MV Dirona travel digest for Ireland 2021


Show Ireland 2021 travel log map Click the travel log icon on the left to see these locations on a map, with the complete log of our cruise.

On the map page, clicking on a camera or text icon will display a picture and/or log entry for that location, and clicking on the smaller icons along the route will display latitude, longitude and other navigation data for that location. And a live map of our current route and most recent log entries always is available at //mvdirona.com/maps/LocationCurrent.html.


   

4/1/2021: Conditions
We departed shortly before 5am on a 225-mile overnight run to Ireland. As forecast, the winds have settled down substantially (wind graph below and right of center) and we're making good speed in a slightly positive current. Our speed will vary dramatically over the run as we encounter large positive and negative currents, but the winds should be light and the seas calm by later this afternoon.
4/1/2021: Sunrise
Spectacular sunrise over the northern tip of the Isle of Skye.
4/1/2021: Rolling
The winds are blowing 20 knots from the northeast, and the current has switched against us, stacking up the seas a bit. We're rolling to 11.6° (pitch and roll and lower left beside the time). We expect the winds to settle down soon.
4/1/2021: Isle of Skye
Dramatic coastline along the west side of the Isle of Skye.
4/1/2021: Neist Point Lighthouse
The 1909 Neist Point Lighthouse on the Isle of Skye is among the most well-known in Scotland and a popular hike destination. The lighthouse was one of 26 designed by David Alan Stevenson, of the famous Stevenson family of lighthouse engineers who designed most of Scotland's lighthouses. The "black sheep" of the family was author Robert Louis Stevenson.
4/1/2021: Crossing Track
We're just about to cross our 2017 track en route to cruising the Outer Hebrides.
4/1/2021: Hyskeir Lighthouse
The lighthouse on Hyskeir Island, completed in 1904, with Isle of Rum beyond. Hyskeir marks the southern end of body of water known as The Minch, between the Outer Hebrides and mainland Scotland. Due to the relatively shallow waters, strong currents and high winds, conditions there can be among the most dangerous in the country.
4/1/2021: Dolphins
A pod of dolphins chased our bow as we neared the Isle of Coll on a calm and sunny afternoon.
4/1/2021: Gunna Sound
Bouy marking shallows with the Isle of Coll in the background as we pass through Gunna Sound. The current is now against us and we're making only 4.7 knots as we pass through.
4/1/2021: Dubh Artach Lighthouse
The famous Dubh Artach lighthouse, designed by Thomas Stevenson of the Stevenson family of lighthouse engineers, was completed in 1872. The structure, perched on a tiny islet, is an impressive piece of engineering to still be standing after over a century given the horrific seas that can occur here. Conditions were so adverse, with waves over 92 ft (28 m) recorded, that the keepers were paid extra. Even landing here was a challenge. At low tide the landing surface was 40 ft (12m) above the water, but still could be subject to swell.
4/1/2021: Rhinns of Islay
About to round the Rhinns of Islay at 10pm. We're back in positive current now and speeding along at 9.5 knots.
4/1/2021: 13.5 Knots
Our speed increased to 13.5 knots as we rounded the Rhinns of Islay.
4/1/2021: Nordic
The tanker Nordic underway for Brofjorden Port, Sweden's largest oil port. This is the first commercial vessel we've seen underway for hours—vessel traffic is much lighter than our past trips through the area.
4/2/2021: Positive Current
We continue to run in a positive current as we enter North Channel off the Northern Ireland.
4/2/2021: Pitch
The winds picked up to 15 knots from the east and was blowing enough against the southeast-flowing current to generate tight waves on the bow. The current is slowing, but we're still pitching over 15° (pitch and roll at lower left, directly right of time). The tidal streams around the UK are very strong, and can be extremely dangerous when strong winds blow against a fast-flowing current.
4/2/2021: Negative Current
Our ride in the positive current is over for now, and we're now running against the tide and making only 4 knots. The pitching motion has improved, but is still high at 11.6° average over the past five minutes.
4/2/2021: Ballylumford
Traffic off the port of Ballylumford shortly after 5am. The fishing vessel Pesorsa Dos is running northwest 3/4 of a mile away, the ferry European Causeway is approaching from the east, and a tanker is approaching from the south. The oil-fired power station at Ballylumford supplies about half of Northern Ireland's power.
4/2/2021: Moon
Fabulous moonrise near Ballylumford.
4/2/2021: Sunrise
Sunrise over the Rhins of Galloway at the southern end of Scotland.
4/2/2021: Mew Island Lighthouse
The Mew Island Lighthouse, erected in 1884.
4/2/2021: Stena Superfast VIII
The ferry Stena Superfast VIII about 7 miles away doing 21 knots en route from Belfast to Cairnryan, Scotland.
4/2/2021: Patrol Boat
In this picture you can see us underway with a 100ft fishing vessel about a mile to our left. Behind both these vessels you can see what might be a fisheries patrol boat, the selected target, with the grey radar track showing its course. The boat was working along the shoreline and looked like it was approaching us, then turned 90 degrees and went over to have a close look at the commercial fishing vessel beside us, then left heading back towards the shoreline.
4/2/2021: Kilwarlin Lighthouse
The inactive Kilwarlin Lighthouse, built by Thomas Rogers in 1797. The light, replaced by the South Rock lightship in 1877, is the oldest waveswept lighthouse still standing in Ireland and possibly in the world.
4/2/2021: Scottish Courtesy Flag
Lowering the Scottish courtesy flag we'd been flying since we picked one up in Stornoway.
4/2/2021: UK Courtesy Flag
Raising a UK courtesy flag to replace the Scottish one as we near landfall in Northern Ireland.
4/2/2021: Angus Rock Lighthouse
The light marking Angus Rock at the entrance to Strangford Lough was initially built as a daymark in 1853 and a light was added in 1983.
4/2/2021: Pladdy Lug Beacon
The Pladdy Lug beacon to starboard as we enter Strangford Lough.
4/2/2021: Kilclief Castle
Kilclief Castle, on the western shores of the entrance to Strangford Lough, was built between 1412 and 1444 and is one of the oldest tower houses in the area.
4/2/2021: Fisher
Fisher working the waters at the entrance to Strangford Loch.
4/2/2021: Gowland Beacon
Beacon marking Gowland Rocks to our starboard. Currents in the entrance to Strangford Lough can reach 8 knots and we've arrived shortly after low-water slack as the current is turning to flood. Entry is safe anytime on the flood, but easier with less current carrying is through.
