Arthur's Coastal Cruise 2017 - Part 3
Read MoreWindfinder forecast for Mizen Head issued at 05:42. Distance from Lawrence Cove Marina to Baltimore is 31NM. Passage duration will be circa 4 hours. In order to benefit from the weather and tides we will depart Lawrence Cove Marina at approx. 07:30 and will expect to arrive in Baltimore circa 11:30. The forecast (see above) shows almost negligible winds, gorgeous sunshine, a wave height of 1.5m. Almost perfect cruising conditions for a mobo (motorboat)! Also, we will be departing Lawrence Cove Marina at approximately High Water which should give us an ebb tide as we traverse Bantry Bay.
You may be wondering why I sometimes use Windguru and at other times I use Windfinder. The reason is that Windguru does not provide wave data (height and direction) for all locations.'The Lookout' restaurant at Baltimore. We dined out as, contrary to our normal practice, we planned to cruise to Kinsale early in the morning whereas normally we would be taking an 'R&R' day after our cruise from Lawrence Cove. And when I say 'early in the morning' that is precisely what it will be!
DAY 18 - Thursday, 13th July, 2017
Windguru forecast for Kinsale for Thursday, 13th July. And it looks good, especially in the early morning. So, we have earmarked a VERY EARLY start for our passage to Kinsale which will provide another tick on my Bucket List! In fact we plan to depart Baltimore at first light. It's not often that I need to check for 'first light' but this will be one of those days! Daylight starts at 05:35. We ready "Arthur" for the passage from the night before and set our alarm clocks (on our smartphones!) for 04:30!!! Distance is 41NM and that will give us a passage time of 5-6 hours at our usual cruising speed of 7-8kts.
And this is the Windguru forecast for Incheydoney which we pass en-route to Kinsale. You will note the heavy similarity between the two forecasts albeit that there are some minor differences between the two. Note in particular the differences with regard to wave height... the Incheydoney forecast is much lower, indeed the wave height is nearly half that forecast for Kinsale!
It's 05:05 and I sneak out on deck to capture a few photos. It almost makes me feel guilty that I will shortly be starting "Arthur's" engines. I remove window covers, set-up the GPS/Chartplotter, gather the paper charts, locate binoculars, gather camera, put on PFDs, etc. Meanwhile, Mary is prepping breakfast (usually a pot of tea-leaf tea and some brown soda bread) which we will have en-route. The previous evening she prepared lunch...sambos...egg mayonnaise (with chive) and ham & tomato! And a flask of tea as well. And then it's simply a case of pulling in shorepower cable, undoing lines and gently slipping off the pontoon.
06:15...We pass the Cardinal Marker that identifies the location of the sunken wreck of the 900ft Kowloon Bridge which sank off Baltimore in December 1986. The following link gives access to an article in the Irish Examiner which commemorates the 30th Anniversary of the disaster.
https://www.irishexaminer.com/viewpoints/analysis/kowloon-bridge-remembering-the-disaster-that-struck-30-years-ago-433673.html