Anna M
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Landfall at Ballycotton
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| Morning came to us, in a lumpy sea well north-west of the Scillies, steadily shortening sail till, as a dirty-looking line squall approached, we were down to just a deep-reefed main and the small jib, my two most trusty working sails, recently made by Des McWilliams in Co. Cork, and a great improvement on the old ones that were prone to split apart when squalls like that one hit us. Not that it was too bad, force 7, perhaps 8 for a wee while, and soon settling down to 5 or 6. | |
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The trouble was that we still had about 60 miles to go when it started to veer. Hard on the wind, we rose the Irish lights early in the chilly morning, with the sky clear and Northern Lights showing in the sky above Dungarvan. Tacking down the coast in the now calm sea, we came to Ballycotton on a brilliant sunny morning and picked up a mooring there, as a small boat returned to port, after a morning run on the lobster pots I suppose, reminding me of some of the best times of my own career as a fisherman. The joy of it, after the long winter, to be lifting the shiny blue-backs again from the sparkling sea! |
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This was where I first came to stay in Ireland, with my school-mate Ken Thompson forty years ago. Mary and I had a leisurely breakfast and a rest, and then Ken came with Rachel and Simon to have lunch with us. After that Rachel and Simon came with us for the beat down to Roches Point , and up Cork harbour to a safe berth, where the Anna M now waits to get a spring paint-up before heading west and north to meet her dolphin friends again, and maybe further than the Shannon too. I've a mind to sneak a quick trip to Scotland later on, DV. Joe Aston, 21st April, 2002. |
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Revised:11 July 2002Copyright © Joe Aston 2000 - 2006 All rights reserved.
All photographs are © Joe Aston unless otherwise stated, please do not reproduce without permission.