Thar she blows!
We left Bantry Bay on Saturday for the next big inlet, Kenmare river. It was a grubby day, rain but a good stiff wind behind us. As we rounded a headland Paul spotted the telltale blow of a whale about half a mile inland of us, a fair way away but close enough for a good view when the beast is that big! Minutes later they were popping out of the water over and over again. They were Minke whales, around 30' in length. The most spectacular was the white underside of a 30' whale, horizontal, 6' out of the water then crashing back into the sea; that image will stay with me for a while. Mostly they were coming vertically out of the water to about half the length of the body. Sorry, no pics!

Our anchorage was a delightful little natural harbour call Derrynane which brought our next little adventure, Razor Fish hunting! Razor fish are the long flat shells that you see often on the beach but never see the beastie. That is because they live under the sand.

How to hunt Razor Fish:-

First park the boat on the beach.
This is our party piece, not many boats can do that!
Moondance has a lifting keel which allows her to sit on the sand; we get lots of worried onlookers who see us in shallow water as the tide is dropping thinking we will end up on our side, we wave back nonchalantly!

Next, don outdoor equipment (heavy water proofs if in Ireland)
Take one container of salt (they are not fussy which brand)
Pour liberally on any little hole found near the waters edge at low tide and stand clear!










Within a few seconds there will be a squirt of water if there is anyone at home.
Next the end of the Razor fish will appear - BE PATIENT - they are very quick at retreating!
When he is halfway out, grab him!
I think the salt makes them think the tide is covering and it is time to come up and feed





Clean the meat out of the shell, put them in a frying pan with a bit of oil and hey presto, it really does work (the fish is top right on the plate)!

They are very tasty, look a bit like squid but are much more tender.

You can even throw in a few Mackerel for good measure (now I'm showing off! Note the Irish sunshine is out again)

We are now at the south end of the ring of Kerry, it makes for some great sailing

and some spectacular anchorages. The sailing season has not started here yet so we have everywhere to ourselves.

From here we cycled 40 miles into the mountains and back along the coast road. Its a very beautiful place.
Today I went walking in the hills (Paul prefers to cycle so he went round the coast road). This is a view of our anchorage.