By 14.30 we were back on board. We had planned to lock out of the marina but as the forecast for Friday did not look favourable for an early departure to Ireland, we decided not to rush to catch the last lock out, but to allow the Mikes to spend some time acquainting themselves with Noisette. Having settled in Chris and Mike A went victualling whilst David and Mike C began planning passages! We celebrated our arrival with a fine meal at the local marina eatery - Martha's Vineyard.
Day 1: 3rd May 2013 - after a leisurely start we slipped the mooring and topped up the diesel tanks before taking advantage of the "free flow" through the lock to enter the Haven. With a steady force 4/5 blowing from the South West we left the mainsail in its bag, unfurled the genoa and made good speed to Neyland where we tied up alongside the holding pontoon for a visit to the chandlers. There are two types of retail therapy that David happily engages with - food and chandlery!
After lunch,and with a new Admiralty Leisure Folio of charts for the eastern side of Ireland on board, the wind strength had increased as forecast and we beat back down the haven with one reef in main and a couple of rolls in the genoa, dodging tugs and tankers as we sailed to Dale. Between tacks, Mike C used his anemometer to measure the air temperature at 10oC, only 0.5oC when the wind chill was applied. Crew happily huddled under the spray hood.
By 17.50 we considered the Mikes had had enough short tacking practice and we anchored in Dale. No whelks tonight - but there might be a few stiff muscles by morning.
Trip statistics: Time - 4 hours , Log - 13.6 nautical miles
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| Panoramic view from the anchorage in Dale |
Day 2 & 3: 4th and 5th May 2013 - The forecasts for Lands End to St. David's Head and for sea araa Lundy still contained force 7 winds and rough sea state, so we had a leisurely morning at anchor before inflating "Hazel" (Noisette's tender) to go ashore in Dale.
The Griffin Inn provided an excellent lunch of local sea food and local beer which together with varied conversation and watching the dinghy sailing, kept us well amused.
Although the wind would be behind us on the return trip to the boat and it should be an easier passage, David, ever prudent, refuelled Hazel while still tied to the pontoon. 
At 07.45 we were joined by dolphins. Only a short visit this time, and missed by both of the Mikes - one in his bunk and one in the heads - timing is everything! But as always seeing dolphins, having daylight back and sighting land - the Saltees small islands lying off the south east coast of Ireland - raised all our spirits.
We reconsidered the shorter inshore passage - St Patrick's Bridge - to Kilmore Quay and decided that as we would encounter wind against tide and were unfamiliar with the route we would play safe and take the longer route to the South and West of the Saltees. This added considerably to the journey but at least the sun was shining. By the time we passed the southerly cardinal marking an isolated rock south of the Saltees, the sea state reduced, we were able to bear away, shake the reefs out of the sails, and suddenly everyone was on deck again, enjoying breakfast was being enjoyed.
By 12.15 we had received the normal, dock side, friendly greeting from the Harbour Master and were tied up in Kilmore Quay.
Trip statistics: Time - 15 hours 15 minutes, Log - 83.3 nautical miles
We have seen reports sent to the Cruising Association that the facilities at Kilmore Quay are poor. We found to the contrary. The facilities are very good (though you do have to pay 1 Euro for a 4 minute shower) but the access system is in a league of its own. The Harbour Master takes a mobile number from you on arrival. To gain access to the pontoons or the facilities you have to phone a number and if your number is recognised the door magically opens. We did explain to the Harbour Master that this effectively meant we were being charged for an international call every time we wanted to go in or out of anywhere - but this seemed to go over his head. Perhaps this is why a lot of visiting yachtsmen seem to use the public facilities and therefore complain about the standard.
Day 4: 6th May 2013 - A favourable forecast - South or South East, force 4 or 5, sea state slight to moderate - had us planning the passage from Kilmore Quay to Arklow. The north going tide along this coast rolls with you and if you time it right you can achieve 7 hours of favourable tide. However, for us that would have meant leaving at about 04.00, which did not feel like adequate recovery time, or 16.00 which would have meant arriving in the early hours. Neither felt like a good plan and we decided to leave at 12.30 to "push the last of the tide" with the intention of arriving in Arklow just before dark.