4/2/2021: Portaferry Windmill
The ruins of the Portaferry windmill, built atop a hill above Portaferry in 1771 and destroyed by fire in 1878.
4/2/2021: Saint Patrick's Church
St. Patrick's Church, above Portaferry, was built in the late 18th century.
4/2/2021: Strangford
The village of Strangford on the west side of the entry channel to Strangford Lough.
4/2/2021: Old Court
Old Court is a large 17th-century estate just north of the village of Strangford, complete with stone lookout tower at bottom left. The property is now a unique and beautiful wedding venue.
4/2/2021: Audley's Castle
15th-century Audley's Castle was used for several scenes in the HBO Game of Thrones series.
4/2/2021: Portaferry Castle
The ruins of 16th-century Portaferry Castle overlooking the harbour in Portaferry. The mint-colored building to the left of the castle is the Portaferry RNLI (Royal National Lifeboat Institution) station, established in 1979.
4/2/2021: S.S. Empire Tana
The wreck of the S.S. Empire Tana just inside Strangford Lough. The ship was built in Trieste, Italy in 1923 and taken as a war prize by the Allies who used it as a block ship during the D-Day landing in Normandy. The ship was raised and was under tow to Strangford Lough for scrapping when it went aground and could not be refloated. The wreck is a popular dive site, teeming with life.
4/2/2021: Chapel Island Anchorage
Our anchorage off Chapel Island just inside Strangford Lough in 33 ft (10m) on 185 ft (56m) of rode.
4/2/2021: Arrival Lunch
Enjoying lunch outside at Strangford Lough on a wonderfully calm and sunny day. After a bit of a rough overnight ride here, it's awesome to be in a sheltered and easy cruising ground.
4/2/2021: Hatch Lock
On the trip south to Strangford Lough, the pilot house overhead hatch lock mechanism broke and fell out. The plastic pivot ping in the red locking lever in the picture both sheared off, causing the locking lever to fall free. We don't have a spare handy, so we drilled through the locking lever and installed a metal pivot pin. You can see the new pivot pin in the picture. It's now working as well as ever, and if the plastic pins lasted ten year, this one should last about a hundred.
4/2/2021: View from Anchorage
View to Portaferry with the Portaferry windmill prominent from our anchorage off Chapel Island.
4/2/2021: Bristol Dirt Race
Tonight we watched the NASCAR Cup Bristol Dirt race on YouTube. NASCAR Cup is the premier US stock car racing series. In the early days of the series, they raced on small dirt tracks throughout the country. The dirt tracks have all been replaced by paved ovals and even an few road courses now.

In this weird step backwards in time, they've put a thick layer of dirt over the cement racing surface of Bristol Motor Speedway and these big, heavy stock cars are back on the dirt for the first time in forty years. In fact, it's been so long that many of the drivers in the series have never raced on dirt.

The event was surprisingly entertaining, even if seemingly a bit low-tech. In fact, it was so good they are planning to do it again next year. Producing this show required 2,300 truck loads of dirt—it's perhaps a first to carefully pave an oval and then carefully spread dirt over the pavement :-)
4/2/2021: Sunset
Sunset over Chapel Island in Strangford Lough, Northern Ireland.
4/3/2021: Dawn
The view northwest over Chapel Island to Killyleagh at dawn from our anchorage in Strangford Lough, Northern Ireland.
4/3/2021: Fog
Fog and seasmoke in Strangford Lough.
4/3/2021: First Smell
Spitfire out on deck getting his "first smell" of Northern Ireland. He's rarely wanted outside for months, but seems to really like Northern Ireland.
4/3/2021: Dirona
Dirona moored off Chapel Island on another calm and clear day in Strangford Lough.
4/3/2021: Strangford 2
The ferry Strangford 2 moored at Portaferry. The vessel makes frequent crossings to Strangford on the other side of the entrance channel. Because of the strong currents, the ferry looks a little unusual when it crosses on a diagonal to its direction of travel.
4/3/2021: St Patricks Hall
St Patricks Hall is a Victorian church converted into apartments.
4/3/2021: Current
The currents run up to 8 knots in the entrance to Strangford Lough, generating large whirlpools and upwellings.
4/3/2021: Angus Rock Lighthouse
The Angus Rock Lighthouse that we passed yesterday entering Strangford Lough, this time viewed from the west side in the tender.
4/3/2021: Paddling
The water and air temperature both are about 50°F (10°C). That doesn't scream beach weather to us, but hey, it wasn't frozen :-).
4/3/2021: Seals
Strangford Lough is home to dozens and dozens of seals. We see them everywhere.
4/3/2021: Celtic Nations
Sailboat off Strangford flying a flag encompassing the flags of the six territories that make up the Celtic Nations, clockwise from upper right: Ireland, Brittany, Isle of Man, Wales, Scotland and Cornwall.
4/3/2021: Old Court
View to the lookout tower at Old Court, 17th-century estate.
4/3/2021: Castle Ward
A portion of the extensive grounds of 16th-century Castle Ward in Strangford Lough, used as the filming location for the castle Winterfell in Game of Thrones.
4/3/2021: Boathouse
Boathouse on the Castle Ward grounds.
4/3/2021: Audley's Castle
Another view to Audley's Castle, on the Castle Ward grounds, that we passed as we first entered Strangford Lough.
4/3/2021: Minesto Test Station
Minesto ocean energy test site in the entrance to Strangford Lough. The company uses what is effectively an underwater airplane tethered to the bottom that "flies" amd moves in the current, generating energy through the spinning of its propeller (turbine).
4/3/2021: Buoy
Data gathering buoy, likely related to the Minesto Test Station, in Audley's Roads near Audley's Castle.
4/3/2021: Pontoons
An unusual pair of pontoons installed in Audley's Roads.
4/3/2021: Wall
The wall along the road above Strangford Lough appears centuries old with many generations and styles of construction visible. The vertical slate section at right is common throughout the area.
4/3/2021: Strangford Stone
The Strangford Stone, standing over 10m high, was erected to celebrate the millenium.
4/3/2021: Quoile Yacht Club
The Quoile Yacht Club is one of several clubs and marinas in Strangford Lough, all with many boats ashore. It looks like it would be a a busy boating area in the summer.
4/3/2021: Mooring Field
Several area in Strangford Lough are packed with moorings. This time of year there's almost no boats underway in the area, but it's a very busy place in the summer.
4/3/2021: Quoile Barrier
The Quoile Barrier along the river Quoile was constructed in 1957 to prevent flooding of the Downpatrick area.
4/3/2021: Town Rock
The old navigation aid Town Rock was built in the 19th century to guide vessels into the village of Killyleagh.
