We are doing well, even having some nice evening walks. Yesterday the weather was glorious, so sunny, tons of people out and about enjoying the weather. Gallway at its best.

I think I have confused people when I talk about our leaky boat. Nokomis, like many sailboats, does not leak from the bottom up, but rather than from the top down. When we are sitting at the dock or at anchor, no water comes in from the bottom of the boat. But all the metal hardware; stanchions, furlers, stays, shrouds, fairleads, cleats, and the list goes on, are connected to the deck, which means holes. Caulking is used to seal up the holes, but when a boat is as old as ours, the caulking gets old and loses its effectiveness, hence the leaks. Every time we heel over or waves wash over the deck, the salt water comes in from the top and trickles down through the cabinets. It isn't enough water to sink the boat, but it is enough water to sink our spirits.

Paul has been busy sealing up with caulk so hopefully it gets better. And I know I am living my dream. But I have to ask, just in case you thought this was a luxury cruise, how many women's dream includes storing their underwear and socks in zip lock bags just to know they will be dry when needed?

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The picture is of a swan on the canal off the River Corrib that we pass each day on the way to the dorm rooms. The first load of clothes out of the dryer were so warm and dry, I clutched them in my arms, held them up to my face and laughed/groaned with pleasure. The poor Italian young women waiting to use the dryer had a look of fear on her face - was I over the edge? So twenty loads and four trips later and all is clean. We slept on the boat last night on a dry bed with dry sheets and blankets. It was heaven. And the boat is getting more and more livable every day. Today we even took a stroll in the dining/shopping/tourist area. And did I mention, three days in a row without rain? Today is even sunny, hot and we are in our shorts.

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Wow, thank you for all the wonderful comments and support. Right now I need it. I am not sure what was/is the hardest, the actual passage or recovery from the passage. But life is slowly coming back together. The best part is Paul and I are being so kind to each other, nothing like shared misery! For three nights we are sleeping at the local college dormitory, which is helping immensely with the recovery.
Top 10 reasons for staying at Corrib Village:
1) Free continental breakfast.
2) Great bike ride up the river, canal and through the campus.
3) A warm dry bed, all our cushions were damp and everytime we laid down we had to warm them up and dry it out with our body heat. It felt so good by morning that we did not want to get up. Now we lay down in a bed and it is dry and warm!
4) We can actually sleep in the same bed, first time in over three weeksl.
5) I took some cushion covers to the laundress. It cost 8 euro and she would only wash them. So there I was, still with wet cushions! I had lines criss-crossing in the bimini (see photo) to hang them up and it took four days for them to dry. I can use the laundry at the dorm, only 5 euro for wash and dry and I can control the dry so they aren't ruined in the process.
6) I also took a load of clothes to the laundress, and she charges by weight, which is really expensive when all the clothes are wet. I had so much washing to do, and it was so much cheaper to do it myself, that it paid for the cost of the dorm room.
7) The rooms come with showers and there are no showers at the marina. The local hotel charges 5 euro per shower.
8) We are doing so much work on the boat that all the stuff stored away is out in the open (we say the boat exploded) and it would take so much work just to clear a place to sleep, having the dorm room makes working on the boat easier.
9) We met a great guy in the dorm laundry. He is here on a work project, goes to school in Madrid in naval engineering. He loves sailing, likes hearing about our trip, talkes about the sailing he does, and has come by to visit and for dinner.
10) We can watch the Olympics on the TV in the dorm laundry room! First time in front of a tv in over three months.

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Day two, getting used to land legs. We climbed some stairs and almost fell down laughing, it felt so wierd. Irish flag is up. No self-serve laundries in western half of Ireland, what is up with that? I have a boat full of wet clothes, towels and seat cushions. I could rent a room for the night in the local college dorm to use their washer/dryer (5 euro a load). Or I could throw away half of my clothes and hand-wash, or pay 10 euro per load to have the laundry wash for me. We finally got into a slip, instead of the wall, which means we have fresh water and will have electrical, plus it is a secure area.

I was disappointed in how Sailblogs handled my emails when I posted remotely. I can only go back to Day 10 to see comments, and they don't show up on the regular blog page. I have no written record of what I wrote! I loved getting the comments after Day 10, thank you for the positve cheering on.

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Well, we did make it. Similar to a marathon run, we hit a wall that was very hard and then the end of it came oh so quickly. In two days the three frontal storms that blew through were quite an ordeal. I am not too proud to admit that I buckled during the second one and hid in the quarterberth sobbing. The three guys had to hand steer through it. When the weather cleared between the second and third storm I got up, dusted myself off and made banana muffins (thanks for the advice Judy) and stayed up in the cockpit for the third storm. I was steering in up to 44 knots of wind and then I did not have the strength to control the boat. Paul steered for over half an hour and did a fantastic job. Slowly the winds came back down and we had a downhill ride past the Aran Islands. Our Scan Strut support for the radar gave way and we had the Oh, shit moment as we tried to get it secure. Then we had to time it for the high tide at Galway, they open the gates to the marina 2 hours before high tide and then close them. So we slowed down the boat and made it to the gate at 4:00 a.m., circled around for a while, and then had a smooth landing at the dock. Paul showered and got ready for customs. The marina itself doesn't have a shower, we have to pay $5 at the local hotel. The good news is the hot tub and steam room. We may even spring for a massage. Beth (Al's wife) joined us and off we went for Guinness and food. Today is Lady's Day during the Galway Race Week (horses). Quite exciting in town. The women dress up like trollops and wear the fancy hats. Beth and Al took off this afternoon in the rental car and Gibbs took the train to Dublin, a ferry to Wales and then a train to Liverpool. Something about work. Now we have a messy, salty boat to clean and boat repairs to face. My daugher, Heather and her family join us August 13 for several days of cruising. The library is closing, I have to finish, but tomorrow I promise to update all and add pictures.
The flag of Ireland is now hanging on our boat!

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We had our first siting of land. Still some water to cover and we might have to anchor out for a bit to wait for high tide. But there it is, land. Did have hard weather yesterday and today, three frontal systems went through, bang, bang, bang. Paul did great this morning steering through winds in the 40 knot range. Got as high as 49, he seemed a little disappointed that it didn't hit 50! Food is stuff I prepared earlier, or catch as you can. In a lull I managed to make banana muffins, which seemed to hit the spot. Things I like about this trip: Nokomis. We have a powerful boat, she can take a lot of wear and tear, certainly more than the people on board. I was never worried about the boat itself getting us there. We have had damage, both the wind vane steering system and the electronic steering systems are caput, hand steering this last day. Radar pivoting holder is breaking, had to tie it up, and the ring to hold up the spinnaker pole came down. We have our work cut out. But the boat itself is great!

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