Intrepid Travels

The winds were strong overnight in Mulroy Bay, and continued to blow hard until early afternoon, as forecast. We decided to make a few miles of headway eastwards and left mid-afternoon. We were surprised by the height of the swell as we left the bay, and the strengthening winds made for a very rough journey as we covered the short passage around to the next bay, Sheep Haven. This is a large natural harbour which has several popular holiday villages/camps along the many inlets. We found the perfect spot in Marble Hill Bay, overlooked by the flat topped mountain of Muckish ('pig' in Gaelic) and watched a spectacular sunset as the winds settled and the sun made a brief appearance before disappearing behind the clouds.
Today, we left in time with the favourable tide and took the Inner Passage around Blood Foreland (named for the colour of its granite cliffs) to Aranmore Island. The pilotage was demanding, with several very narrow channels through rock strewn bays, and over shallow water where navigation is only possible at the correct height of tide. It was an exhilarating run and very satisfying to make it through to the other end and into deep, clear water. We anchored off Aranmore Island and went ashore for a 2 hour walk over the island in rare sunshine.