Round the second corner and the Fastnet Rock!


We left Baltimore after a couple of nice days in the large harbour which had its share of excitement. We stayed a few days for the seafood and wooden boat festival where some lovely old boats turned up, this one from as far away as Penzance




Whilst Cheshire basked in 27 degrees of sunshine, a little finally filtered over here which got us in the water.
The next day however brought some serious wind blowing a steady force 7 in the harbour. During the night a nearby boat dragged its anchor and ended up half way across the bay and  at 10 oclock in the morning another boat went past us at about 2 or 3 mph dragging its anchor and missing us by only 20 yards, a bit close for comfort! He got the lifeboat out in the end which, having sorted him out was called out again to rescue another boat in the bay which had lost its steering, quite enough excitement for 1 day!

On Sunday morning we left for the Fastnet. Having set off in a rather miserable light drizzle we soon had a lovely day. We lunched at a nearby island then headed for the rock. On the way we spotted a local fishing boat pulling out fish so dropped our sails and got the fishing rods out. Within 5 minutes Paul had 2 nice Pollock, dinner sorted. 'Just another 5 minutes' said Paul, 4 minutes later he had what seemed like a whale on the end of his line.

The one that didn't get away, cod of the century..........................................................................>>>>>!






With enough fish to feed a small army we resumed course for the Fastnet Rock, an exciting moment.

Spare a thought for the photographer, Paul went round the Fastnet in a pink rubber dinghy, not a lot of people can say they've done that!!!

And for dinner....... not only does he catch it but he does a jolly fine job of cooking it too!

While back home revels in glorious sunshine the damp here is all pervading. Despite the luxury of heating (we have a 5kw diesel heater on board) the air has been so damp that it has got into everything. You slide between damp sheets at night and into damp clothes in the morning, the only way to get the salt out of the pot is to dry it in a frying pan!

We do sun dances, howl at the moon and it works, quick get everything out to dry, one floating chinese laundry!

The day got better and better, I stripped off as fast as I could and luxuriated in the warmth with a gentle wind behind us.

Paul on the other hand had heard about the fickleness of the Irish weather and was taking no chances with his clothing!

We are anchored in Baltimore this evening , sundowners and dinner al fresco as the sun seems to have really arrived (fog forcast for tomorrow!) We are looking forward to the sea food and wooden boat festival that starts tomorrow for 3 days.

Kinsale near the south west corner of Ireland is said to be a pretty and very important town in Irish history. This was the view when we stuck our heads out of the hatch this morning in our anchorage, I gather there is a heat wave at home!

From this scene it got worse, the rain started. As luck would have it we had decided to have a day at anchor today as I needed to get some work and jobs done, Paul headed ashore to top up on supplies, I think he got the short straw!

 The weather perked up mid afternoon and we went ashore to explore. Kinsale is a quaint place oozing history. Some years ago they decided that the traditional Irish gray was too drab so they decided to add a little colour, well, a lot of colour actually!

Like every good Irish town they like their Guinness!

For tea it was fish cakes made by our fine shipscook, fish supplied by yours truly, my first Pollock caught trawling on the way here (towing a washing line behind the boat under way with a hook on the end - high tech skillful stuff) For afters and following an arduous days work we followed the old Naval tradition of splicing the mainbrace,giving the crew a tot after a tough day. We lifted a glass to Dennis who introduced us to the evil potion in the bottle which at 60% proof is only drinkable well watered down with chocolate and cream but it certainly hits the spot on a cold damp day!

When in Ireland........ you HAVE to kiss the Blarney stone!
Sunday saw our second sunny day so far, perfectly timed for the 20 mile cycle from the marina in Cork to the little village of Blarney with its castle and famous stone.
On the way we stumbled across an adult club level Hurling match; what a game! Played with a stick like a hockey stick but with a flat head about 4" in diameter it is a cross between hockey and lacross only you can use your hands, your feet and there aren't many rules! It is seriously fast and furious, the players scoring 1 point if they get the ball between the 'rugby' posts and 3 points if they get it in the netted goal below the posts. The only protection is a helmet (not even gloves) and it is NOT for the faint hearted! Sticks clash above and below the head and bodies are bashed. At one point there were 3 men down and still play did not stop. One lad seemed to dislocate his finger which was duly put back in for him on the side of the pitch, how no hands were broken was a miracle!

After lunch on the bank watching the Hurling we finished our ride to Blarney Castle.
Like most legends, the Blarney stone has several possible origins but I like this one best:-
An early story involves the goddess Clíodhna.^[2][3] Cormac Laidir MacCarthy, the builder of Blarney Castle,^[4] being involved in a lawsuit, appealed to Clíodhna for her assistance. She told MacCarthy to kiss the first stone he found in the morning on his way to court, and he did so, with the result that he pleaded his case with great eloquence and won. Thus the Blarney Stone is said to impart "the ability to deceive without offending." MacCarthy then incorporated it into the parapet of the castle.
Millions flock to kiss the Blarney stone in the hope of eternal eloquence. 
The distinction between Blarney and Baloney is Important.
Balony is telling a 50 year old woman that she looks 18; Blarney is asking a woman her age because you want to know at what age a woman looks her best!

