Arthur's Coastal Cruise 2014 - Part 3
Read MoreDay 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 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.
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.
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!
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.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.