Tern's Travels

Pacific Seacraft 37

Vessel Name: Tern
Vessel Make/Model: Pacific Seacraft Crealock 37
Hailing Port: Falmouth UK
Crew: Larry & Manice Stabbins
17 July 2021 | Kirkwall, Orkney
17 July 2021 | Kirkwall, Orkney
15 July 2021 | Kirkwall, Orkney
15 July 2021 | Kirkwall, Orkney
15 July 2021 | Kirkwall Orkney
12 July 2021
12 July 2021 | The Paps of Jura
05 July 2021 | Gigha
05 July 2021 | N Ireland
05 July 2021 | Pierowalll, Westray, Orkney Isles
04 July 2021 | Falmouth, Cornwall
07 December 2018 | Falmouth and Portishead
07 December 2018 | Brittany, south and west coasts
10 August 2018 | Northern Spain, though currently writing in Camaret, Brittany, France
29 July 2018 | Spanish north coast: Costa Verde
29 July 2018 | Santander, Ribadesella and Picos de Europa
27 July 2018 | North coast Spain, Cantabria and Asturias
27 July 2018 | North coast Spain, Basque country
03 July 2018 | Charente Estuary area, France, approx 46N 001W
Recent Blog Posts
04 July 2022 | Dingle, Kerry, Ireland

Dingle, Blasket Sound to Aran Islands

Dingle, Blasket Sound and on to the Aran Isles. 28 May - 1st June

11 June 2022 | Cahergal Ring Fort, overlooking Valencia

VALENCIA AND KERRY, 21-27 MAY

Valencia's main habitation is Knightstown where a large marina within a set of breakwaters was envisaged but never completed. The breakwaters make it a safe place to tie up but there are no facilities so the next day we went up the river, which is constrained by tide, to the marina at Cahersiveen [...]

11 June 2022 | On Sneem Sculpture trail

KENMARE RIVER, north shore. 19-20 May

After three days boat-bound at anchor in Kilmakillogue we were keen to move on so we motor-sailed NW in 15-20 knots of gusty SW wind to anchor in the N cove of Garinish Islkand in Sneem Harbour. It was still too windy and grey to make it attractive to go ashore but by the morning it was brighter [...]

18 May 2022 | Dursey Sound cable car support

Kenmare River

Once the wind eased and we could move on from Adrigole, Bantry Bay, of course, there was no wind and we motored the 15nm to Castletown Bearhaven to provision andget nearer to the west end of Bantry Bay. Sailing from each river northwards needs not only good weather as the swell can get so large, [...]

12 May 2022 | The Italian garden at Garinish Island

Glengarriff Harbour and Garinish Island (Ilnacullin) 7-12 May

Glengarriff is sheltered enough to be a hurricane hole. It's a must to visit but as strong SW winds were forecast it was a perfect place to be. It was a fine evening and were greeted by the resident seals as we anchored near Garinish Island. The next day was overcast but we spent most of the day on the [...]

12 May 2022 | Live fowl for sale in Bantry market- you can buy almost anything!

Adrigole and Bantry

In settled weather we were abl;e to continue east towards Bantry, stopping in the protected Adrigole harbour which is home to a large population of harbour seals. The potentially peaceful is setting disrupted by the noise from the busy coast road with its traffic from the fishing port of Castleberehaven [...]

Dingle, Blasket Sound to Aran Islands

04 July 2022 | Dingle, Kerry, Ireland
Maniice Stabbins
Dingle, Blasket Sound and on to the Aran Isles. 28 May - 1st June

Dingle is an unmissable destination on Ireland's west coast despite being a tourist honeypot, it's still charming with cute shops, old pubs, traditional live Irish music in a beautiful landscape...
and a marina.The marina was busy and there is still construction work going on on the shore. Although the laundry was excellent we heard the showers weren't hot so confined ourselves to Tern's facilities. And like most places in Ireland, there were no marina rubbish facilities so the 15-20 min walk to the other side of the harbour included taking rubbish and recycling and disposing of it near the supermarket. There is no diesel for yachts in the harbour, only for commercial fishing vessels, so we carried containers to the petrol station near the supermarket, though we could use the marina cart as, at least, the way was flatish. All this works up a thirst so we treated ourselves to a pint in the Dingle Pub, which has excellent live Traditional Irish music from 6pm. We have found that although traditional music is frequently offered in pubs all over Ireland it doesn't usually kick off till 9, which is too late for us 'oldies' especially if we are at anchor. We were so impressed by the music that we went out again the next night!
There was a keen north wind at this time so we didn't get the bikes out though the cycling looked good. Instead we explored on foot and found the garden in the old convent in the centre of town to be a gem. By Tuesday 31st May the wind had moderated and backed sufficiently for us to undertake the long passage through Blasket Sound around the Dingle peninsula, across the mouth of the Shannon to Loop head and on to the Arran Isles. This was a 90 NM passage which we broke with an overnight anchorage at Kilbaha Bay, just east of Loop Head. The wind was fickle and shifty the but the scenery and birdlife were wonderful, we managed to sail about half the time and had a lovely final push through Foul Sound between the magnificent black limestone cliffs of Inishmaan and Inishsheer, escourted by dolphins, and picked up a free visitor's bouy in Kilronan harbour.

