Arthur's Coastal Cruise 2014 - Part 3
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Day 27 - Friday, 25th July, 2014
And so, we have decided to move on to Schull. Although it hardly needed to be checked, as a matter of habit I downloaded the Windfinder forecast for Schull/Mizen Peninsula. It is shown above in the form of a four day forecast which indicates a reason why we decided to move. Whereas today (25th July) looks extremely good the subsequent days are less than ideal. Perhaps it is a good idea to get to Schull and take a breather. Schull offers much betters facilities and resources. A town that boasts two supermarkets and several restaurants and pubs and various other retail outlets. Much more than what is on offer in Crookhaven.
Day 27 - Friday, 25th July, 2014
We have two options. We could take the more sheltered route along the Long Island Channel. But for this trip, our first passage to Schull, we will take the longer route as highlighted above. Passage length is approx. 10 nautical miles.
circa 13:20... Arthur's bow is pointed towards the entrance to Crookhaven Harbour as we head for Schull. Another day of glorious weather beckons. And another entry on my Bucket List is about to be ticked....
Cruising time will be approximately 70-80 mins.
Fastnet Rock and Lighthouse in the distance.
Long Island with the white tower of Copper Point in the centre of the photo.
Long Island on the left; Calf Island in the middle; Cape Clear/Clear Island on the right.
Copper Point at the tip of Long Island and the mouth of the entrance to Schull Harbour.
circa 14:25...Passing Copper Point Lighthouse on Long Island at the entrance to Schull Harbour.
circa 14:30...entering Schull Harbour.
circa 14:50...Paul uses the dinghy to secure Arthur to the mooring buoy (not the one in the photo!)
circa 16:37... Having moored we take the dinghy into the mainland and explore the town. This is Main Street, Schull. It seems like a metropolis by comparison with Crookhaven! Two supermarkets and loads of other shops, pubs, restaurants.
16:45...heading back to the floating pontoon to take the dinghy back to 'Arthur'.
circa 17:12...'Arthur' looks at home on her visitor's mooring!
Mary captures a shot of a happy looking skipper who has now ticked another entry on his Bucket List!
And an equally happy-looking Mary with 'Arthur' in the background!
17:20...back on-board "Arthur" and Mary enjoys the environment.
'Arthur' with bow pointing towards the entrance to Schull Harbour.
Mary's herb garden enjoys the good weather! Mary invariably brings a 'herb garden' on each coastal cruise with some or all of the following: parsley, chive, basil, rosemary... and perhaps some others.
19:41...Taking advantage of the super weather....dining 'al fresco'!
A toast to 'Arthur' and her crew. And to the chef who has prepared a gorgeous prawn salad starter!
Day 28 - Saturday, 26th July, 2014
Circa 07:40...I had a so-so sleep and rose early. Caught this gorgeous calm morning... bow pointed at the Harbour Master's Office, the large white building in the background. And as you can see, mobos are significantly outnumbered in all coastal harbours!
And looking out towards the entrance to Schull Harbour.
circa 17:15...took this shot from our dinghy on the return from a trip to town.
A catamaran moored near us.
Day 29 - Sunday, 27th July, 2014
Reminds me of the old 'Spot the ball' competitions in the Irish Press of many years ago! So, find your RIB/Dinghy is the name of this game! This pontoon is primarily for users of dinghies/RIBS. We came into the town to get Sunday newspapers and some groceries. And we then discovered that the Annual Schull Agricultural show was taking place that day.
The Annual Schull Agricultural Show which was held on the outskirts of the town. Some locals suggested that it was only a half-mile walk from the town. Two miles later we discovered the reality...and also that a free shuttle bus service was operating between the show and town... :-(
circa 13:00...took the dinghy back to "Arthur" to catch up on the newspapers that we had amassed over previous days and had yet to read! Our daily diet is usually three newspapers: IrishTimes, Irish Indo and Irish Daily Mail. Sometimes when we are on a coastal cruise the number of unread newspapers accumulates. Mary stacks them in neat bundles: today's, yesterday's, previous day, day before that...and so on. And we do read them in the right order.
Day 30 - Monday, 28th July, 2014
circa 10:20...another fine day. But I notice the little ripples on the water...in a relatively sheltered harbour!
Mooring buoy (yellow) with pick-up buoy (red) attached. We have had great fun and games (sometimes not so much fun!) trying to secure a line to a mooring buoy, despite the acquisition of a Moorfast a number of years ago. Each time is an adventure! And we have used various techniques / approaches over the past couple of years. Still trying to perfect it!
circa 13:40...came ashore to get the newspapers and some groceries. Decided to try and tie up at the slipway...had to make mental note re tide!
Harbour Master's House and Chandlery (large white building at centre of photo).
circa 14:40...back on-board and we decided to see could we passage to nearby Clear Island.
