King Canute

Like King Canute I have had to recognise the supreme power of the elements, whether that be the tides or the winds!

On Tuesday 11th June I left Baltimore and in light winds and almost smooth seas I motored out to the iconic Fastnet rock. This is the turning mark for the annual Fastnet race from Cowes on the Isle of Wight, made infamous by the cruel events of August 1979 when a worse than expected storm led to 24 abandoned or sunk yachts and 19 fatalities. This in spite of the courageous efforts by emergency services, naval forces and civilian vessels. Even in 2023 the race saw many yachts retire. We are fortunate that we now have weather forecasts that are so much more accurate, powered by massive computers.

So I was fortunate to have such benign conditions to have a close up look at this amazing pinnacle of rock 28m high and nearly 4 nautical miles offshore with a lighthouse which is an amazing piece of engineering being the tallest and widest rock lighthouse in the British Isles.

It was a brief (!) detour in my passage to an anchorage in Crookhaven, which is close to the most southerly point of mainland Ireland, Brow Head. I partook of some more of the black stuff (Murphy’s) in O’Sullivans who serve “the most southerly pint in Ireland”. Marconi was in Crookhaven from 1901 till 1914 developing wireless communications using Crookhaven, the Fastnet lighthouse and Cape Clear Island following on from his successes in Cornwall.

From Crookhaven I rounded Mizen Head (the country’s most southwesterly point!) What a dramatic headland and the turning point from the south coast to the “Wild Atlantic West Coast”. Again benign conditions allowed me to come in close and admire the stunning cliffs, using the chart plotter and Navionics on the iPad to identify safe inshore routes.

I then pulled in to Lawrence Cove Marina on Bere Island, close to Castletownbere. This is the only marina between Kinsale and Dingle (my revised objective?!). It is a small family owned marina and Rachel the owner was so helpful. I was able to charge all my electronics and top up on water and diesel … and have an overdue shower!

Berehaven and Lawrence Cove have a big military history as a harbour and port and I took a longer and steeper walk up to one of the Martello towers on Bere Island which gave splendid panoramic views (which is what it was built for!)

A strong wind warning (gusts to F8/9) made this a valuable stop over and I erected the cockpit tent on Thalmia which provides a very pleasant “living room” during inclement weather … and it was wet as well as windy!

I got to know two highly experienced Irish sailors who were moored just in front of me and took my lines as I came in and over a few more pints at this bar (Guinness this time) we swapped information on ports and anchorages in southern Ireland and the UK West Country! The friendliness of the Irish has been experienced many times!

So, back to King Canute!

We still have more low pressure systems (perhaps I should use the term depression!) advancing towards us across the Atlantic. Keeping an eye on the forecasts (I find that PredictWind using the UK Met Office forecast models to be the most detailed and reliable) I see winds, often strong and mostly from a northerly direction for many days ahead at least. Even when they briefly go southerly they are predicted to be strong. So I have bowed to the superiority of the weather and decided to move to plan C.

I’m currently in Glengarriff at the head of Bantry Bay sitting out another blow but in a location considered by many to be the most beautiful anchorage in the whole of Ireland. It was beautiful when I came in, is beautiful this evening, and hopefully will be tomorrow but for much of Saturday the weather has been grey and wet with winds gusting F6 but now settling down. Glengarriff is also the birthplace of the Irish Cruising Club and I’m finishing this blog sat in the bar of the hotel where they had their first meeting.

Maybe tomorrow or maybe on Monday, when the sea state out in the Atlantic will have calmed down, I will round Mizen Head again and seek out some different anchorages along the south coast as I head east.

I’m expecting at least one more “depression” passing through but I’m also hoping for some intervals with enjoyable sailing and delightful anchorages along the way.