VALENCIA AND KERRY, 21-27 MAY

11 June 2022 | Cahergal Ring Fort, overlooking Valencia
Manice Stabbins
Valencia's main habitation is Knightstown where a large marina within a set of breakwaters was envisaged but never completed. The breakwaters make it a safe place to tie up but there are no facilities so the next day we went up the river, which is constrained by tide, to the marina at Cahersiveen for a few days to fulfill the necessities of life. Cahersiveen is an important stop on the Ring of Kerry circuit and gets very busy later in the summer so we were happy to be there in May and we enjoyed getting the bikes out to explore the area which is rich in history and geologically very interesting, creating a fabulous landscape. It is also the birthplace of Daniel O'Connell so the town makes the most of the connection with a heritage walk and memorial garden. The west of Ireland has many Ring Forts: massive stone ring forts on strategic spots, mostly from the early middle ages, and one of the best is Cahergal. From its perfect walls the views are spectacular and it's possible to envisage life at the time.
Kerry has the highest mountains in Ireland in the Macgillycuddy Reeks and the 179km Ring of Kerry road trip circumnavigates the peninsula. We took the bus to Killarney to experience the winding, narrow road making the north side of the Ring to visit the historic city. It was a bit of a culture shock to be in a big city but it is well-presented to tourists being sited on a large Loch with the Killarney National Park all around and surrounded by the impressive Kerry mountains and countryside. There is a good museum/visitor centre in Killarney House but all too soon it was time to get the bus home; even though we are trying to give ourselves time to visit Ireland, we can still only scratch the surface and actually going up into the mountains is beyond us on this trip.
Once weather permitted onward travel we spent a delightful day cycling round Valencia Island, one of the highlights being to see the tetrapod footprints, fossils from some 385 million years ago, made when Ireland was still part of a land mass south of the equator. The prints are the oldest in situ record in the world of a vertebrate walking on land. We also spotted Irish hares, magnificently haring around. The next day we were able to sail across to Dingle, some 14nm north across Dingle Bay.

KENMARE RIVER, north shore. 19-20 May

11 June 2022 | On Sneem Sculpture trail
Manice Stabbins
After three days boat-bound at anchor in Kilmakillogue we were keen to move on so we motor-sailed NW in 15-20 knots of gusty SW wind to anchor in the N cove of Garinish Islkand in Sneem Harbour. It was still too windy and grey to make it attractive to go ashore but by the morning it was brighter and less windy so we ventured out to walk to Sneem. There is a slip next to Oysterbed Quay where we could leave the dinghy for the day and we had a chat with the last two fishermen in the harbour who mainly catch lobsters and whatever else they can with a small day boat. Nearly the entire area is owned by a billionaire Swiss Lebanese banker so the walk is along roads and tracks. We joined up with the Kerry Way, a long-distance walking route, by way of a stream/bog/path - we do like an adventure and our boat-bound muscles needed a stretch.
Sneem is delightfully quirky, old-fashioned and touristic. It is bisected by the river and the communities on either side are historically competitive so now there s a recommended heritage and sculpture trail which equalises the attractions and tourist footfall. We had a picnic in the sunny community gardens and a good walk home to Tern. Beginning to feel in need of provisions and a washing machine, we set off next day for Valentia Island, rounding the Dingle Peninsula. The passage was 40nm but it goes almost through the whole compass so it's difficult to get a perfect wind and we inevitably motor-sailed some of it. There was too much swell to go into Derrynane, which looked stunning and interesting, being the home of Daniel O'Connell, one of the great figures in Irish history, and is a National Historic Park with a museum, house and gardens. Nevertheless, we had a good sail north along the coast between the Skellig Islands and Bolus Head, passed Puffin Island and round the top of Valencia Island and with the sea teaming with guillimots, gannets, manx shearwaters and puffins, it was a fabulous experience.

