Glengarriff Bay County Cork Republic of Ireland

On Saturday 24 May we woke to the beginnings of rain and the early sounds of increasing winds; a day on board doing chores was the plan. After my previous work changing the seals, the aft heads seemed to be working well but before committing it to full use I thought I’d do a final test with a blob of toilet tissue…. a very silly mistake as whilst the pump was working fine, the blob of tissue completely blocked the outflow pipe (aaaaarrrrgggghhh!!!). So working on that became the top priority. I spent the morning removing the end of the efflux hose from the stopcock, after which it was quite easy to clear the blockage. Unfortunately, I had to cut the end off the hose to reconnect it to the stopcock, which means that it is now too short for that to be done again should the heads block once more.  We will have to source some marine sanitary hose as a spare (not an easy task in Ireland). The rest of the day was spent with much nicer admin and minor maintenance chores.

Our anchorage looking much brighter on Sunday

Having spent Saturday on board sheltering from the rain and wind we wanted to get ashore and were very pleased to wake up on Sunday to see the weather looking much brighter. After breakfast we bailed out the dinghy and went ashore to do the walk recommended to us by Allan and Claire on board Moonstone of Aberdour.

Looking out across the bay from the coastal path.  Blue Velvet is the furthest yacht (left of centre)

From the steps where we left our dinghy we followed a lovely coastal path that took us up to Glengarriff village; much nicer than walking along the busy road. 

The Blue Pool

Just before we reached Glengariff, the path took us to the Blue Pool, one of the stopping points on the Wild Atlantic Way.  We could see across to the dock where the Garinish Island ferry picks up its passengers and a small bridge got us onto the rhododendron covered promontory.

The Garinish Island ferry leaving the Blue Pool

It was well worth the 10-minute detour to walk around the promontory…

Blue Velvet at anchor with Garinish Island just behind her

… and we were spoilt with more views out across the bay towards where Blue Velvet was anchored.

The view from Lady Bantry’s Lookout

But our real objective was to walk a few kilometres west and up to Lady Bantry’s Lookout, so we walked through the village and out to a small road leading to Glengariff Woods where we found there’s a lot of work ongoing to remove the non-indigenous spruce trees and rhododendrons and to replace them with oak and other native deciduous trees. Along the way we met a surprising number of people, including Allan and Claire who were doing ‘our’ walk in reverse.  The scenery was lovely, ranging from rugged, rocky hills, to ‘oceanic deciduous woodland’ to open meadows and small rivers.  There was something for everyone and we were very lucky that the forecast showers generally held off for the day.

Back in the village we checked out the bus stops for the local bus to Bantry and blacked our noses at Quills, a well-known chain of woollen shops, but we weren’t tempted to make a purchase.

We got back to Blue Velvet just before a big rain shower hit after which there was a full rainbow visible. Beautiful!

The forecast continues to have strong winds and rain but we are hoping to find a window which will allow us to move over to Bantry to restock the fridge and do the laundry.  

Glengarriff Bay, County Cork, Republic of Ireland

Sailing to Glengarriff Bay County Cork Republic of Ireland

Heading out of Crookhaven

After lifting our anchor 0635, we quietly slipped out of Crookhaven.  The wind was very light and our wake stretched out a long way behind us in the calm sea.

The morning light brought a beautiful golden tinge to the vista but we could also see the slow buildup of clouds; the weather was definitely changing.

Mizen Head

The early start was necessary to catch the morning tide that would help us get west and past Mizen Head. That worked and we avoided counter-tide but it wasn’t until we had motored for 2 hours and were abeam Mizen Head that the wind had built sufficiently for us to switch off the engine and sail. It wasn’t fast going; with a poled out genoa we drifted ENE along Bantry Bay making 3-4 knots. However, we used the time to flush the watermaker to get it going again and to refill our tanks. The system had sat idle over the winter except for periodic pickling to preserve the membranes, so it was good to know that it was working again (after changing one of the filters) and that the water output tested as pure as it had done last year.

Approaching Glengarriff Bay with Garinish Island in the left of the picture

When we were in the outer part of Glengarriff Bay we dropped our sails to make our way past Garinish Island. We had visited the island during our last visit in 2021 and it is beautiful but looked very drab today in the grey light from the overcast sky.

Friar (L) and Bark (R) Islands

Bark Island and the Eccles Hotel

Once past Garinish Island, Friar and Bark Islands stood out with their colourful rhododendron bushes and we could see the large Eccles Hotel buildings on the shore.

Our most likely anchorage ahead

We needed to pick a spot to anchor that would be sheltered from the strong southwesterly and westerly winds forecast over the weekend. Our favoured spot was tucked in on the western shore…

Otter Rock and the channel behind it where we last anchored

... but before committing to that we took a look in the area immediately to the north of Garinish Island where we had anchored during our last visit.

