Aleria's Adventures

It's getting to be that time of year again, and this year, we are focusing on gifts for the sailor who just goes out and buys whatever he or she wants or likes. And we're concentrating on items available to purchase online as the situation with Covid remains fluid. So here are a few items that caught our attention. We are also focusing on high quality items that are perhaps ecologically more sound due to recycled materials or the longevity of their useful life.  1. Dalvey Voyager Compass A most beautifully engineered pocket compass. Dalvey Compasses are often given as symbolic gifts at times when the recipient’s life is taking a new direction. They can be personalised with engraving – either in the form of initials, a name, a message, or even customised with a graphic motif. 2. Sailing ship whiskey decanter and globe etched glasses An old-fashioned glass sailing ship inside a hand-blown decanter with an artistic world map engraved on the outside. Includes a decanter stand in ex

We've secured our RLNI Christmas cards and will soon be sending them out for the first time in years. Coronavirus has put a hold on so many things in our lives. I've been researching and buying gifts online and having them delivered direct because we won't be able to visit personally any time soon. So I thought I might resurrect the Top Ten Gifts for Sailors again this year. I haven't done it for a few years but this one seems like an exception. So here goes... 1. Here's a most unusual one...Monumental Maritimers Cathy Shelbourne, of Sea Shell Communications, has created a deck of playing cards telling tall tales about colourful characters. In normal times, she travels the world as an enrichment speaker aboard cruise ships, giving talks on maritime heroes and brazen buccaneers. During the coronavirus pandemic, she has put her knowledge, and collection of photos of maritime characters, to good use. Her newly-launched pack of cards is illustrated by major players in t

A new study has calculated far higher concentrations of microplastics in the oceans than previously thought. Hopefully, data from samples collected by sailors reaching remote regions of the earth, like Jon Sanders and Matt Rutherford, will shed more light on the extent of the pollution. What we see on the beach and on the surface of the water is just a fraction of the plastic dissolved into minute particles that the sea creatures consume. Does man realise he is destroying his own food chain? No, man does not think beyond himself.  https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-17932-9.pdf

Our local paper made quite the splash with an article about what Alex and I have been doing with OCC to help cruisers return home or to safe harbours. A page and a half in the Living section.  Here's a scan.  We're very pleased that our story could be told. Thanks to Mayo News and to Aine Ryan, lead reporter. 

Being along with the ocean is liberating My friend and I were having a lively conversation which drifted into sailing. I am a sailor and she is not. I was telling her about how exhausting a conference for long-distance sailors had been, as there was something to do and people to be with almost every minute of each day. I told her when the Ocean Cruising Club weekend was over, being an introvert, I needed a full day of silence and no camaraderie to recuperate. She laughed and said, "It must be a challenge to get a roomful of introverts to join in on a social event, assuming that introversion is a trait that would inspire sailing across oceans."

It's December 1st and the day I usually sit down to create a list of gifts I might consider for my sailing buddies. No one really wants just practical gifts, so I've concentrated on going beyond pure utility and have selected a few items that have some bling or tech gizmo appeal. Fortunately, sailing is often associated with gadgets that do evolve over time into things that make things easier and more fun. So here goes. 1) Luci Light from US$19.95, €18

By Daria Blackwell Stuck for a last minute gift idea? There’s still time to order these items and have them delivered in time for Christmas. Of course you can always order a copy of Happy Hooking - The Art of Anchoring by yours truly.   But as so many people already have it, we thought we’d give you a few more ideas.    10. Dry Bag ($14.95-209) Every sailor needs a dry bag for those dinghy rides to shore with laptop in tow. SealLine Dry Bags are the best, but I have to say that the ones we bought at Lidl for €10 have lasted for years.   They come in different colours, sizes and purposes so everyone aboard can choose a different one to keep them straight.  

The hottest gear with which to ring in 2015 With technology changing at lightning speed, it's hard to keep up with the latest advances that make sense in an extreme environment like blue water sailing. But I managed to compile my wish list of

Meeting up with like-minded people There is an interesting thing that happens when sailors meet while cruising. Because they start out with so much in common, they tend to form instant bonds. Not always. Sometimes you run across people you want to have nothing to do with - but that's a matter of personality. More often you meet like-minded individuals who have lots of stories to tell and lots of advice to share because they haven't been sitting in their armchairs, noooooo, they've been out there doing things. Ordinary people doing extraordinary things out on the world's oceans and their shores. If you are sailing a circuit, chances are you will meet up with the same people over and over as generally everyone is heading in the same direction