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.

The battle of the Bantry Bay (Crustacean v Moondance).
We were sent away with fine instructioins from Jane Yeoward on how to catch prawns and langustine in a collapsable pot, time to give it a try!
We unpacked the small wiry pot, first problem, how to keep it on the bottom? We found some suitable rocks and loaded the pot with the most wonderful concoction of fish guts, dead crabs (from inside said fish guts) and 2 fish heads; the Crustacean would NOT be able to resist this lot, all we had to do was lower it over the side, wait for the morning and haul in our catch (providing we were strong enough to haul it all aboard).

The morning came, we hauled in the pot and the crustacean HAD enjoyed our offerings, only trouble was that they pinched it all to eat on their own table, there were no fish heads and no prawns, out smarted by a nearly blind sideways walking beastie! We figured that the crabs had been in and not only departed themselves but carted off their booty through the entrance, no mean feat, look how small the hole is and its half way up the side of the pot. Crustacean 1 Moondance 0. We live to fight another day, prawn pot mark 2 is on the drawing board!

Not really quite so sporting but a couple of days later we pulled up alongside a boat pulling in its pots and got our haul of langoustine that way, boy they were good!

                                                             

Prawns are not the only 'fruits de mer' that we have been feasting on, mussels came of the underside of a pontoon in the bay we were anchored in by the handful, whilst picking we were being watched by someone else who would have liked the mussels!

Meanwhile back on board, bored with scrabble we decided to play hide and seek 'you'll never find me in here'!

The fridge had packed up (if your not paying for your boat you are fixing it, I don't really think that anyone actually has time to sail them!)

I had a fabulous walk over the local mountains. It is an incredibly beautiful place, very rugged. Its like the lake district but without the people. On a 5 hour walk I saw precisely noone!

This is a view of an anchorage at the top of Bantry Bay (the haze is 'coz it really was a beautiful sunny day, now we don't get many of those over here!)

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!