... try and find us

After a brief stay in Arklow, it was time to continue north along the coast.  We needed to rise early because we wanted the extra push of the tidal current up towards Dublin. Early morning departure We managed to back off the pontoon and back into the part of the river that was a whole TWO metres deep, instead of the 1.5 metres where we had been tied up.  Exiting the Avoca River was peaceful and quiet as we slipped into the early morning greyness.  The skies did eventually brighten, revealing a danger we often weave through - crab pots! If you look closely enough, you will notice two black objects in the water to the right of the picture. Crab (or prawn, or lobster) pots are actually a line of bread-basket-sized traps that sit on the sea floor to attract and catch crabs/lobsters/prawns.   Usually, several of these traps (we have seen up to eight) are tied together, four to eight metres of prop-snarling rope between each, with the last one tied by a l...

Arklow is not a town that was designated a "must stop" by many, but we found it to be a great place.  Quite industrial (and quite shallow in the river!).  Being here was all about making our way north - a bit closer to Dublin. Our sail up included a trip across St. Patrick's Bridge - a notorious shallow spit of land that runs south from Kilmore Quay to the Saltee Islands.  What looks like open water is quite dangerous if you do not stick to the channel marked with a green buoy. "I know we stick to the light blue part, but does the green buoy go to starboard... or port?" Crossing it cuts two hours off the journey, but getting it wrong could put you in the many uncharted rocks there.  The seas were steep going through for 15 minutes but soon evened out into a gentle swell from the east.  As we turned to port around Carnsore Point, the on-the-nose 16 knot breeze became a lovely, steady, sail-able wind from the aft quarter.  We cut through the swell ...

All these fishing ports have memorials to those lost at sea - a sad reminder. After a magic downwind sail from our anchorage at Kilmore Quay, we pulled onto the visitor pontoon in the pretty fishing harbour of Dunmore East.  It's a busy place, fishing boats coming and going, a bird rookery on the cliff at the harbour mouth and the resident seal who pops over for a g'day now and then. Chinook at the visitors' pontoon, amoungst her metal-hulled brethren  These wee fishing boats are much more seaworthy than you might initially think Incredibly quaint thatched-roof cottages ... right by the sea  The weather is stunning, still on the chilly side but Ireland is (thankfully) not living up to her less-than-inviting reputation of rain, rain and rain in spring! Taking advantage of the glorious weather, we hiked the Dunmore East Cliff Path .  Yet another gorgeous hike along the cliffs, down into pretty inlets and across muddy farmland. Spring is coming with daf...