4/3/2021: Killyleagh
Pastel-colored buildings alongshore in the village of Killyleagh.
4/3/2021: Swimmers
A group of kids out enjoying the balmy 50°F (10°C) air and water in Killyleagh. Brrrr!
4/3/2021: Killyleagh Castle
Killyleagh Castle is believed to be the oldest inhabited castle in the world with sections dating to the 12th century.
4/3/2021: Aerial Shot
Blog readers Phil and Lisa Sloan sent us this picture of Dirona anchored off Chapel Island in Strangford Lough, NI. They were flying overhead in an Aeroprakt AP32, a small two-seater powered by a 100 bhp Rotax engine. The plane is an impressive package. It is amazingly light at 705 lb (320 kg), with a maximum takeoff weight of 1,323 lb (600 kg). At a cruise speed of 115kn and carrying 25 gallons (95 l) of fuel, it has an endurance of 4.5 hours. We need one!
4/4/2021: Happy Easter!
The Easter Bunny found is in Northern Ireland this year. Our Bell Equipment model mining truck normally carries real iron-ore pellets from the LKAB mine in Kiruna, Sweden. This morning it carries a payload of Aero peppermint chocolate Easter eggs.
4/4/2021: Easter Haul
James with his haul from the annual Dirona Easter egg hunt.
4/4/2021: Fog
A foggy morning on Strangford Lough.
4/4/2021: Laundry
After eleven years, we still marvel at having a laundry machine on board, possibly after so much use of the handwringer on our previous boat. Not having on-board laundry would be a real hassle traveling the way we do, particularly during the pandemic when so many shoreside facilities are closed.
4/4/2021: Tender Cover
Replacing some of the worn bungee in our tender cover. We also added a new bungee at the aft end to secure it better.
4/5/2021: Waves
The winds picked up from the north last night and will remain that way for the next few days. We've been anchored off Chapel Island three nights and were planning to move to the other end of the lough to explore it as well, but now that the wind is coming from the north there is even more reason to go.
4/5/2021: Passing Through Reefs
The area we are passing through is full of partially or completely submerged reefs. Some have marks, but they are just narrow sticks and difficult to pick out.
4/5/2021: Reefs
Barely-awash reef to starboard as we head north to Mahee Island.
4/5/2021: Mahee Island
Our anchorage with good northerly protection off Mahee Island, in 28 ft (8.5m) on 150 ft (46m) of rode.
4/5/2021: Calf Island
Traditional navigation mark on Calf Island to our southeast.
4/5/2021: Posts
This distinctive stone gatepost style, facing the water, is really popular all around Strangford Lough.
4/6/2021: Brrrr
The temperature fell to 34°F (1.1°C) last night and we had ice out on the bow.
4/6/2021: Overhead Lights
Three of the overhead lights in the master stateroom have slowly been losing brightness and now barely throw any light at all. We replaced two of the lights with spares we had on hand and swapped the third from a location in the guest stateroom where we won't miss having light. That will hold us until we can new parts.
4/6/2021: Light Apart
The failed overhead lights from the master stateroom are Imtra Ventura ILIM30401 and this light is used throughout the boat. They are remarkably well-constructed, fairly expensive and not serviceable. The bad news for us is this light is no longer in production and the closest part now available is a 2-wire design instead of a 4-wire design. This means the dimmer and all the lights in a room would have to be changed at the same time. Just finding the dimmer will likely be challenging. It will be in a wall or behind some ceiling panel.

We wish this model of light was still in service, but we really appreciate the quick, detailed explanations from Imtra on the service options. Our plan is to replace the dimmer and all the lights in one room with current generation parts and then use the lights we removed from that room as spares for the rest of the boat. That keeps the cost and workload to a minimum.
4/6/2021: Snow
James with flecks of snow on his coat (and on the camera lens). We thought we'd left the cold weather behind in Norway.
4/7/2021: Kiwifruit
We try to have fresh fruit each morning and today is Kiwifruit.
4/7/2021: Sunrise
Orange sunrise over Ards Peninsuala that separates Strangford Lough from the Irish Sea.
4/7/2021: Mourne Mountains
When we arrived at Mahee Island a couple of days ago, the Mourne Mountains to our southwest had no snow. But they now are white after yesterday's snowfall. At left is 790 ft (850 m) Slieve Donardat, the highest peak in Northern Ireland.
4/7/2021: Dirona
Dirona anchored off Mahee Island as we set out on a tender tour.
4/7/2021: Scrabo Tower
The 135 feet (41 m) Scrabo Tower standing on the hill of the same name above the northwest corner of Strangford Lough, with perhaps a dozen visitors near the base. The 19th-century tower was built as a memorial to Charles Vane, 3rd Marquess of Londonderry.
4/7/2021: Temple of the Winds
The Temple of the Winds on the 19th-century Mount Stewart estate. The octagonal temple is one of several in the UK inspired by the Tower of the Winds in Athens.
4/7/2021: Concrete Tower
Concrete tower with ladder behind a man-made pond wall just south of the Mount Stewart estate.
4/7/2021: Ballybryan Mill
The ruins of the 19th-century Ballybryan Mill windmill tower above Greyabbey on the east side of Strangford Lough.
4/7/2021: Kircubbin
Boats ashore at Kircubbin above another mooring field.
4/7/2021: Ringdufferin
Estate in Ringdufferin under renovation with a modern interior built inside older stone structures.
4/7/2021: Ringhaddy Cruising Club
Strangford Lough has a lot of marinas, most with yards currently packed with boats stored ashore for the winter and a large mooring field below. The Ringhaddy Cruising Club is no exception.
4/7/2021: Sailboat
Sailboat getting bottom maintenance on the Ringhaddy Cruising Club launch ramp.
4/7/2021: Ringhaddy Church
The ruins of medieval Ringhaddy Church, built sometime in the 14th to 16th century, on Castle Island.
4/7/2021: Sketrick Island
Beautiful modern home overlooking the water on Sketrick Island in Strangford Lough.
4/7/2021: Sketrick Castle
The ruins of 12th-century Sketrick Castle. Strangford Lough has a lot of castles!
4/7/2021: John Boy
The well-maintained fishing vessel John Boy.
4/7/2021: Wooden Boat
Large wooden boat taking the hard at low tide on the dock at Killinchy.
4/7/2021: Petrel
The Petrel was built in 1915 at Dublin Dockyard Co. and is the only light ship still afloat in Ireland. The ship was in service until 1968, when it became the clubhouse for the Down Cruising Club at its current location. That's a pretty unique clubhouse.
