Aleria's Adventures

Fog lifting n Crookhaven We left Crookhaven at a reasonable hour. It had been very foggy in the morning but by 10 am the fog had lifted enough to see islands in the distance. We pulled up anchor just after two small French boats left and headed west. The Dutch boat left just after us and headed east. It was a bit choppy and messy out there. We had hoisted our main and mizzen but not the staysail as Alex thought we'd be sailing into headwinds until Mizzen Head. He was sort of right but once we got past Mizzen Head it was just too lumpy and boisterous to go forward. So we motor sailed the 27 miles at about 8 knots, cutting the time to just under 4 hours. We sailed into the narrow cut using the sector light to guide us. Luckily only one sailboat came out while we were heading in. The wind got stronger and gustier but not a problem as we had put in two reefs expecting the wind to increase. There was a boat anchored close to the channel to the marina and no on one the moorings

Sod roofed shed  We left at 9 am with a nice light breeze out of the NW. It was to clock W then SW as the day progressed, F5 for us but higher to the north. Then, midday, a new small craft warning was issued, now with a F6 on all waters.

Today, for the first time since we sailed to Ireland in 2008, a Customs boat came to visit. Three officers were on board a rib and two let us know they were coming aboard. We welcomed them and offered them some tuna salad as we were just having lunch. They declined.