Sorry it's been a while; you know, one thing and another.... At least this blogging lark seems to have become a good deal simpler, and it costs nothing now. Let's see how this one works out! I'm actually trying to sell the Anna M now, but sure am going to enjoy her in the meantime!
Anna M found a splendid berth last winter on the Rio Guardiana, the frontier between Spain and Portugal in the south.
We tore ourselves away in April, when I sailed north as far as the Ria de Arosa in Galicia with Dominic Peer. Here he is in A Pobra do Caraminal:-
'Anna M' stayed there for the month of May, until on June 3rd I sailed for Sherkin with Mike Cleary. It was a bit of a flog, mostly with a fresh NE breeze, but we arrived after 6 days. Here's Mike:-
Fiona and I left Sherkin on June 24th, for a pleasant 3 day passage to Carrigaholt. Here are her pictures of the Great Blasket and the Kerry shore as we passed through the Sound:-
We were a fortnight in Carrigaholt; it was so nice to see everyone there, and I also got the bottom painted.
Out of the blue I received an email from Gabriel and Lou-lou, who joined me a few years ago in Guernsey, sailed to Sherkin and wwoofed there. It was decided that they would come for the sail north-about to Wicklow, where we must be for our Matthew's wedding on July 25th, while Fiona would go and give some tlc to Horseshoe Cottage. The following photos are Gabriel's. Here he is:
And here is our escort down the estuary:-
It was 1400hrs when we got away from Kilrush, but we still had time to catch supper at the Loop and arrive at Kilronan at nightfall.
On we sailed early next morning, as the weather was to deteriorate and also we needed to catch the fair tide past Slyne Head. It was a lively sail, swooshing past Slyne at over 7 knots, which made Loulou sea-sick for the first time in his life. We reached High Island in mist and rain, and anchored at the east end of Inishbofin, both hooks on sand on the south side of Rusheen Bay, east of the pier. Loulou was soon happy again, with the evening clearing up:-
Great to catch the makings of a fine fish soup, to enjoy on this wet and windy day. It has been a pleasant one however, a bit of boat work in the morning, and this blogging lark in the evening. Bfn, and I'll keep you posted!