4/7/2021: Mahee Island
Another impressive waterfront home under construction at Mahee Island.
4/8/2021: Down Cruising Club
Chris Canning and friend from the Down Cruising Club stopped by to welcome us to the area and offer any assistance if we needed any supplies. And since they couldn't offer us a drink in their clubhouse due to the current lockdown, they brought the clubhouse to us with a bottle of Bushmills Irish Whiskey, distilled near the Causeway Coast in Northern Ireland. We really appreciate their thoughtfulness, both in the offer of help and the gift.
4/9/2021: Spitfire
Spitfire dozing in the sunny cockpit. The temperature isn't a lot warmer than Norway, but he sure seems to like being outside here in Northern Ireland more than anywhere else for a long time.
4/9/2021: Lighthouse Shift Change
We came across this video today showing the incredible shift change "by wire" at the French lighthouse of Kereon. The lighthouse stands on a tiny islet in the Fromveur Passage, where 9-knot tidal currents can produce tremendous waves in storm conditions. The lighthouse was automated in 2004, so keepers no longer are resident there.
4/9/2021: Dusk
Dusk on a calm evening in the anchorage off Mahee Island.
4/10/2021: Sena Expand
We tried our new Sena Expand headsets this morning as we were lifting anchor and really liked them. Normally Jennifer uses hand signals on the bow to communicate with James at the helm, but as with docking, the headsets made communicating so easy and natural. We could just hold a conversation as we worked and they made the whole process feel more of a team effort rather than two people working somewhat independently. They will be especially helpful when we weigh anchor at night, where communication by sight is much more limited.
4/10/2021: Smokestack
Smokestack visible beyond the Island of Tagger as we proceed south in Strangford Lough to an anchorage in the Quoile River.
4/10/2021: Killyleagh
Cows grazing in Killyleagh with Killyleagh Castle visible beyond.
4/10/2021: Error
After a Lenovo update was applied to Jennifer's laptop, her email client and several other apps wouldn't start and instead showed this error message. Fortunately an additional reboot fixed the issue. We'll submit this for the world's most pathetic error message prize, but we know the competition will be fierce :-).
4/10/2021: Quoile River Anchorage
Our shallow anchorage on the Quoile River in 13ft (4m) on 125 ft (38m) of rode.
4/10/2021: Education Center
View to the Delamont Outdoor Education Centre, in Delamont Country Park, from our anchorage on the Quoile River.
4/10/2021: Marooned
Two horses temporarily marooned on an islet, waiting for low tide, off Hare Island near the Quoile Yacht Club.
4/10/2021: Myra Castle
Liam O'Hara sent us this photo he took from Delamont Country Park of Dirona with 16th-century Myra Castle in the background. We can't see the castle from our anchorage, so were surprised to see it in the photograph.
4/10/2021: Tender
Our tender tied off in Killyleagh at high tide for a walk ashore.
4/10/2021: Dibney River
The Dibney River flowing through Killyleagh and into Strangford Lough.
4/10/2021: Hans Sloane
Monument to Killyleagh native Hans Sloane, a physician, naturalist and collector who is credited with inventing chocolate milk in the late 1600s.
4/10/2021: Shore Street
Pastel-colored houses along Shore Street in Killyleagh.
4/10/2021: St John The Evangelist
The church St John The Evangelist in Killyleagh dates from 1640.
4/10/2021: Gravestone
The graveyard of St John The Evangelist not particularly large, but is quite full. The earliest gravestone we found was this one from 1785, but the church predates that by 150 years, so likely there are earlier gravestones we didn't see.
4/10/2021: Portaferry
View to Portaferry and the entrance to Strangford Lough from the grounds of St John The Evangelist church.
4/10/2021: Sewage Treatment
We like technology, so even a sewage treatment plant is interesting for us :-), viewed from the grounds of St John The Evangelist church.
4/10/2021: Edward Hinks
Plaque to orientalist Edward Hinks, rector of Killyleagh from 1825-1866. Hinks is best known for being one of the decipherers of Mesopotamian cuneiform, one of the earliest writing systems.
4/10/2021: Killyleagh Footballers
A surprising number of international-level footballers hail from Killyleagh, given the town currently has a population of about 2,500.
4/10/2021: Killyleagh Castle
Parts of Killyleagh Castle date to the 12th century and it is believed to be the oldest inhabited castles in the UK. The owners leave the outer gates open so visitors can view the castle.
4/10/2021: Memorial
War memorial along the outside wall of Killyleagh Castle.
4/10/2021: Castle Wall
Killyleagh Castle initially was built for protection against the marauding Vikings. The walls are very high and look difficult to scale.
4/10/2021: Cherry Trees
Cherry trees in bloom along Shrigley Road just outside Killyleagh.
4/10/2021: Ulsterbus
The sign for Ulsterbus is a reminder that we are in Northern Ireland. The traditional Irish province of Ulster includes all of Northern Ireland and three counties in the Republic of Ireland. We remember the name well from news coverage of "The Troubles" decades ago, with loyalist paramilitary groups carrying names such as the Ulster Volunteer Force and Ulster Defence Association.
4/10/2021: Shrigley Memorial
Memorial erected in 1871 to entrepreneur John Martin who brought prosperity to the area with the construction of a cotton mill in 1824. The town of Shrigley, where the monument stands, grew up around the mill.
4/10/2021: Chimney
The old chimney from the Shrigley cotton mill.
4/10/2021: Clock Tower
Old clock tower at Ballytrim House outside Killyleagh.
4/10/2021: Black Sheep
Black sheep in the fields around Ballytrim House.
4/10/2021: Lake
Lake on the Ballytrim House grounds.
4/10/2021: Stone Bridge
Old stone bridge on the Ballytrim House grounds.
4/10/2021: Gate Post
This gate post on the Ballytrim House grounds looked at least a century old.
4/10/2021: Country Home
Country home on Tullykin Road as we loop back towards Killyleagh on a walk into the countryside.
4/10/2021: Hedges
Most of the roads in the area are bordered by massive hedges. These ones on Tullykin Road are a little more spaced out from the road than those on Coily Hill Road, where there was little room to let a car squeeze past.
4/10/2021: Spring Blooms
Cherry blossoms and masses of daffodils at a house along Tullykin Road.
4/10/2021: Miniature Railway
Tracks for the 20-year-old miniature railway at Delamont Country Park.
4/10/2021: Lambs
Cute lambs in a field adjoining Delamont Country Park.
4/10/2021: Strangford Stone
At the Strangford Stone, that we viewed a few days ago from the water. The stone stands over 10m high and was erected to celebrate the millenium.