As we left the harbour towards the Saltees, the "Old Saltys" hoisted full main. We went through St. Patrick's Bridge before unfurling the genoa. Sailing again with 11 knots of wind from South South West.
The log was not reading, usually this is due to a bit of weed or something impeding the paddle wheel, and requires the log impeller to be removed and cleaned. For the uninitiated, the log impellor fits in a hole in the hull below the water line, and when it is removed, water comes in until a blanking plug is inserted. The challenge is to do this in as short a time as possible - to keep the boat from sinking! This is never David's favourite job [Why is this always my job? DH], even when the boat is stationary, but in the interests of knowing how far we had travelled he plucked up courage to do it.
Once we had rounded the South easterly corner of Ireland, the wind was abaft the beam (behind us!) and the tide was going in the direction we wanted to go in. We were making good progress. But with 4 Merlin Rocket racers on board we had to hoist the spinnaker.
Noisette has a cruising 'chute. The 'big boat' equivalent of an asymmetric spinnaker on a dinghy. We do not have a bowsprit, and there was a strange rope devise in the bag with the sail when we first tried it. Having spoken to the sail maker, they advised us that the sail was designed to be flown from a simple tack line, under the bow roller and attached to a cleat. However, our Rocna anchor sits higher on the bow than the standard CQR, and was in the way. We had discussed using the spinnaker pole to attach the tack of the 'chute, giving it a bit more height and allowing us to cant it to windward, as the wingwang on an RS 400 does.
This was the ideal opportunity to test the idea. It seemed to work very well and with 9.8 knots of wind we were achieving a boat speed of 5.7 knots and SOG of 7.0 knots. We are aware that gybing the chute with this arrangement would not be an option - but we are working on a cunning plan to overcome that!
We flew the 'chute for 2 hours before the wind dropped to the point that the tide was reducing the apparent wind to almost nothing.
As we were keen to make land fall before dark we put the engine on to maintain the speed.
With the chute safely stowed we hoisted the inverted cone as we passed Blackwater Easterly Cardinal at 17.42.
Dinner was served in the cockpit and we approached Arklow as the sun set.
The locals in Kilmore Quay had advised us to use the pontoon just past the marina entrance rather than to go into the small marina, and we tied up there at 21.00.
We had not managed to raise the marina office on the VHF and Mike C went looking for someone to inform of our arrival. As he walked through the local estate, still in full oilies, boots and life jacket he asked a man in a car for directions but being greeted by the response "Have you come from outer space?" returned to the mothership without making meaningful contact.
Trip statistics: Time - 8 hours 45 mins, Log - 44.1 nautical miles
Discussion over apple pie and custard led to the conclusion that in order to avoid deteriorating weather conditions forecast for later tomorrow and to make best use of the tide we needed to make an early start. No forays into the heart of Arklow were undertaken and we all went to bed happy to have had a good sail.
Day 5: 7th May 2013 - We put the cockpit instruments on at 04.00 to be greeted by the sound of alarms going off. The depth was reading 2.4 metres on the pontoon, and less as we gently slipped the mooring warps and felt our way into the channel. Noisette's draft is 1.8 metres, and the shallow alarms going off is just a bit disconcerting when it is the first thing that happens at that hour. The alarm clock is bad enough!
We motored out of the harbour and raised the mainsail, but there was no wind at all. When we had heard the forecast for a 3 to 4, we thought that would be Beaufort, not knots. Having seen the sunset as we approached Arklow we watched the sun rise at 05.52 above a glassy sea as we approached Wicklow Point.
The wind started to fill in a little as we entered Dublin Bay. But with the entrance to Dun Laoghaire harbour so close, not enough to use.
By 08.59 we were tied up in the marina and the wind was blowing force 4, but no more play today - Mike A needs to leave us tomorrow so that he can get home in time to go on holiday on Friday (it's a tough life!) and this is the best place to drop him off. He has decided to give himself a birthday present and fly home. There are arrangements to be made.