Otter Rock (which does look rather like an otter) – with resident Common Seals.  
Apparently there are 400 seals resident in Glengariff Bay!

The resident seals on Otter Rock kept a close eye on us as we passed. It was nice to have close up look at Garinish Island, but we decided that the channel would not be as sheltered in the strong winds forecast so we went back to the western shore and dug our anchor in well, also letting out some extra chain.

Motoring up to our chosen anchorage by the bungalow

On the other side of the bay, on a mooring buoy, we saw another OCC yacht, Moonstone of Aberdour, with Allan and Claire on board. We had met them at an OCC gathering in Falmouth a couple of years ago and wanted to say hello before the weather turned grim, so we inflated the dinghy and zipped over.

Seals on Sunken Rock

On the way we took a look at our new seal neighbours on Sunken Rock. They didn’t seem to mind the tripper boats passing closer by but were very suspicious of us in our unknown dinghy.

It was nice to catch up with Allan and Claire on board Moonstone of Aberdour and discuss sailing plans over a cup of tea. They also gave us some top tips on walks ashore and where we could leave our dinghy. All we needed would be some gaps in the forecast rain; perhaps Sunday.

Glengarriff Bay, County Cork, Republic of Ireland

Crookhaven County Cork Republic of Ireland

Heading out past Rabbit Island and into Squince Harbour

We had been thinking about visiting the Baltimore Wooden Boat Festival (Friday 23 to Sunday 25 May), but the forecast was for strong southwesterly winds and rain starting from Friday evening. Baltimore doesn’t have great protection from that direction, so we decided to go to Crookhaven for Thursday night and then, probably, to Schull the next day to sit out the long run of windy and wet weather that had been well forecast to hit over the weekend and into the next week.

The Fastnet Rock ahead

Again, the wind was against us but it was pretty light. The aft heads had been playing up over the previous few days, so I took the opportunity with Blue Velvet being gently heeled on port tack to drain the heads bowl via the winterising drain to check that there wasn’t anything blocking the pipe between the bowl base and the pump mechanism. There wasn’t. So, I again checked the joker valve (perfect), changed the base valve/gasket which was slightly swollen (surprising as it was new in March) and did some work lubricating the pump mechanism. Who knows what the issue was but the heads seemed to be working okay when I had finished.

The Fastnet Rock up close

Meanwhile, up on deck, Nicky had made good progress towards the Fastnet Rock.  By this time the wind had picked up, so we dropped a reef in and carried on southwest.  We got pretty close to the Rock so we snapped some pictures for friends Carol-Anne and Richard, who hope to do the Fastnet Race double-handed this July.

Approaching Crookhaven

Further Horizons’ AIS paint on the plotter

Then we carried on to Crookhaven, which we hadn’t visited before. Amazingly, at anchor at Crookhaven was the only Rustler 57, Further Horizons, which is owned by Ian Robson, a friend of Peter Saxton, the Race Officer for the Island Games sailing event that Nicky organised in 2023.

Sails down and motoring into Crookhaven

Crookhaven lighthouse to our right as we entered the harbour

The entrance is wide and easy, and we took the opportunity to drop our sails before the inlet started to narrow and get cluttered with mooring buoys.

Blue Velvet anchored behind Further Horizons

We anchored just behind Further Horizons and as we finished putting our sail cover on and stowing kit after our sail, Ian came over and offered us drinks on board and then to take us ashore in his dinghy for a meal to save us from having to inflate ours. We gladly accepted and had a lovely evening with him and his crew for the next few weeks, Tim. We had previously seen Further Horizons at the Southampton Boat Show, but it was lovely to be shown around her by her (very proud) owner and to hear first-hand his deliberations during the build to get her exactly how he wanted. She is absolutely beautiful but she is HUGE. As you would expect, she is extremely comfortable at anchor, but it would be interesting to see what she is like at sea. She’s a Rustler so she’s sure to sail well but with such large sails there’s a lot of power there and, with just 2 crew on board, operating her in a blow could be hard work. To make her manageable when lightly crewed there are a lot of power assisted systems to keep on top of and maintain.

The small town of Crookhaven

The most southerly pub in Ireland and the Nottage restaurant to the right

After a delicious meal of Dover Sole at the Nottage restaurant attached to the pub ashore we then repaired back to Further Horizons (via Blue Velvet to pick up some additional supplies) for a cheese board, red wine and coffee. It was a lovely evening and Ian provided lots of useful information about places to visit as we head further north.

Views from Crookhaven looking out over the harbour

The plan for the morning was a 6am alarm call to catch the morning tide to make our way around Mizen Head, Three Castle Head and then Sheep’s Head into Bantry Bay.