4/10/2021: Dirona
View to our anchorage on the Quoile River from the Strangford Stone. Myra Castle is just visible in the distance.
4/10/2021: Shortcut
We found a shortcut back to Killyleagh from Delamont Country Park across a couple of fields. Here we climbing the steps over the final fence and on to a road.
4/10/2021: Shore Road
Walking along Shore Road with great views to Strangford Lough as we return to Killyleagh.
4/10/2021: Grazing
Cows grazing in the fields outside Killyleagh.
4/10/2021: Killyleagh Harbour
View across Killyleagh Harbour from the road Cuan Beach with the church St John The Evangelist prominent at center.
4/10/2021: Tide Level
We ended up walking a lot longer than we'd planned and the tide has gone down many feet. It's a reminder to always leave enough slack for low tide, even when we expect to be back earlier.
4/10/2021: Dibney Bridge
Stone bridge over the Dibney River in Killyleagh.
4/10/2021: Windswept Tree
This tree we can see from our anchorage on the Quoile River looks like it gets a lot of wind.
4/10/2021: Sunset
Pink and orange sunset from the anchorage along the Quoile River in Strangford Lough, NI.
4/11/2021: Dusk
Dusk from our anchorage in the Quoile River in Strangford Lough.
4/12/2021: Morning Calm
Another calm morning in Strangford Lough. We've seen a bit of rain and wind, but for the most part the weather has been awesome the entire time we've been here.
4/12/2021: 8,000 Hours
Our Northern Lights 12kW generator just reached 8,000 hours. It's been running wonderfully in the 1,259 hours since the cylinder head change and the rear main oil leak has nearly disappeared entirely.
4/13/2021: Dusk
Dusk at the anchorage in the Quoile River in Strangford Lough. Conditions look wonderful for our run to Ireland today.
4/13/2021: Killyleagh
Passing Killyleagh, with the 19th-century navigation aid Town Rock prominent in the foreground.
4/13/2021: Audley's Castle
A final view to 15th-century Audley's Castle as we depart Strangford Lough.
4/13/2021: Strangford 2
Wouldn't you know it, we arrived off the ferry terminal at Strangford exactly when the ferry Strangford 2 departed to cross for Portaferry. The ferry skipper kindly slowed and took our stern.
4/13/2021: 12 Knots
The current in the narrow entrance to Strangford Lough can reach 8 knots and produce the Routen Wheel, one of only two named whirpools in Ireland. We are riding the end of the ebb out of Strangford Lough, about an hour before low water slack, and are making 12 knots through the channel. This timing will give us a ride out, plus five hours of positive current en route to Dublin. Whirlpool and edddies are visible on either side of us, but the flow in the the main channel mostly is laminar.
4/13/2021: Angus Rock
The current is diminishing as we near the exit of the Strangford Lough channel near Angus Rock, but strong flow still is visible on either side of the channel.
4/13/2021: St. Patrick's Rock
St. Patrick's Rock outside Strangford Lough, with the Mourne Mountains visible in the background. We're still making over ten knots even well outside the Strangford Lough channel.
4/13/2021: St John's Point Lighthouse
St John's Point Lighthouse with the Mourne Mountains beyond. The light was completed in 1844 and at 131 ft (40m) high is the tallest onshore lighthouse on the Irish coast. Fastnet light is the tallest offshore light at 177 ft (54m).
4/13/2021: Calm Conditions
Wonderfully calm conditions in the Irish Sea as we head south from Strangford Lough to Ireland.
4/13/2021: Cleaning Synology
The Synology DiskStation that we use as a file server on Dirona was really dusty. We pulled it out from under the salon settee, removed the drives, and gave it a good clean.
4/13/2021: Adria Kvarne
The Eco Flettner rotor sail on the cargo ship Adria Kvarne is prominent a long way off.
4/13/2021: Traffic
Traffic has generally been pretty light all day, but got quite busy off the RO-RO terminal at Warrenpoint.
4/13/2021: Seatruck
The cargo ship Seatruck Performance departing Warrenpoint for Heysham in Lancashire, England.
4/13/2021: Spitfire
Today's calm conditions are Spitfire-approved.
4/13/2021: Q and Courtesy Flag
Raising an Irish courtesy flag, and a yellow quarantine flag to indicate we require clearance.
4/13/2021: Rockabill Lighthouse
The Rockabill Lighthouse just north of Howth was first lit in 1860.
4/13/2021: Baily Lighthouse
The Baily Lighthouse on the southeastern tip of Howth Head was built in 1814, but a lighthouse has stood on this site since the mid-1660s to mark the entrance to Dublin. Visible beyond is the Stena Horizon departing Dublin.
4/13/2021: 11.2 Knots
We've been in mostly positive current the entire run, and it's picking up again to carry us towards Dun Laoghaire at 11.2 knots.
4/13/2021: Epsilon
The RO-RO ship Epsilon departing the port of Dublin.
4/13/2021: Stena Horizon
The Stena Horizon en route from Dublin. Traffic is notably higher in this area.
4/13/2021: Howth Head
Looking across the Baily Lighthouse to Howth Head. We hiked all through this area on our previous visit to Dun Laoghaire.
4/13/2021: Liffey
The skipper of the pilot boat Liffey seemed as interested in us as we were with them as we took pictures of each other.
4/13/2021: Entering Dun Laoghaire
Inside the outer piers at Dun Laoghaire as we approach the inner piers. Our berth is just beyond.
4/13/2021: Power Card
Shorepower in this region is often pre-purchased on a card that is then used to top up the shorepower pedestal. Since the office would likely be closed by the time we arrived, the marina staff pre-loaded a card for us and brought it down shortly after we arrived. That was super-helpful of them.
4/13/2021: Thermal Failure
We were lucky the marina staff came down to personally deliver our power card. The wierd thing is it didn't work. The marina staff dug into the problem and found that a relatively new socket had been so seriously overheated that one of the conductors had melted away. They went and got the tools and parts they needed, and had a new socket installed and us operational in under 45 minutes. It's rare that anything in a marina can get fixed that quickly.
4/13/2021: Dun Laoghaire Berth
Our berth at Dun Laoghaire marina, with 32-amp power, in exactly the same location as our previous visit four years ago.
4/13/2021: Passport Stamp
After the difficulty we had entering Scotland exactly following their published requirements, we contacted each of Irish immigration and customs directly before arriving to ensure that our understanding of the rules was consistent with theirs. Immigration came to clear us through within hours of our arrival at Dun Laoghaire. In a bit of a throwback to our travels in the Schengen area, where Jennifer's British passport was not stamped as an EU citizen, Ireland doesn't stamp British passports either so only James got a stamp.
