Aleria's Adventures

We are currently planning a passage to a place even more remote than ours, the Faroe Islands. The Faroes are half way between Denmark and Iceland in a desolate stretch of water. Like Scotland to their south, they have little tide range but strong tidal currents. Navigation can be tricky, but we are figuring it out. Self-sufficiency is paramount. One of the joys of having a sailboat is being able to get to remote places that are not so easy to get to otherwise.

Hurricane Alex in January 2016 The season for tropical cyclones in the Atlantic begins June 1 and ends December 1. Here we are two weeks into June and we've already had three this year. El Nino has apparently been snuffed out and La Nina has not yet reared its head. A La Nina pattern may develop as early as late summer or early Fall. In this situation, sea surface temperatures in the equatorial Pacific usually run below normal as opposed to the above-normal temperatures of an El Nino pattern that we've seen in the past couple of years. We are currently experiencing a neutral pattern that may continue over the next several months. This is often associated with a more active Atlantic hurricane season and a less active eastern Pacific cyclone season. After the devastation caused by cyclones in Vanuatu and Fiji, that will be welcome news in the Pacific.

T-shirts and shorts for the first time in years Leaving the inner bay past Inishoo and Croagh Patrick The Met Eireann office released its climate report for May which was confirmed to be the dryest, sunniest month in years. People were flocking to the Blue Flag beaches and coastal islands in droves. Compared with last year, the year that summer never arrived, we've had our fill of summer already with little brown bodies tanned for the first time in the absence of the need for wetsuits. Long may it last. We sailed out in beautiful weather though not much wind. In fact it was glass calm. So we motored most of the way to Clare Island, our destination for the June Bank Holiday weekend.

Double-Handed Sailing  is after all like  Single-Handing Half the Time  - Daria Blackwell  After crossing oceans a few times, I was often asked if I didn't get tired of my husband during three weeks together at sea. I always answered no, because I hardly ever saw him. "What?" they said, "But you're together on a boat 24/7?" Yes, but you're rarely together and awake at the same time. So basically, sailing double-handed is like sailing solo half the time.

A few of the fishing vessels in Killybegs We got underway right from the Killybegs Sailing Club mooring, having raised our mainsail and mizzen in the harbour. The wind direction made for a perfect line right out of the harbour close hauled. As we unfurled the yankee and Alex raised the staysail, she soared out the channel.

Killybegs, Donegal, Ireland Last week we had the luck of a weather window and a high spring tide, a good combination of conditions to relaunch Aleria .  She had spent the winter in Killybegs at the Mooney yard. Alex had spent many days servicing and replacing through hull fittings all winter. He found several worrying decay elements -- not surprising given her advancing age. Aleria is 40 years old this year. Although her hull was created in 1994, she wasn't finished and launched until 1996. The machine shop at the yard proved immensely helpful, building several new components, testing metals, advising on replacements and building special tools. Alex couldn't have done it without them.

From Yacht Club Cruising to Ocean Crossings By Daria Blackwell Humans are interesting creatures.  There are those who get a notion and immediately pursue it – risks and obstacles notwithstanding.  Matt Rutherford and all those who were first to attempt a feat fall into that category.  Take Saint Brendan, Leif Erikson, and Columbus – each having crossed the Atlantic to “discover” the Americas when there was nothing known or recorded about crossing oceans. That took a great deal of courage. Or density. Or destiny.

Your ticket to freedom Some people just dream about sailing away all their lives. Others just do it. We did it at the age of 55, with a great deal of preparation. I wish we had done it much sooner.  Stop buying stuff All that stuff weighs you down. The more you have, the more stuck you get. One exception: buy a small boat to get comfortable with sailing and learn what you really want in a boat to live aboard before you head off.

When on occasion I speculate aloud where we would be if we had stayed in America, Alex always interjects with, "We'd be dead or worse." And I know it to be true. Our health was suffering. The stress really did take a lot out of us. Knotted muscles pulled spines out of alignment, acid ate away at our organs, and blood pressure increased with each passing day. Since living here in Ireland, we've managed to decrease our stress level significantly.

Anchor Video Series by s/v Panope A recent series of anchor tests bears mention. Steve Goodwin from s/v Panope has created a series of videos in which he set out to answer questions he has always had about anchoring. He wondered what happened when he dropped an anchor to the bottom and what happened when the wind shifted or current reversed. Would the anchor hold, would it flip around and reset, or would it just pull out?

The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame The Wind in the Willows is a classic, particularly for anyone who loves boats.  The oft quoted story is a mantra for boaters: “Believe me, my young friend, there is nothing - absolutely nothing - half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats.” If you have a chance to visit Henley in the UK, go to the Rowing Museum where they have an amazing exhibit of scenes from the book in diorama style. Some are larger than life sized, others are miniatures. Do the audio tour and hear the story come to life before your eyes. It's well worth the time.