Trip statistics: Time - 4 hours 54 mins, Log - 29.6 nautical miles
We investigated travel options and decided to all go into Dublin on Wednesday. Mike A would leave from there to catch his plane and with gales forecast for Thursday we decided that the best option would be to leave Noisette in Dun Laoghaire and return home from there rather than try to sail her to Holyhead.
We explored the town of Dun Laoghaire in the afternoon, before booking 3 sail rail tickets on the fast ferry from Dun Laoghaire to Holyhead and through to Birmingham on the train.
The Mikes treated us to a superb meal in a very nice Restaurant, "Hardy's", situated in a grand building - formerly the station. "Thank you!"
We then decided that we should visit one of the local sailing clubs. We started with the Royal Irish - but could not get through the door (perhaps they saw us coming). We did however gain entry and were allowed to drink in the Royal St. George's Yacht Club. Which, we were told, is the biggest and the oldest of the 3 sailing clubs in Dun Laoghaire. Established in 1838, so even older than Midland Sailing Club, and almost as friendly!
Day 6: 8th May 2013 - Mike A's birthday
Having seen the forecast, now up to severe gale 9, for tomorrow we were sure we had made the correct decision to leave the boat in Dun Laoghaire. We caught the "Dart", rapid train link, into Dublin at about 10.00. Went to the bus station to leave Mike A's bag in the left left luggage and made our way to O'Connell Street where we jumped on the "hop-on-hop-off" tour bus - a great way to get an overall image of the City and to orientate yourself to where you want to visit. It was a little cold on top of the bus though we were fortunate that we did not get wet. Lunch in Brannigan's off O'Connell Street was a welcome way of warming up.
Once fortified we walked back "south side" and into Trinity College. Fabulous architecture which creates a very relaxed atmosphere in the centre of the City. Now what could we study here for the PhD? ...maybe not!
And in panorama
From here we went to the Archaeological Museum and looked at the Viking exhibits which were amazing and extensive; tools, buckles - not too disimilar those used today, leather shoes - showing incredibly detailed leather work, carvings, buckets, pottery, jewellery all so well preserved.
David examines the detail of a replica Viking boat.
We walked though St Stephen's Green, one of the parks in the city, and really noticed how much more advanced the plants were than at home. Although it was not warm, the locals were enjoying the amenites.
On the way to the river we walked past Molly Malone's statue - she is known locally as the Tart with the Cart, the boys posed with her - some of them reluctantly!
The buildings along the river are spectacular for a variety of reasons. We walked as far as the Samuel Beckett Bridge where we crossed over so that we could make our way back to the bus station in time for one last coffee together before Mike A caught his bus to the airport.
Once we were 3, we got the train back to Dun Laoghaire. During the journey we received a call from Stenna Line informing us that the crossing for tomorrow had been cancelled.
It would seem that the forecast that had dissuaded us from sailing further was also a problem for the ferry. We chose to delay our departure for a day rather than travel to Dublin Port with the bags.
Day 7: 9th May 2013 - Having cleaned and tidied the boat we went to visit the Shackleton Endurance photographic exhibition which was stunning - well worth the visit and bought back so many memories of our visit to Antarctica.
We thought we should test the wind and walked the length of the west breakwater to see how it felt. Cold and strong is the short answer.
Mike C and David considered the condition in the harbour and out to sea. The digital anemometer on the breakwater was showing a steady force 6 with gusts of force 8.
Thursday night is the main racing night in the 3 sailing clubs. We observed a lot of people on the terraces looking at the conditions, and even nore in the bars, some preparation to rig Flying 15s, a few people being ferried to boats on swinging moorings - but no racing took place.
Panorama of Dun Laoghaire harbour.
On 10th May we return home for a short shore break before we return to Noisette for the next leg which, conditions permitting, will include a bit more of the Irish coast, crossing to the Isle of Man (Round Mann yacht race and TT) and then on to Scotland.