4/13/2021: Happy Hour
Enjoying Happy Hour in the cockpit at Dun Laoghaire marina. It's great to be back in Ireland.
4/14/2021: Dawn
Beautiful dawn from our berth at Dun Laoghaire marina near Dublin.
4/14/2021: Dirona
Our berth at Dun Laoghaire marina in Dublin in the same place as our previous visit in 2017. The only difference is last time an RNLI lifeboat was moored beside us.
4/14/2021: Sail Drop
A surprising number of drop bins for sail repair at the Dun Laoghaire marina office.
4/14/2021: First Smell
Spitfire out on deck for his traditional "first smell" ceremony, required for all new countries.
4/14/2021: Dusk
Dusk on a calm evening at Dun Laoghaire marina near Dublin.
4/15/2021: Railroad Equipment
Construction machinery equipped for running on railroads alongshore in Dun Laoghaire harbour.
4/15/2021: East Pier
Looking down the east pier forming Dun Laoghaire harbour, built in the early 1800s. On our previous visit we walked the west pier and both inner piers, but not the outer east pier.
4/15/2021: Gringo
A heavy workboat tied off to the stanchion of the sailboat Gringo.
4/15/2021: Anemometer
The anemometer on East Pier was built in 1852, one of the earliest in the world, and is still in working order.
4/15/2021: Harbour Entrance
The Dun Laoghaire harbour entrance between the east (red lighthouse) and west piers.
4/15/2021: Dun Laoghaire Harbour
Looking across Dun Laoghaire Harbour as we return back to town. The harbor is huge at 250 acres (101-hectare)—Dirona (not visible) is moored behind the wall way in the distance at the right.
4/15/2021: Killiney Hill
Obelisk on Killiney Hill visible from East Pier. We plan to walk up there in the next day or two.
4/15/2021: Nando's
Peri peri chicken takeout from Nando's in Dun Laoghaire.
4/16/2021: The Metals
On "The Metals", a 2-mile (3.5km) walkway from Dun Laoghaire to Dalkey. The walkway follows a railway originally constructed in 1817 to transport the huge granite blocks needed for the construction of the new harbour at Dun Laoghaire from the quarries around Dalkey. Horses pulled carriages ladden with up to 8 tonnes of granite over railway tracks laid along the route.
4/16/2021: St. Paul's
St. Paul's church in Glenageary was completed in 1868.
4/16/2021: Dalkey Duck
In normal times we'd definitely be up for a pint at the Dalkey Duck, one of several pubs we passed in Dalkey.
4/16/2021: Goat Castle
Goat Castle dates to the early 1400s and is one of two remaining of the seven medieval castles built in Dalkey.
4/16/2021: Dalkey
Blog reader Hans Neven recommended we visit Dalkey and we quite enjoyed the town.
4/16/2021: Dalkey Quarry
Walking through Dalkey Quarry, where the huge stones that form the Dun Laoghaire harbour piers were cut.
4/16/2021: Climbers
The old Dalkey Quarry is a popular rock-climbing destination. We saw at least a dozen climbers.
4/16/2021: Dun Laoghaire
View to Dun Laoghaire Harbour from Dalkey Quarry where the stones to build the harbour were cut. This view gives an idea of the size of the huge 250-acre (101-hectare)protected area created by the wall. Dirona (not visible) is moored behind the inner protective walls at the far left.
4/16/2021: Dalkey Hill
Climbing the steps from the Dalkey Quarry to the top of Dalkey Hill.
4/16/2021: Signal Tower
Old signal tower at the top of Dalkey Hill, built in 1807, was one of 81 built along the Irish coast during the Napoleonic era to give early warning of a French invasion. We visited another at Brow Head on our previous trip to Ireland.
4/16/2021: Howth
View to north to Howth from Dalkey Hill.
4/16/2021: Killiney Hill Park
Walking to Kilinney Hill through Killiney Hill Park. The property was dedicated to the public in 1887 by Prince Albert Victor of Wales in memory of Queen Victoria's Jubilee, celebrating 50 years of her reign.
4/16/2021: Obelisk
The obelisk atop Kilinney Hill was built in 1742 by a local landowner John Mapas. The purpose was to provide employment for the poor after a particularly harsh winter, since no other form of welfare existed. The structure was visible from East Pier where we walked the other day.
4/16/2021: Pyramid
Jennifer posing atop the Killiney Hill pyramid, built in 1852 by then-landowner Robert Warren.
4/16/2021: Killiney Bay
View north from Killiney Hill across a second obelisk to Killiney Bay, Sorrento Point and Dalkey Island. The large prominent white building is the Sorrento Terrace apartments. The rightmost unit sold in 2015 for €10.5 million, at the time the most expensive property in Dublin. We'll be returning back to Dun Laoghaire along Vico Road, visible at upper left.
4/16/2021: Daedalus
Copper statue of the Greek god Daedalus at the entrance to Killiney Park. The knees are polished from kids enjoying the statue.
4/16/2021: Bench
Taking in another view to Killiney Bay from a path-side bench.
4/16/2021: Cat's Ladder
Taking the century-old Cat's Ladder down from Killiney Hill to Vico Road. Named after the ladders used on steep roofs, it covers 127 ft (39m) of altitude in 237 steps.
4/16/2021: Hawk Cliff
Hawk Cliff is one of several spectacular view homes along Vico Road.
4/16/2021: Fiat 20V Turbo
With a 220-HP inline, 2-liter, 5-cylinder engine, the Fiat 20V Turbo has a top speed of 150 mph.
4/16/2021: Dalkey Island
Martello Tower on Dalkey Island. Martello Towers take their name from Martelle Point in Corsica, Italy where in 1794 two small cannons mounted on top of a round tower fended off an attack by two British warships with a combined firepower of 106 guns. The British were so impressed that they built over 100 such towers around the south and east coasts of the British Isles in the early 1800s when Napoleon was building an invasion fleet.
4/16/2021: Cliff Castle
Cliff Castle along Coliemore Road was originally built as a private home in the 1840s, was converted to a hotel, and once again is a private residence. It recently was put up for auction for €2.5 million.
4/16/2021: St. Patrick's
St. Patrick's Church in Dalkey was built in 1843.
4/16/2021: The Forty Foot
Swimmers jumping into the water at the Forty Foot, a popular swimming area. If you find the water a little too warm in April, you can take part in the annual Christmas Day swim here.