View of Fastnet Rock from just outside Schull Harbour. Sea-state not so good and waves were catching us on the beam. We aborted the planned passage to Cape Clear and returned to Schull... :-(
I created this panorama of Schull Harbour as we returned from our aborted trip to Clear Island.
Day 31 - Tuesday, 29th July, 2014
Decision time.... We are in Schull which is 4 x long passages from returning to the Inland waters, i.e. 1 day passage from Schull to Lawrence Cove; 1 day passage from Lawrence Cove to Dingle; 1 day passage from Dingle to Kilrush; and 1 day passage from Kilrush to Limerick/Killaloe. Each of these days needs to be good by our standards of acceptability for coastal cruising. It could be easy to get caught at any of these locations. And we HAVE to be back in Portumna before the end of August. The Windfinder report above shows forecasts for the next 6 days. Your objective is to get to Lawrence Cove. Which day do you choose and why?
In retrospect, I think that I made the wrong choice. And we certainly paid for it!
And by the way...we have an understanding on "Arthur". If either of the crew voice unhappiness with the conditions on the water we turn back and re-group. No argument.
I made a decision to try for Lawrence Cove on Tuesday, 29th July. Some plusses: low wave height (below one metre); wind direction N/W ( we would be heading into the waves).
On the minus side: wind and gusts higher than we would like.
Yes, Sunday, 3rd August looks very attractive AT THIS POINT IN TIME. The question is whether or not it will hold. And this year, more than any previous year, I have noticed that weather has NOT been holding, even over short 24-48 hour periods.
We planned to leave circa noon.
circa 12:00.... 'Arthur' departs Schull bound for Lawrence Cove via the Mizen Head. I note the little ripples in the water in the sheltered confines of Schull Harbour.
12;30...Mizen Head in distance, to right of bow. I voiced the observation 'No white horses in sight' .... I should have added '...at least not yet'!
Farewell Fastnet Rock...hope to return in 2015 and circumnavigate it!
15:30... Photo taken after the s..t hit the fan! The sea-state got progressively worse as we approached Mizen Head. And eventually the radar arch collapsed backwards towards the stern. Mary secured it with a rope and we continued on our way to Lawrence Cove.
And so how come we didn't turn back? Well, in subsequent discussion it came to light that each of us was having the same thought: it will get better! And when it didn't we both, independently, took the view that we would get through it and get on to Bantry Bay quicker than turning around and heading for Crookhaven. And then there would have been the not necessarily so easy task of turning our 37ft cruiser in the face of moderate waves (1.5m - 2.5m) with F5 gusts. Getting hit by a wave on the beam at the wrong time could be very unpleasant or worse! And so we pushed on, perhaps comforted by the thought of the rising tide on Bantry Bay! More of that anon!
This video footage (approx. 41 secs) was recorded after the radar arch crashed.
Click anywhere on the black image above to play this short video clip.
1) Press the ESC key on your keyboard after video clip ends to return to the PhotoJournal.
2) Unfortunately the wind impacted on the sound recording and makes it difficult to hear what I am saying.
3) Note the presence of 'white horses' a clear indication of the less than comfortable sea state.
circa 15:40...approximately three and a half hours after departing Schull and we are approaching the west entrance to Berehaven. However, what I had originally seen as a plus was the rising tide that we would encounter on Bantry Bay. Unfortunately I had forgotten that we would NOT be cruising UP Bantry Bay...but rather ACROSS it... :-( And so we endured the constant onslaught of waves catching us on the beam as we headed across Bantry Bay towards the entrance to Berehaven. We tacked a little and eventually made it to the entrance of Berehaven.
Passaging ACROSS Bantry Bay against a rising tide on the bay which was catching 'Arthur' on the beam! Video clip has a duration of approx. 48 secs.
Click anywhere on the black image above to play this short video clip.
1) Press the ESC key on your keyboard after video clip ends to return to the PhotoJournal.
2) Again, the wind impacted on the sound recording and makes it difficult to hear what I am saying.
circa 16:05... Arthur is on the calmer waters of Berehaven and heading for Lawrence Cove Marina where we will assess the damage and the crew will take a well-earned rest!
Day 33 - Thursday, 31st July, 2014
Two days after our saga at Mizen head! Mary relaxing on-board 'Seagulls & Salt' and about to enjoy lunch with Anthony & Catherine.
Anthony & Catherine of 'Seagulls & Salt'
Two happy-looking crews.
Day 34 - Friday, 1st August, 2014
circa 10:30...Phil Harrington, the doyenne of Lawrence Cove Marina, visits the crew of 'Seagulls & Salt' who will be departing for Crosshaven later in the day.
Mary on her way to chat with Anthony & Catherine