Noel's summer sort of 2018

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 2^nd 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.

New Grimsby Anchorage
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Cromwells fort

Schull anchorage

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Old Grimsby Beach picnic