4/16/2021: James Joyce Museum
The James Joyce Tower and Museum in another Martello tower in the Dublin area. Joyce spent six night here in 1904, where he set the opening scenes of his novel Ulysses.
4/16/2021: Sandycove Beach
Dozens of people were out swimming at Sandy Cove beach near Dun Laoghaire on this sunny and warm April afternoon. It would have to get a lot warmer for us to want to take a dip.
4/17/2021: Dawn
Dawn at our berth in Dun Laoghaire marina.
4/17/2021: Sunrise
Spectacular orange sunrise over the Dun Laoghaire harbour walls.
4/17/2021: East Pier Light
The light on the end of the Dun Laoghaire harbour east pier, viewed from the tender.
4/17/2021: Poolbeg Lighthouse
The Poolbeg Lighthouse was erected in 1820 on the end of the breakwater protecting the entrance into the Dublin Port.
4/17/2021: Poolbeg Stacks
The 680-ft (207m) twin chimneys of the Poolbeg Generating Station are among the tallest structures in Ireland and are visible throughout Dublin. We can even see them from our boat in Dun Laoghaire.
4/17/2021: Port of Dublin
Looking up the River Liffey into busy Dublin Port.
4/17/2021: Stena Horizon
The 610ft (186m) superferry Stena Horizon operates a regular run between Ireland and France with a maximum capacity of 200 cars and 900 passengers. We saw the vessel departing while we were arriving into Dun Laoghaire
4/17/2021: Laureline
The RO/RO Laureline with tug assist for docking at Dublin Port. The ship was recently put on a route from Dublin to Belgium in response to increased demand for direction shipping between Ireland and continental Europe following Brexit.
4/17/2021: Giano
The beautiful tractor tug Giano of London moored at Dublin Port. Among the tug's many innovative features is the capability for remote control via a 4G or VSAT connection.
4/17/2021: Samuel Beckett Bridge
The graceful Samuel Beckett Bridge resembles a harp, the national symbol for Ireland.
4/17/2021: Convention Centre
The iconic Convention Centre Dublin, completed in 2010, is the first carbon-neutral convention center in the world.
4/17/2021: Custom House
The Custom House over the Liffey River in Dublin was built in 1781 in the neo-classical style. After Dublin Port operations moved further downstream, the building has housed various government departments.
4/17/2021: O'Connell Bridge
The granite O'Connell bridge is one of many historic bridges spanning the River Liffey. The bridge was originally built in 1794, then reconstructed and widened in 1882.
4/17/2021: Ha'penny Bridge
The cast-iron Ha'penny pedestrian bridge was built in 1816 and replaced several ferries that crossed the River Liffey. The name derives from the ha'penny toll required of anyone crossing the bridge in its first 100 years.
4/17/2021: Important Cargo
A truckload of Guinness heading off from the brewery.
4/17/2021: Four Courts
The Four Courts buildings were built between 1786 and 1802 for the four superior courts. Today the buildings house the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeal, the High Court and the Dublin Circuit Court.
4/17/2021: Saint Paul's
Saint Paul's is a former Catholic church building completed in 1837.
4/17/2021: Rory O' More Bridge
The Rory O' More cast-iron road bridge was completed in 1859.
4/17/2021: Guinness
A view to the expansive 50-acre Guinness brewery along the River Liffey. We toured the brewery on our previous visit to Dublin.
4/17/2021: Sean Heuston Bridge
The elegant cast-iron Sean Heuston Bridge dates from 1821.
4/17/2021: Phoenix Iron Works
The old wall and River Liffey loading area of Phoenix Iron Works, established in 1808.
4/17/2021: Rowers
One of several pairs of friendly rowers in historic wooden boats.
4/17/2021: Wellington Testimonial
The Wellington Testimonial was built between 1817 and 1861 to commemorate the victories of Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, who ended the Napoleonic Wars by defeating Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. The project ran short on funds, extending the build time greatly.
4/17/2021: Narrows
The River Liffey was mostly wide and easily navigable for several miles. This narrow and shallow channel is the end of the navigable route.
4/17/2021: Waterfall
Man-made waterfall at the end of the navigable route from sea along the River Liffey. The river is navigable above the falls, where several rowing clubs are located.
4/17/2021: Ha'penny Bridge Inn
The Ha'penny Bridge Inn had been in continuous use as a public house since 1732.
4/17/2021: Abbey Court
The brightly-painted Abbey Court hostel along the River Liffey.
4/17/2021: O'Connell Bridge
Low clearance returning back under the O'Connell Bridge.
4/17/2021: Jeanie Johnston
The Jeanie Johnston, a 1998 replica of a three-masted barque, is used for sail training at sea and in port is a museum on 19th-century emigration.
4/17/2021: Brewdog
Large Brewdog pub at the entrance to the Grand Canal connecting the west and east coasts of Ireland.
4/17/2021: Street Art
Several artists were painting at the S Dock Rd Street Art display along the River Dodder, a tributary of the River Liffey.
4/17/2021: St Patricks
St Patricks Roman Catholic Church along the River Dodder was completed in 1859.
4/17/2021: Shelbourne Park
Shelbourne Park is a large, modern greyhound racing track along the River Dodder.
4/17/2021: Aviva Stadium
It was difficult to get far enough away from Aviva Stadium to really capture the spectacular glass structure. Completed in 2010, the facility is home to the Irish rugby union team and the Republic of Ireland football team.
4/17/2021: Swan
Swan along the River Dodder fending us away from the left shoreline, probably protecting a nest.
4/17/2021: River Dodder
The end of the navigable path for us along the River Dodder.
4/17/2021: DPC Tolka
The pilot boat DPC Tolka returning to Dublin Port. The port took delivery of the modern vessel in late 2019 that will allow pilots to reach ships in all weather conditions and farther out into Dublin Bay than the current pilot boats.
4/19/2021: Dawn
Our berth at Dun Laoghaire marina has fabulous sunrise views looking across the inner harbour entrance.
4/19/2021: BGAN
Our primary satellite system is a KVH V7-HTS mini-VSAT, but we also have Inmarsat BGAN and Iridium (see Communications at Sea). We favor the KVH system because the service is excellent and the data rates are very good relatvie to current marine technologies. We use Inmarsat BGAN when we are in a part of the world not covered by the KVH system or if there has been a system outage. At $6,000/GB, BGAN data transfer is 30x more expensive than KVH, so we only use BGAN when there is absolutely no other choice.

Here we are testing the BGAN system for our upcoming Atlantic crossing to the US. We should have full coverage on the KVH system for the entire run, and don't expect to use the BGAN system. But it's a good backup should we have an outage. We bought a small amount of BGAN data that we can use to stay connected in an emergency and to buy more data if the outage is likely to be prolonged.
