... try and find us

Kinsale - a pleasant spot to moor, but an even better spot to explore by foot.  The pictures tell the story of our visit.   Landed and at rest in the bend of the River Bandon. Another nice walk, ruined.  James Fort. The bridge across the River Bandon.  We walked 18 km today. through many lovely footpaths, including along this dry stone wall  ... to another fort.  Time for lunch and a nap. The road through Summercove and Scilly Walk More footpaths ... Pub stop!  In Ireland, the pub is more a social gathering, not a big drink-up. With conversations going on all around us, it had a great vibe. ... and back through Kinsale High Street. Back aboard Chinook, it's time for her first bottom scrub. The water is 12c, in case you were wondering about the 2 mm wetsuit. Top to bottom, we had time for boat jobs today. Finished the evening aboard Pinstripe with Dave, Paul and Justin.  Nice to meet some friendly locals.

We left the Isles of Scilly in a glorious breeze and set a course towards Cork, Ireland about 110 nautical miles away.  We expected the passage to take us somewhere from 15-20 hours.  We enjoyed a magic sail, enough wind but not too much, relatively flat seas and sunshine.  Dolphins waved us off from the Scillies and welcomed us to Ireland as we crossed the dotted line on the chart!  About 2am, the wind totally died out so we resorted to motoring.  It was very misty, the light sprinkle of moisture covering everything.  We didn't see land until we were about 3 nautical miles off. Sooo, this is Ireland. We saw three large pods of some sea creature - not whales or dolphins - the fins glided through the water like a shark but were not shark-shaped.  We were frustratingly close but not quite close enough to get a good photo (we only have iPhones and a GoPro without great zoom capability) or see the whole creature.  On chatting to the locals, we discovered that they are basking sha

We passed Pellew on the way to Falmouth - isn't she lovely under sail? We arrived into Falmouth just before the clouds, then anchored off the busy commercial port. We found Falmouth full of useful services and shops.  We broke a cupboard door mechanism and were able to find a kitchen cabinet installer who was willing to order a next-day-delivery part for us.  Hooray As Falmouth is such a marvellously well-protected harbour, it developed into a bustling centre of commerce.  It also (in the 16th and 17th centuries) developed fortifications to protect the harbour from pirates and other baddies.  Roll forward into the present day and the fortifications and 300+ year old buildings and shops make great tourist attractions. We walked and walked and finally reached Pendennis Castle. Good ol' English Castle! ... with a cannon that kids could "fire", making a flash and a bang! Walking back to the tourist district and the dinghy pier, we happened by

It was upwind and bumpy but having Arriën onboard kept us cheerful and stopped us turning back and running for cover!  The weather improved and the sea settled as the tide changed so we ended up having a great sail.  We entered Fowey (pronounced Foy) Harbour and pulled up at a pontoon across from the main town.   Kate stays aboard Chinook Arriën left to catch his bus back to Plymouth and a pre-race dinner commitment and we settled into a couple of days to explore. On the river, right across from the town Fowey is just lovely, a deep harbour with steep sides lined with pretty houses and trees.  We were rather surprised when a very large ship chugged past us and headed around the corner out of sight.  We later learned that Fowey is the port from which china clay, mined in Cornwall, is exported. China clay is kaolin is a fine, white clay used in the manufacture of porcelain, paper, paint and rubber.  It gets its name, not from its use in the porcelain industry, but fro