Aleria's Adventures

Sailing past Clare Island and into Clew Bay The last leg of our journey would take us the remaining 35 NM or so to our home inlet in Clew Bay. The question was, since we may not be coming back to Bofin for a while, should we spend an extra day and walk the island. It's been a few years and it is so beautiful. (By the way, there is now mobile and 4G signal in the harbour. No need to climb the hill any more!) But in short order, we consulted with WingGuru and noted 15 knots SW on this day and 15 knots NW the next. Better to go with the flow. Our mooring wasn't ready as our BIL wasn't able to raise the riser, but he said the mooring nearby was suitable. We knew there wasn't enough water, but Alex thought he could raise the chain with Aleria 's windlass. High tide was at about 1430, and we needed at least half tide to get over the shellfish bed on approach to our inlet. But the wind proved fickle and we had no interest in motoring as the day was just too perfect.

For the first time in my life, I have experienced a loss of ambition. It happened just as we were heading off to sail for two weeks in Galicia. I had no interest in traveling or sailing, but I didn't say anything to anyone. When we got there, I had no interest in sailing off. As it happened, our 'niece' Joan was taking part in a race which was coming in to Portosin where our boat was. It suited me fine to stay put in the marina for several days, something we would never have done before.

Where the mountains come down to the sea along the Wild Atlantic Way Home is a question I've been contemplating my entire life. So on this day, my birthday, I will begin to try to answer that question. I published a post recently about having found home along the wild Atlantic way in Ireland. Today, I want to explore the meaning of home and ask a new question: how did I know it when I found it? Is home the landscape that burns itself into your psyche? When you ask people what 'home' means to them, you'll get a variety of different answers. Some of them are dependant on culture, others on circumstance. Home to many is the place you live. For some it's where you came from. For others it's where they are heading to. For some it is the house they grew up in. For others it is the house they built. For me a house never equates with the concept of home. A house can be an empty place. Home is warm and inviting. The place you feel safe and content. The

Having sailed the entire west coast of Ireland and calling Clew Bay home, we've been blogging about this most impressive sailing territory for years. We have an amazing collection of photos that captures the remarkable and stunning beauty. Some time ago, I started to organize my blog posts and photos and work on a book long before it actually began to take on a life of its own. So when Failte Ireland decided to focus on the Wild Atlantic Way, it was a natural to collect what we already had into a resource that could tie in to that effort. Cruising the Wild Atlantic Way was born to help those following in our wake.