4/21/2021: DPC Tolka
The 2019 pilot boat DPC Tolka entering Dun Laoghaire harbour, possibly to pick up or drop off a pilot.
4/21/2021: Oil Change
Performing the 44th oil change on our John Deere 6068AFM75 main engine. This change is a little early, at 210 hours on a 250-hour change interval, but we've got a 200-hour run ahead of us to Horta in the Azores. If we don't change it now, we'll exceed the change interval underway and we generally prefer not to change the oil on passage (although we have done it: Oil Change at Sea.)
4/21/2021: Swiftstone
Old diesels don't like to start. The marina filled with smoke when the 1952 heritage tug Swiftstone started up.
4/21/2021: Paddle Boards
To a large extent, paddle boards seem to have gone out of style in most parts of the world, but they still are exceedingly popular here in Dun Laoghaire. Dozens pass by every day.
4/21/2021: Sunset
Fabulous pink sunset off our stern in Dun Laoghaire marina.
4/23/2021: Sunrise
Another spectacular sunrise over Dun Laoghaire harbour.
4/23/2021: Weather
We've been keeping a close eye on the weather in preparation for our upcoming passage to Horta in the Azores (at center of screen in the middle of the red/purple area). This is a difficult time of year to make the passage, as major low-pressures system seems to be crossing the Atlantic every few days, so we need to pick a weather window carefully.

From Horta we plan to to follow the Azores High, the large high pressure system at bottom left, back to the US. This is longer than the more direct route via Bermuda, but will hopefully keep us out of the path of the steady sequence of low pressure systems that move east across the Atlantic. We'll be making the passage at about the same time of year as our crossing from Newport, RI to Kinsale, Ireland and have first-hand experience on what those systems are like. And on that crossing we were running with the wind and waves. This time we'd be running against them, so we have even more reason to avoid them.
4/23/2021: Tesco
Making a final provisioning shop at the local Tesco in preparation for our crossing. We stocked up the deep stores in Stornoway, so mostly need produce, lots of it, to last about 5-6 weeks. We'll not provision again until we reach the US in late May/early June.
4/23/2021: Full Cart
Returning to Dirona with a full cart of groceries.
4/23/2021: Old EPIRB
We replaced the boat's EPIRB recently and today disassembled the old one to disconnect the battery so we could safely discard it without risk of it subsequently being triggered.
4/23/2021: Spitfire
Spitfire relaxing in the sun on a pillow. He's really been enjoying being outside a lot more recently. Sunshine and a pillow are like a magnet for Spitfire.
4/24/2021: Full Fridge
Our fridge is completely packed in preparation for the Atlantic crossing.
4/25/2021: Harbour Head
View across the inner protected head of Dun Laoghaire harbour, filled with small recreational craft. More and more small boats are being launched as summer approaches.
4/25/2021: Dublin Bay
View north across Dublin Bay at low tide from Dun Laoghaire west pier. At least one ship, and often several, are arriving or departing busy Dublin Port whenever we get a view to Dublin Bay.
4/25/2021: Dun Laoghaire Marina
View across Dun Laoghaire Marina with Dirona visible roughly at center. The marina is huge at 820 berths.
4/25/2021: West Pier
Looking down the outside of west pier towards the Dun Laoghaire harbour entrance. The two outer piers, all built by hand two centuries ago, are an impressive feat of engineering to still be weathering the fierce Irish Sea storms. And besides providing shelter, the piers are very popular for recreation. At any time, no matter the weather, from our berth we can always see dozens of people out walking, jogging or cycling on the piers.
4/25/2021: Heron
Heron surveying Dun Laoghaire harbour from west pier.
4/25/2021: Drone
This distinctive-looking large drone was surprisingly stable in the gusty winds at the end of west pier.
4/25/2021: East Pier
The light on Dun Laoghaire east pier, viewed from west pier.
4/25/2021: Mavic Air 2
We've generally not seen a lot of drones on our travels, partly because we often are in parks where their use is restricted. But this DJI Mavic Air 2 is the second drone in use on west pier.
4/25/2021: Dalkey Quarry
Dalkey Quarry, the source of stone for Dun Laoghaire Harbour is prominent in the distance from west pier. The old signal tower is visible atop the hill at left. We really enjoyed our walk out there last week.
4/25/2021: Seal
Seal relaxing in Dun Laoghaire inner harbour.
4/25/2021: Teddy's Ice Cream
Teddy's Ice Cream is amazingly popular and always is lined up whenever we pass.
4/25/2021: Sail GP
The first round of the 2021 Sail GP series took place in Bermuda this week and are viewable on online. The competition runs one-design high performance F50 foiling catamarans and the field is full of top sailors, including Tom Slingsby, Jimmy Spithill, Ben Ainslie, Nathan Outteridge, and Peter Burling. The races were tight and incredibly exciting This is by far the best sailboat racing we've ever seen. Sadly, our man Tom Slingsby lost to Ben Ainslie in the winner-take-all final match race after Tom had won all but one race leading up to the final.
4/26/2021: Vesey Park
A late afternoon walk through Vesey park in Dun Laoghaire.
4/27/2021: Clearing Cockpit
Moving the scuba tanks out of the cockpit to stow below in the lazaratte to make space for our deck fuel bladders. The weather is looking reasonable to depart for Horta tomorrow and we will fuel on our way out. We won't need the extra fuel for the short 1,300-mile run to Horta, but will for the 2,900-mile second leg to the US. Since fuel is roughly twice as expensive in Horta, we'll fill everything up here and only take on in Horta what we consumed to get there. This is similar to our trip from Cape Town to Barbados via St. Helena, where we filled the bladders with inexpensive Cape Town fuel and only topped off the load at St. Helena.
4/27/2021: Storm Windows
We turned the boat around briefly to install the storm windows on the port side. It takes less than a day to prepare the boat for an ocean crossing. Here's what we usually do: Preparing for the North Atlantic Crossing.
4/27/2021: Towing
A gaggle of small sailboats being towed out to a recently-installed raft in the outer Dun Laoghaire Harbour. They reminded us pictures of fishing skiffs being towed out to the fishing grounds from the salmon canneries on the British Columbia coast in the early 1900s.
4/27/2021: Kayaker
We stepped outside this evening to find a kayaker in distress, trying to get out of the water at our stern. We lowered the ladder so she could climb aboard and onto the dock. We later saw this RIB carrying her and her kayak back to shore, so perhaps she'd had another spill.