On Sunday morning, the breakfast hall was full of chatter as everyone convened for yet another round. Many people were heading home that day, and only a few stragglers were staying behind. There was pandemonium in the lobby as everyone tried to check out by 9 am, the earliest check out anyone had ever heard of.  But groups had formed in the dining hall and last minute questions, future plans, and pressing issues were discussed. "I need to Skype with you this week,"  was a common theme for Committee members. "We're sailing from Iceland to Greenland in June. Do you have any advice?"  "We've got a full set of charts for Norway if you need them."  These were snippets of conversations floating in the air.

John Franklin presiding over the AGM with the BOD seated Side trip to the winery The next morning, we awoke to no hot water in the hotel wing at Greenlands. No worries. Intrepid sailors know what that's like and the chatter at breakfast continued until people scattered to various activities. Dick and Suzie Guckel, Daria and Alex Blackwell and chauffeur (and still Commodore at the time) John Franklin headed over to the Chiltern Valley Brewery and Winery. We spent two hours learning about viticulture, viniculture and beer making as well as tasting wines, beers, and liqueurs. What fun! We learned a lot and we found ourselves giggling and wondering how the AGM would fare later in the afternoon.

The Ocean Cruising Club held its AGM and Annual Awards Dinner in Henley-on-Thames this year. In previous years it had been held in London, the last two aboard the HQS Wellington -- a very nice venue. But this year, instead of just a one-day affair, it was stretched into a weekend event. People started arriving throughout the day on Friday in time for an informal Sea Shanty supper.

Mariner Radio Activated Sound Signal (MRASS) is being installed at lighthouses in fog prone areas like New England, the Pacific Coast, and the Great Lakes to assist mariners in navigating in fog. The system requires the use of a VHF radio to activate the foghorns via radio signal.

Book and Lecture Series Promoting Ireland's Segment of the Cool Route - Sail Cool Route : Thanks to Daria and Alex Blackwell for submitting this article for the newsletter Seminar on Cruising Ireland’s Wild Atlantic Way with the Cruising Association a Big Success in London, England The Seminar on Cruising Ireland’s Wild Atlantic Way presented by cruising sailors Daria and Alex Blackwell at the Cruising Association Headquarters at Limehouse Basin in …

How I would love my deck to look Dealing with boat projects in the spring has us stressing out over when and how we're going to cope with it all. It doesn't help that we chose a 57-foot "classic" that this year is turning 40 years old. While Alex replaces all the through hulls, I am dealing with brightwork and teak decks, miles of them. Every time I tackle this chore I think, "we should have bought a smaller boat." It is what it is. 

Book Review Calming Celtic Colouring Adult Colouring Book An amazing phenomenon in the book industry is the popularity of adult colouring books.  There’s a good article in Time magazine about how this whole trend got started. In 2013, Scottish illustrator Johanna Basford, who created elaborate black and white illustrations for corporate clients, had the idea to publish an adult colouring book when her clients kept saying they felt a need to colour in her illustrations.  Now, 16 million copies later, she is publishing her fourth offering, Magical Jungle .  Her other books, Secret Garden , Enchanted Forest , and Lost Ocean , are actually quite beautiful and thematically interesting.  A fifth book, Johanna’s Christmas is due later this year.  So it stands to reason that others would be jumping on the band wagon, including Game of Thrones originator George RR Martin, whose colouring book based on characters in the hugely popular book and television series is due out la

Book Review Recipes and Stories from Ireland’s Wild Atlantic Way By Jody Eddy Photography by Sandeep Patwal I loved this book right from the start. It features a compilation of stories about people and the ways of living along Ireland’s wild west coast, together with recipes that feature the local fare. It’s a fantastic complement to our own Cruising the Wild Atlantic Way.   I’ve often wondered what the story is behind a successful regional niche product. Who thought of it?  How do they produce it?  Who buys it?  Where are they heading with it?  Those types of questions are answered and explored in intriguing storytelling fashion.  I’ve even learned about my personal favourite cheese: gubeen!  They’ve even included short regional travel guides to tell you where the hidden gems are. And County Mayo features quite prominently.

Alex reinstalling winches on Aleria's main mast This year, we hauled Aleria out in the NW corner of Ireland in a town called Killybegs. Mooney Boats is our home for the winter and Alex has been very busy. Alex is servicing thru hulls and is finding serous issues. Alex is servicing all the winches to make it easier for me to winch. But with him doing all this work, the inside is all torn up and the outside needs to be dry so he can re-bed through hulls in rebuilt fibreglass. Gee, that means I haven't been able to paint inside, clean the teak decks with the oxalic acid I bought, or strip the varnish on the teak coamings and trim, yet again. I know. I buy into the need for serious safety issues to be dealt with, but that means that once again the cosmetic stuff has been put off and I can't live with that any more. I can't live aboard a boat that embarrasses me.