Winston Churchill kissed the Blarney stone before some of his greatest speeches, it makes you think! Like Winston Churchill before us we climbed to the top of the castle to kiss the stone, done lying on you back and leaning backwards because of its position.
















The stone is built into the parapet of the castle.The hole beneath my head can be seen in the centre of the overhang. For 200 years people have been making the pilgrimage to kiss a stone in the battlements of a castle paying the descendants of Cormac McCarthy £10 a pop, now that's marketing!


Monday and Tuesday were spent sailing west at 7 knots with calm seas and the wind on the beam, fantastic sailing. We are being incredibly lucky with the winds; we should have head winds all along the south coast but in two weeks have only had one day on the nose! We are now 50 miles from turning the corner again, this time at the Fastnet rock, hang on to your hats!

Wind, Saltee Islands and fruits of the sea.
A cracking days sail took us round the bottom right tip of Ireland, beating into a force 6 with the lee rail under unfortunatly leaving us with 20 gallons of water in the bilges, the fridge, storage boxes... another problem to solve!However a small discovery for man but a marvellous sight for mankind as the Saltee Islands hove into sight, we dipped the ensign to Mark 'Salty' Stuart after whome the islands were named (although they got the spelling wrong).

On wednesday we set out to explore the Salties (there being 2, the southerly and largest, 'Great Salty' named for Mark, the northerly smaller 'Little Salty' named for young William Stuart). A beautiful although still very chilly day saw us anchored in a beautiful cove surrounded by cliffs of screaming Gannets and Guillemot collonies, an amazing sight.

We took the dinghy ashore and walked to the top of the clifffs; Mark, a view of Great Saltee!

A view of 'our cove' with Moondance and the colony cliffs in the background

From the top of the cliffs we got a fabulous view of the Gannet colony

Then it was time to catch out tea,

3 cod (my first) and one Pollock later .... all in all a very successful day!

Time for our first bike ride! We headed 20 miles inland to see a museum on the Irish revolution; the museum was disapointing but it was a great ride, although a little wobbly first time out on small wheeled bikes!

If its too far for Shanks's pony, get on yer bike! First time out however it needs some putting together

Having got ashore a folding bike was too much for Waddy

The following day we were storm bound with a force 7  blowing, a good day for some maintenance and fortunate timing as the toilet system failed on us resulting in gallons of effluent ending up in the bilges from a tank that should even have been in use! 3 smelly hours later things were tolerably back to normal.

Welcome to the Moondance blog! Blog? We've all heard of them but none of us have dipped our toes in the water! Paul (Waddy to those in the know) and Jeff are sailing round Ireland this summer, with a little help from our friends. We don't want to gloat, not for a minute, (well, not a long one anyway) but we would love to share our adventure with our friends who are desk bound; tell you what we are up to and hear whats going on at home. In the computer age, this is how it's done! We will post our news every few days (our 'blog'). Everyone can see what we have written and the blog gives you the opportunity to leave a message for us (all other blog readers can also see what you have written so go steady!), we will pick up these messages next time we log on.

The blog shows the latest news first, you can scroll down to see older stuff. Any replies (comments) the reader writes will appear below the 'post' you commented on, we can reply to those comments. Our reply will appear below your comment so if there is a new post, remember to go back to previous posts to look out for our replies.

Here we go!

The fine ship Moondance

 A 5am start from Hollyhead on Wednesday 9.5.12 took us out into the Irish sea after a very hurried load up to catch the favourable northerly winds (jolly cold but the right direction!) 12 chilly hours and very large hunks of bon voyage fruit cake later (thanks Mellers!) we rolled into Arklow (20m south of Dublin) for the first pint of Guiness!

Tea and cake at the Ritz? Nah, give us the Irish sea!

Waddy enjoys the Irish sunshine

 Day 2 started with a bracing shower coz Jeff hadn't turned the water heater tap on followed by 20 minutes bailing out the shower coz the pump didn't work. Jeffs next job......

Jeff doing his yoga

Another 5 o'clock start on friday to catch the tide and more chilly favourable winds from the north gave us a cracking sail 30 miles south  at 7 knots (pretty slow to you land lovers at 8mph but pretty quick for a boatie!)  to  Wexford, the south east tip of Ireland. Friday evening we saw evidence of a big yellow ball in the sky that graces the emerald isle but rarely, the sun! Time for a sundowner, marvelous!

Bye for now, we look forward to hearing from you!

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