The First Trip of the Year

This was the first trip of the year – and the weather was unusually mild for it.  We just made it the “shake-down” cruise to iron out a few things and to make our new crew member welcome.  There were four of us on board and the boat handled very nicely, putting in a good tern of speed with the wind abeem. We were planning to stay at sea all night and travel way beyond the Blaskets - but, when we were out there there was a strong wind blowing and so we decided that the wisest thing to do was to put in to Valentia for the night.

When we arrived at Valentia it was eerily quiet in the marina.  No other boat there, no electricity, no water etc.  We asked at the hotel and were told that we had arrived too early in the year. It all would be going on – but not until Easter !  No matter – we had all our food, drink and wine with us !.

I met an old friend called Eddy who I last saw 11 years ago.  So, his wife and two children were all new to me and I saw some of the alterations he has done to his house over the past period of time.  Then it was back to the boat before nightfall and have a scrumptious dinner on board. 

I’ll skip over my falling off my bunk, getting trapped on the floor and having to be pulled and pushed out at 3 in the morning ! 

The Skelligs

 

 

A Day Out from Dingle - Sunday 15th April 2012

We are now on our second trip out - calm seas and lots to look at !  We decided to motor out to An Tieracht and get the new crew member used to the boat.  Soon after setting off from Dingle we saw two Minke whales and then the common dolphins joined us.

A Common Dolphin with Breda - our regular crew and co-skipper.  She spent an hour on the fore-deck watching them.

More Basking Sharks.  There were about 25 that we saw on the south side of Great Blaket island.  As you may know, they are very tame and will swim right up to the boat.  As this one does here. Our new member of crew thought that his "ship had come in" because he saw two Minke whales, fifty common and one bottle nosed dolphin, a porpoise, and over 25 basking shark - plus puffins !   But it was very calm and we motored all the way out to An Tieracht - which we decided to leave until another day.  Don't want him to see the lot on one day !

 And here we are with the dolphins still swimming along with us.   And sunshine too and its only April!

Fetching the boat from Valentia.

Baltic Amber has been in Valentia boatyard for two months and has been anti-fouled and had all of her anodes changed for the new season.  It was a beautiful day on Monday, so three of them - Brenda, Brendan and Jill - went over, prepared the boat, launched it and sailed her back to Dingle.  And although it then pored with rain the next day we should get out in her this Sunday.  And it's still only the first week in March !

Entering Dingle harbor.

Brendan doing some work done on getting the boat ready to go in the water.

 
Leaving Valentia harbor with the lifeboat in the background

Lanzarote

These pictures were taken in the 1st two weeks of February.  We did not take a computer with us to "get away from it all" - but in many ways I wish we had.  The scenery was so unusual (to me) and the housing so decorative and yet all painted in the two colours of blue and white.  Cesar Manrique was a contemporary of Picasso and lived on the island for much of his life.  His influence is all over the island - no buildings over 2 stories high (except for a few large hotels) and their beautiful courtyards.  

A Holiday in Lanzarote

In Yaiza

We went to Lanzarote for 3 weeks to escape the weather for in Ireland and have a good look around.

The volcano which erupted in the 18th century.

The terrific height of the volcano quite takes your breath away.

Our friend Sue.

From the house in the cave you look down on the marina in small island of La Graciosa.

The restaurant at Yaiza

Teguise is the old capital of the island and in it it has this glorious cafe.

The Boat is Taken Out of the Water

A bit later than intended, the weather was near perfect for the trip to Valentia for "Baltic Amber" to be taken out of the water and stood on the hard.  A couple of months would give time for the hull to dry out, get the anti-fouling done, service the prop and change the anodes. Jill and Breda set off on Monday morning (9th Jan ) and by 4 o'clock she was out !  Then the business of taking off the sails and tidying everything away began - and continued the next day until another friend took the car over and brought them home.

 Leaving Dingle Harbor

 Valentia Lighthouse at the entrance to the harbor.

 The RNLI  lifeboat was in the harbor getting a repair fixed.

 Getting ready to get the boat ashore.

 And here she is getting an anode fitted.

In general terms all went well, but you are always a little anxious. This time he had a new device to do the hauling out and the ground was quite slippery near the water's edge which caused the boat to slide and slew about on the cradle. Still, no harm done and here are a few photos to amuse and inspire.............

News from the West Indies.

Well, we've got the New Year over now and it's howling a gale outside. It's just a matter of bolting down the hatches and sitting it out - and I've got a horrid cold !
          So, what could be nicer than receiving communication from the Caribbean from a young woman out of Dublin who is sailing to Tasmania.  She's at the Panama Canal at the moment and should be going through it in the next few days.  Then she is going to the Galapagos Islands and on through the Pacific Ocean.  I'll keep you posted and let you know how she gets on.  Here is a photo from the island of St. Maarten in the Caribbean.

 The Witches Tit,  St. Maarten, The Caribbean. Christmas 2011.

I hope that when she comes back in our summer, she will come sailing with us.  Just for a change, you understand !