Friday 27th June, Kilmore Quay again again

23,571 families of midges emigrated to the west of Scotland today. Even a Tuesday departure is now looking optimistic.

Thursday moring was a bright start but as always windy. Having spent a couple of days fixing boats, we had decided to get the bus over to Wexford. Three buses a day run over to Wexford which is the biggest town in the area and the county town of Wexford county. Seems logical. Apparently it is one of the oldest towns in Ireland with a big settlement from the times of the Vikings.

The bus turned up on time at 10.30 and we all piled on (about half a dozen boaties who like us were stranded in the marina). It was a half hour run through narrow twisting lanes and given it was downwind, the bus must have been touching 50mph at times. It stopped at various villages to let the locals on for their weekly shopping trip to the metropolis. At one village, on the these "locals" asked the driver to hang on while her daughter jumped off the bus, ran over to the nearby chemist and 4 minutes later emerged clutching her mum's prescription! Priceless! By the time we arrived in Wexford the bus was packed. We were dropped off near the station and went wandering.

In the shelter of the town, it felt quite warm and we had a pleasant hour wandering down the narrow main street that runs parrallel with Wexford's award winning quay. Pam spotted a shop selling Birkenstocks (for the un-informed they are shoes that cost a fortune and come in all sorts of patterns). That lightened my wallet by a significant amount. A quick visit to the tourist dis-information office where they were selling Guinness memorabilia and handing out photocopied maps of the town centre proved fruitless. We then wandered off down the award winning quay to contemplate where to eat lunch.

Pam had spotted a nice looking restaurant in the Westgate design shop (on the right on the main street as you walk south). This was a self service affair but the food very good and the portion size very American. One seafood platter would have done both of us - if I liked seafood. Recommend the place to anyone. During lunch I suggested we go and buy a paper and then sit on the award winning quay to read it. ...then someone came in covered in rain spots. Then another...then another. By the time we finished the biblical downpour had once again commenced which put paid to any further thoughts of the award winning quay. We spent the afternoon wandering round the soggy shops and ended up in the Library on the internet before catching the bus home at 6pm. The journey back was significantly slower as the wind was on the nose. At least the bus didn't have to tack and the chemist shop was closed. 

After a quick dry out on the boat, we felt it was importat to ensure Kehoe's pub had not been washed away during the day so wandered (got blown) up there for a meal and a Guiness. Pam was getting fed up paying 6 Euros a glass for red wine so switched to halves of Guinness. To be more accurate Pam was getting fed up of ME paying 6 Euros a glass. That was a result - as she declared she enjoyed it. Spain v Russia were on the telly but I saw little as we got in a conversation with Steve and Don, two guys with a big old converted wooden trawler. That turned out to be a five pint evening (conservative estimate) and we ended up back on Joeanne Mary for a wee dram. Super boat with oodles of room in addition to a bath, a washing machine and a tumble drier.

There is picture of Joeanne Mary above. They were on their way up to Poolbeg in Dublin for an old boat muster. Steve's home port was New Ross just down the coast and up the river near Waterford. The boat to the right is Moonshadow, Andres and Adrianne's boat.

Friday morning was a bit slow. The wind had slackened somewhat overnight so Moonshadow made a dramatic escape to sail over to Milford Haven. By nine ish however it had resumed it's customary F6 and Steve declined to move.

I promised some pics of the Marina. The one above shows the hammerheads with not a lot of room to get in behind Moonshadow. The one below gives a bit more of clue to what the place look like. Despite the winds it is very sheltered.

The lower photo shows how it opens up inside the pontoons. We are on the right just behind to dark boat.

More tomorrow.

Comments

[Tom]

Hi Guys,
Been keeping up to date with your travels! I'm looking forward to seeing you next week!! :)

[Richard]

Have read the blog daily and enviously as I sit at my desk here in Edinburgh, watching the rain hammer off the windows of Global Headquarters. Best of luck with the next leg (if you escape the marina). Is it too late to get into Guiness shares now?

This might hep you to pass the time...

http://www.jacketflap.com/bookdetail.asp?bookid=185671117X

Richard

[andy]

Hi Richard and Tom. Glad to see it raining in Edinburgh as well. If you want to get stranded anywhere - it is here! Even Pam wanted to go up to Kehoes for a pint of Guinness tonight! Going round and round Ireland seems like heaven! If the Biscay trip doesnt work - that's what we will do.

A change of scenery would be nice but the craic in with the locals and especially the marina staff is amazing!

[Anders Leijerstam 'Moonshadow']

Hi Andy and Pam,

Hope your sail west from Kilmore is going well and that you eventually get the wind behind you.

Your diary is really good to read. Makes me feel we are still over there!

We arrived home to Cardiff on Monday 30th in the afternoon.

Yes, we left Kilmore about 8am on Friday 27 well prepared for a rough ride to Milford with everything stowed below deck. Both wind and swell built steadily and an hour from port it was blowing F6 again and the swell was hugh! We were running with the wind just off the beam with 2 reefs in the main and half the genoa and no mizzen at 7 knots.

Moonshadow handled the swell perfectly well but Adrianne refused to look behind to see the real size of the waves! Saw nobody else on the way.

It took us 12 hours to Milford and on our approach visabillity was down to 1nm! The GPS showed us the way. The Port Authority asked us to hold off since a massive oil tanker was on its way out in the west fairway of the estuary. This was in fact a lot of help for us since the ship's course clearly showed us the direction and position of the fairway. They had a plot tug - we didn't! Not a nice home comming precisly.

Spent 2 nights and 1 day in Dale at the pontoon for a bit of rest and then left for Swansea and the last night onboard. Nice and piecefull in the marina.

Good to have meet you both and we wish you a lot of luck on your sail and hope to see you some day again. Please give our regards to John and Sue if you have contact.

Anders