Kenmare River

18 May 2022 | Dursey Sound cable car support
Manice Stabbins
Once the wind eased and we could move on from Adrigole, Bantry Bay, of course, there was no wind and we motored the 15nm to Castletown Bearhaven to provision andget nearer to the west end of Bantry Bay. Sailing from each river northwards needs not only good weather as the swell can get so large, but also the tide is crucial . We calculated that we needed to get through Dursey Sound, between Dursey Island and the mainland, at 18.30 and it would take 3 hrs to reach it from Castlehaven. So we had a few hours at anchor in the harbour. Despite updates to the piote describing a pontoon suitable for yachts in the harbour, in practice there are no yacht facilities as fishing boats use the pontoon, though anchoring for short periods is feasible, and there is a dinghy landing pontoon. The harbour is full of fishing boats, from enormous trawlers to small boats and it is the largest white fish harbour in Ireland. Fortunately on that Saturday there was little activity and we could provision at thehandy supermarket and fill some water containers from the tap on the life boat jetty, though there was no room to go alongside and it is tide-restricted.
Dursey Sound is only 1cable wide at its narrowest and is further constricted by Flag Rock, mid- channel and is crossed by the only cable car route in Ireland, the clearance being 25m. We motored through mindful of the people who still live there and the much larger community the island once supported: it was benign that day but you had to be tough to live there year round! We had planned to overnight at an anchorage just round the corner on the mainland at Garinish but once we were through the Sound the swell was significant, about 2 m, so we decided to push on to Kilmakilloge Harbour, some 15nm further up the Kenmare river on the south side, opposite Sneem. As it was a calm, moonlit night we managed to drop anchor beyond all the mussel farms just beside Derreen gardens in 2m at low water. The landscape in most of Kerry is rugged and steep, formed by the Ice Age, with few trees and mountains up to 600m, whereas around the head of Kilmakilloge harbour there is a forest of mature oaks, conifers and other trees, a truely sheltered anchorage and suitable for the gales and strong winds predicted for the following week.

Glengarriff Harbour and Garinish Island (Ilnacullin) 7-12 May

12 May 2022 | The Italian garden at Garinish Island
Manice Stabbins
Glengarriff is sheltered enough to be a hurricane hole. It's a must to visit but as strong SW winds were forecast it was a perfect place to be. It was a fine evening and were greeted by the resident seals as we anchored near Garinish Island. The next day was overcast but we spent most of the day on the island visiting the wonderful gardens established by the Bryce family in the early 20th C. From the anchorage the island looks like an uninhabited woodland but the Bryce family, wealthy industrialists and politicians, had the vision and wherwithall to transform it into a spectacular garden. There was also supposed to be a mansion but this was never built and instead a modest but beautiful home was built to accommodate the family. The great architect and garden designer, Harold Peto, was commissioned to realise the project and fortunately the garden was laid out and gradually nurtured by the Scottish gardener, Murdo MacKenzie, who worked there from the 1920's until he retired in 1971. A tour of the house is included with the ticket and the architectural plans for the mansion are on show in the house. There is a good website with all the fascinating story and photos, I can post just one so I have chosen one of the iconic Italian garden.
The forecast gale went through the next day and it gave us the opportunity to work on this blog! The following day was furtunately pretty fine so we moved across to a visitor's bouy near Glengarriff and spent the day walking in the Woodland Nature Reserve, the first to be established in Ireland. It is a delightful 300ha of ancient woodland, mainly sessile oak but with great plant diversity, very natural, apart from the well-maintained paths which were useful as we have found Ireland to be less endowed with footpaths than we had hoped.There is no shortage of very long "pathways" but they often seem to be along roads, so we enjoyed the peace of the woods.
Glengarriff village itself is evidently a very busy tourist area during the season, with at least a dozen places to eat or drink and several fine shops for woolen goods and other arts and crafts but we were the nly visiting yacht. You could spend much time and energy exploring this Bere peninsula but we are finding getting the combination of weather, wind direction and tides right to move onwards and generally northwards is taking considerable planning. Next day we tried to sail to Dunboy Bay, near the west end of Bantry Bay. In the shelter of Glengarriff anything seems possible and for a while we had a delightful sail but it gradually became all too much and we decided to bail out at Adrigole anchorage. Here I sit, waiting for another weather window.

Adrigole and Bantry

12 May 2022 | Live fowl for sale in Bantry market- you can buy almost anything!
Manice Stabbins
In settled weather we were abl;e to continue east towards Bantry, stopping in the protected Adrigole harbour which is home to a large population of harbour seals. The potentially peaceful is setting disrupted by the noise from the busy coast road with its traffic from the fishing port of Castleberehaven and all places west. The road didn't entice us to cycle and there aren't many footpaths accessible without a car though we had a short walk . The best activity would be kayaking with the seals. We rowed the dinghy instead and the next day had a nice westerly breeze to take us to Bantry in time for the Friday market.
We loved Bantry, with its traditional market day, its mixture of traditional and contemporary shops , pubs businesses and srvices. We met a lady who lives on Whiddy Island, which affords great protection to the harbour, and she affirmed what a great place it is to live. It even has a superb library, a general hospital and large supermarket. We toured the market in the rain, the first rain since Kinsale, but later the sun came out and we could follow the heritage trail and a good walk.
We had our first pub night since arriving in Ireland, visiting the two oldest (and unmodernised) pubs in the town and chatting to locals and some other visting sailors. Fully provisioned,we sailed the 5 nm north to the famous Glengariff Harbour

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