This is a rather uninteresting picture to most but this is the Belly rock which is in the middle of the sound between Rabbit Island and High Island South of Glandore and has no marker or cardinal, I know exactly where it is but I have never set eyes on it before as it is always submerged. It has removed props, P-brackets, rudders, Keels and even ripped a gearbox off an engine (on a 57ft Sunseeker at that ). It only breaks in a Southerly or South-easterly and as Spring low tides in this area always fall in the afternoon we are usually further out to sea, so when this particular group wanted to go in Mackerel fishing I caught a glimpse. Make sure you know where it is if you are ever sailing here. Dad has seen a yacht go straight over it on a surge in the past, little do they know how lucky they were.

This on the other hand is Derrynane beach, Co Kerry, I wanted to go to Derrynane as a place to sail from when we finally get the chance to head for the Skelligs, It has to be one of the most beautiful beaches in the country.

Don't know where this came from but it was sheltering from the weather earlier in the Summer

Change of base

The blog is pretty much showing the extent of the sailing we have been doing this Summer.
I have been out once or twice with the kids but thats about it. June wasn't a very good month weather wise and July and early August have been busy with charters. We planned on heading for Ballydehob this weekend for the 'Gathering of the boats' but gales put pay to that and it was cancelled for this year.
This has finally led to me going ahead and getting a permanent Baltimore mooring for her to stay on.
Baltimore is a very busy place in peek season but this is a time when I am generally busy working anyway, and I'm finding that when I've been out chartering then I'm not really too inclined to go back to the same place to go sailing on my days off. To ad to that, once you pass Adam island it is open ocean and your options are a bit limited especially if sailing with the kids, were as Baltimore harbour can lead you in sheltered waters out in to Roaring water bay and numerous Islands, harbours and inlets or up river which means its great for exploring in not so perfect weather.
It also means that come the start and end of each season we simply have to go up or down the river to the yard and as East coast sailing is of no interest to us we are a step closer to the West when we finally get a chance to go further afield. She will no doubt spend a few weeks each Summer in Union Hall but at least it will be by choice rather than necessity.

The cat that got the cream

The one that didn't

I do love pictures of her anchored off

Fishing for the sake of it

We spent an hour or so in the dinghy in the morning exploring the shore of Rabbit island and couldn't resist summiting the "Stack of beans" on the eastern end. Seemed very unusual.

Wait for  the surge to float me off

A regular view of the stack

Crosshaven or not

We mooring hopped around Baltimore for as long as we could after the festival and having left her at anchor for a night we got a very favorable 18kt Northerly to take us back to Union hall. 

We had a great sail back with a few fluky variable 25kt gusts to keep us on our toes and finally beating up the harbour in a heavy squally shower. 

Our plan was to head to the trad sail in Crosshaven this weekend and leave Teal there after to wait for favorable weather to sail home. 

We later decided it seemed more hassle than it was worth this year and opted to do something else as I had the weekend booked off and we were expected to be away anyhow.

Even then we didn't feel like doing much so at about 8.30 yesterday evening after a lot of humming and hawing, we finally went out to the boat and with just a staysail and mizzen sailed off the mooring and out of the harbour.

We didn't go far, dropping anchor inside Rabbit Island about 11pm. We went doing a little exploring in the dark and stayed on board for the night.

In the morning we took the Apple Pie dinghy to explore the Islands shoreline before a very leisurely sail back for breakfast.

A very little adventure but far more relaxing than a long sail to Cork, car transfers up and down and sailing in crap weather tomorrow.

It was nice to do a little exploring near home. Pictures by Ken

Lazy sailing but there was no rush

Low tide on the South side of Rabbit ( me exploring )

Great start to 2016

I have been very lazy about posting anything recently.
Teal however was launched around the 20th, we didn't want to leave her alongside to get scratched up so a quick check over and we motored off down river.
Baltimore wooden boat festival was on last weekend and for a change the weather was absolutely beautiful. And a great weekend was had.
We finally rigged Teal for her topsail which despite being an ill fitted sail we were able to put to use.
She showed her stuff on Saturday taking 2nd place in the Class B boats which is basically anyone who pits themselves against the Lobster boats and a very respectful 6th over the line overall.
The racing is taken lightly in Baltimore but its always nice to try our best.
We made a poor course choice on the Sunday which cost us time but nevertheless we got one of this years plaques for the collection.
Ken made a sail cover too which has worked out well and our new main is finally safe and sound.

Gaff ketch Sile a do & Cornish lugger Peel Castle

Lobster boats and a Mackerel boat

Mackerel boat An Run

Finally put a vent in one of the washboards and made up some new shrouds for the mizzen. I was going to make a a timber vent cover but then  remembered I had some copper lying around and that it might be a bit more interesting to hammer one out.
Few little things to do now and Teal will be in the water.

 

All nice and shiney on the outside again. Now for inside and we'll be away.

Blog has been quite but so has doing anything with Teal.
I don't know how I've got round to so little but I will get stuck in now and the next 2 to 3 weeks will see her back in the water.
We did uncover her last week and scraped the bottom and sanded the cockpit. Lots of sanding and cleaning next, followed by lots of painting and varnishing.

We're having a little taste of good weather at the moment. It is inspiring thoughts of sailing.

Might as well watch some nice weather. This is not an exciting video

Salt bay skiff

My high-light of the season had to be the Salt bay skiff I built in the Spring, Its sitting in the shed gathering (I would say dust, but given the climate its more of a damp grime) and awaiting a new season and I'm really looking forward to getting out in it again.
When the Spring arrives I might get a chance to make the rig for it which will give it a whole lot more scope.
Ken is keen to build another one or perhaps make me build one for him and as long as he will do the coats of epoxy I enjoyed doing the rest, so two could be quite a bit of fun.
I reckon it was great value for money and proved a nice stable boat, Even when put to the test by a very enthusiastic Frenchman :)

Rigging

So despite being looked at like I've lost the plot, I have left the rig up this Winter, but not without some rhyme or reason. First of all I was so busy in the lead up to Christmas and trying to get the house done that I didn't want to spend days packing it all up and bringing it all home, It all has good varnish on and the standing rigging spent all last Winter in a bucket of linseed oil so its well protected. 

Next reason is we still don't have a sail cover and this is a good opportunity to get one made. I also want to get the topsail rigging sorted and do something to simplify the setting of the running back stays which is probably one of the toughest parts of sailing the boat and takes all the attention of the helmsman during a tack ( not to mention a gybe ). The main issue is that they have to be cleated off at the right tension before throwing the highfield lever while holding the mainsheet in tight and making sure she tacks through the wind and thats before dealing with the headsails. The saving grace is that once the helm is put over she carries way very well and rarely misses a tack unless there is a heavy sea to compound things. The levers alone don't give enough slack to allow her to sail so if the main sits on the leeward runner it simply knocks her on her ear until you get the other end uncleated. 

The thing is that they will always be set back the same length so a loop in the rope and a strong hook instead of a cleat would be one solution. another idea that was mentioned was a open cheek deck roller instead of the closed one and let the wire out. What ever the solution is it needs to be something I'm very sure of when the load is on it.

As if that wasn't enough reason I would like to have a sailmaker look at the staysail and see if it can be improved on before making a new one because it never sits very well on the shrouds.

This shows the running back stay fittings, The wire is permanently attached to the highfield lever then goes back through the roller and up through a block about half way to the mast head, then is spliced to a rope which comes back down to the cleat on the back deck,