Rounding the South West corner
When I took the opportunity to round the Mizen head the forecast was for far southerly light breeze and the risk of
After 8 years carrying the thing it was a shock to hear how loud it is.
fog. Hardly sooner had Valentia coastguard completed his broadcast than a thick sea fog rolled in. I scrabbled in the bo’sun’s locker for the fog horn powered by compressed air can. It’s the first time I’ve needed it in eight years. I tested the horn and was shocked by the astonishing loudness that disturbed the guillemots. It took a while to complete the rounding and I stood off and extra mile from the coast but once around the headland the tops of the hills began to show as the fog dissipated. I was happy to lay my course for Bear Island passing another beautiful seabird covered headland. The island is in Bantry bay and has a wonderfully sheltered sound with Castletownbere on the mainland acting as the principal fishing harbour of the area. I anchored for a couple of hours to get some supplies before deciding to move on to Laurence Cove where there is a small marina run by a delightful lady called Phil. As I approached she waved me into a berth and took my lines. What a welcome!
Alas, the weather has broken and a succession of lows are tracking south of Iceland giving us strong winds. I am glad I took the marina option, hard-core cruisers would be appalled but being able to walk ashore where there showers, toilets, a shop and a pub. When it’s not raining, which is most of the time, there are great walks around the island and places to discover. The island has a recent past of being one of the treaty ports that were part of the Irish Free State settlement. Britain retained these ports until 1938. It is easy to speculate that their continued use would have helped the battle of the Atlantic in WWII but would almost certainly have dragged Ireland into the conflagration.
Drying the laundry in a pretty place
Richard and Mary have been here many times and they invited to me to join them on an expedition to the Castletown, taking the island ferry and local taxi. We left on the 11 o’clock ferry which also carried a group of Irish army cadets back after their tour at the military base that the army maintains on the island. It only took 30 minutes to complete the essential shopping, which wasn’t really essential but the change of scenery was welcome. We met up again and visited MacCarthy’s bar on the main square. This is famous for two reasons. Most recently, and Irish American visited every MacCarthy’s bar in Ireland having a drink and taking a picture. The subsequent TV programme made the bar famous and folks can be seen having the photo taken there now. The other reason is the owners father was a doctor during WWII and was at Dunkirk and the far east. He was taken prisoner by the Japanese and was lucky to escape with his life when the atomic explosion of Nagasaki and ensuing chaos prevented the planned massacre of prisoners. There is colour and history whenever you kick as stone in this country.
When I went to pay for the marina berth Phil asked me is I liked mackerel, which I do. She then went up to the house and brought back three beautiful fish ready and prepared for cooking, what a great place to visit.