Crookhaven, County Cork, Republic of Ireland

Rabbit Island County Cork Republic of Ireland

Departing Kinsale

With the wind set to swing into the westerly quadrant and our plan to sail up the western side of Ireland, we decided that we should make best use of the favourable wind, especially as very strong winds were forecast for the weekend.

The entrance to Kinsale ahead with Summer Cove off to the left

So, on Wednesday 21 May we took the midday tide and set off in fairly light northerlies, heading for the Glandore area, about 35nm further west.

Old Head of Kinsale lighthouse just southwest of the river entrance

Inevitably, the wind, though not previously forecast as such, turned westerly – perhaps it was sea breeze generated?  In any event, it wasn’t strong so we had a pleasant beat westwards in 10-12 knots wind with very smooth seas and the sun shining.

Rabbit Island to our left (south)…

In the end we decided to anchor behind Rabbit Island, just outside the entrance to Glandore Harbour.  It’s a huge natural anchorage, conveniently shallow and with great protection from onshore winds and swell and an easy, open approach from the east.

The ruined house on Rabbit Island

Rabbit Island (one of 5 Rabbit Islands in Ireland) is deserted now but is first recorded as inhabited by Captain Samual Jervois in the 18^th century and last in 1931 after a fire.  The ruins of the house just above a small beach were easy to see from Blue Velvet.

The Stack of Beans outcrop at the eastern end of Rabbit island

At anchor looking west into Squince Harbour; a pretty anchorage but open to the south

Tucked in behind the island was very protected and we had a lovely peaceful night at anchor. The plan for the next day was to try to get closer to Mizen Head at the southwest tip of Ireland.

Rabbit Island near Glandore, County Cork, Republic of Ireland

Kinsale County Cork Republic of Ireland

After a lovely day anchored off Charles’ Fort, we decided to move further into the harbour and pick up one of the visitors moorings. There were a couple of reasons for that; we had invited Rhys and Niamh plus Gavin, from the Rustler 44 Saorsa, aboard Blue Velvet for a drink that evening and, as they were all heading back to the moorings off Castletown marina, plus they were talking about westerlies coming in, it made sense that we too moved to the mooring buoys.

Passing the very picturesque Summer Cove on our way upriver

A little further in some of the houses on Scilly Walk and High Road

Looking back at the main quay and Kinsale Marina with the town beyond

Blue Velvet on one of the visitors mooring buoys by Viking Wharf

Gavin couldn’t join us but we had a lovely evening with Rhys and Niamh, hearing about their sailing adventures over the past 4 years, including their trip back via Greenland, and also about their plans for the future. That included their soon-to-be-completed house purchase. With moving in and squeezing in a summer cruise they are going to have a busy year. As you can imagine, with the conversation flowing, the evening ended far too quickly!

The very colourful Stone Mad jewellery shop

The next day (Tuesday 20 May) we went ashore for a wander and a shop and so can confirm that Kinsale is as lovely and as friendly as ever. Rhys had submitted a short paragraph about our meet-up to Simon Currin, the OCC’s social media rep, which Simon posted during the afternoon, with the sign-off sentence ‘and I see from FleetMap that another OCC yacht, Saro’s Gyda, is shortly to arrive in Kinsale’.  Fabulous! Saro’s Gyda is owned by Derrick and Ali Thorrington. Derrick is also one of the OCC’s Flag Officers and we’ve been trying, and failing, to meet up with Derrick and Ali at a number of places over the past few years. At last we would be in the same port together!  By the time we saw Simon’s post, Saro’s Gyda was anchored off a beach in the entrance to Kinsale, on the other side of the headland from us.  We hatched a plan for them to come for a drink aboard Blue Velvet and then for us all to go ashore to enjoy some traditional Irish music.

Derrick and Ali on Saro’s Gyda picked up the mooring buoy next to Blue Velvet

We had a delicious early meal of local mussels and then Derrick and Ali joined us, along with Rhys, and we all had a lovely time talking boaty stuff.

Guinness and live music in Kitty Ó Sé’s pub with Derrick and Ali

Ashore, we found the music at Harry’s Bar was disappointing and too amplified, though the Guinness was good. It turned out that Derrick and Ali are both musicians and enjoy playing Irish and Scottish folk music. So we went looking for some other live music venues and settled on Kitty Ó Sé’s pub. The band playing there was excellent with a lineup of iconic songs. We were only going to stay for one more pint, but the toes were tapping and the songs kept coming so the evening went on far longer than planned, but it was a very good evening.

During drinks on board Blue Velvet, Rhys and Ali had come up with a plan for an open water swim around the island at the head of Sandy Bay after work on Wednesday evening, so Derrick and Ali were committed to staying another night in Kinsale. We, however, were keen to make best use of some non-westerly quadrant winds to move west, so made plans to catch the midday tide.

Kinsale, County Cork, Republic of Ireland