the sail move further forward . The boat was being steered by the auto
pilot. As I released the preventer the auto pilot went on strike and the boat
jibed! I was thrown across the cockpit and when I was getting up it jibed back.
The boom narrowly missed my conoggan The
main sheet caught the winch handle and tore it apart! I then tried to furl up
the Jib sail and it got wrapped around the forstay! I could not clear it so had
to motor for a couple of hours listening and watching it destroy itself!
I managed to get to Kinsale harbour and
attempted to pick up a mooring. But with a ballooning jib and Force 6 winds I
was having any luck. Rona came over and jumped aboard and tried to help but no
luck! The harbour master was out and about and came and towed me over to the
commercial wall where once we were out of the wind everything fell into place.
I then motored over to the visitors pontoon where I spent a couple of days
getting everything squared away and another auto pilot motor installed. Little
did I know that it was set up differently then the one it replaced!
I finally left in good weather and got out
of the harbour and turned on the pilot. Well it wouldn’t hold a course and
continuously wanted to do a 360. So I had steered into Cross haven where I
picked up a mooring owned by a friend.
Read the auto pilot menu and discovered there was a switch on the back
of the control unit for a port or starboard side mounting of the motor.
Ureka I found the problem? Flipped the
switch and celebrated with a Pint in town with my friend Ross. I then left and
sailed East to Youghal (pronounced Yawwl) Auto did it’s job splendidly . Sailed
in and was able to catch a mooring first try.
Built the dinghy and went ashore for walk
about and site seeing. Spent a couple of days and then headed East to Dunmore E
again where I spent some more time before heading up to Waterford and and
setting up our winter berth.
When we returned from Canada for the 2nd
of Oct. The boat was fine. We got the bus into New Ross. Michael picked us up
and took us back to the yard where we picked up the Little red car. Sally’s
transportation to and from work. I usually went in with her a couple of times a
week where I would spend the day annoying everyone and working on the ads of stuff to sell. I managed to sell 4 boats and a trailer at last count.
At the end of March my long time (really
loonng time) friends Ted and John with their wives Marie and Susan came for a
visit and a Paddy Wagon tour.
The visit started with the boys having a few too many rums on board and then getting them off the boat at 0530 and then getting them awake to get on the bus! More to follow.
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| New Grimsby Anchorage Add caption |
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| Cromwells fort |
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| Schull anchorage |
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| Add caption |
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| Old Grimsby Beach picnic |
