FORD CORK WEEK 2000

Information in Red is for Sea Chart use only, otherwise maybe ignored!
GETTING THERE… was good !!! After a lot of wondering, will we...or won't we, the decision was made to go for the fun. The starting date of Ford Cork Week was to be the 15th of July, so we hoped to be there on Friday 14th at around 2pm. That said, we allowed a few days to get there and a little extra in case of bad weather. Our planned departure date from Clifden was Monday 10th July but as it turned out we were not ready to leave. Tuesday morning we were, all ready, boat and crew, which consisted of: My self Damian Ward, My Brother Barry Ward, Andrew Bell, Ronan Hughes, And my Dad, Jackie Ward, the "Owner". Four of us were to sail the boat, yacht "HALLMARK" (a Parker 27) and Dad was going to follow by road as "Land Crew" just in case we needed any assistance from shore side along the way.
SHIPS LOG Tuesday 11th July 2000 1115hrs We left our mooring in Clifden Bay, outside the "Club House". The journey, and the adventure, had begun. We took a course of 267° and motored out the bay at 5.5kts. On leaving the bay we called "Clifden Coast Guard Radio", on VHF channel 26, and informed them of our TR (Track Route…which gives them all the relevant safety info for our passage). We then hoisted sails and took a course of 240° for "Slyne Head".
1245hrs Position N53°26.167' W10°14.022', boat speed 6kts with our No. 2 Genoa up and first reef in the main … sailing nicely. 1325hrs Position N53°23.5' W10°15.4' Passing Slyne Head and alter course to 180°. Ground speed 4kts. 1400hrs Position N53°21.17' W10°14.435' . We shook out the reef in the main, ground speed back up to 6kts. Course 180° and time for lunch break, simple "Cup-a-soup" all round, Ronan's first shift on "Galley Duty" … All is well, as Slyne head disappears behind us . 1500hrs Position N53°15.260' W10°11.375' , 6kts, 180°. The sun is shining, time to peel off some layers of clothes that had been donned earlier. 1600hrs Position N53°08.35' W10°11.33', 6kts, 190°. At this stage we are due west of "Rock Island" light house on Inishmore. A pod of dolphins has come alongside to check us out and play for a while, this is very comforting as we loose all sight of land, it's always nice to think you're not alone out there. So we all grab our cameras and try to get some photos of the dolphins as they swim and jump in front of the boat. Some times you would think you could just reach out and touch them .. as we tried, but to no success. 1700hrs Position N53°02.6' W10°11.4' 6kts, 190°. We just lost mobile phone coverage, definitely feels like we're going into no-mans land, but the sailing IS great. 1800hrs Position N52°55.4' W10°12.01' 7kts 190°. Another pod of dolphins playing with us now, a larger one this time…very nice. 1900hrs Position N52º49.4' W10*10.47' 6.5kts, 170*. Quite a boring part of the trip, as we're sailing with the wind so there's no need for tacking (zig zaging our way to get where we want when sailing into the wind). Up to now we had been motor sailing to keep up our speed but as our first petrol tank ran dry (1830hrs) the wind seemed to pick up and we were still able to maintain our speed with out the noise of the motor... better!!! The Kerry Mountains are well sighted ahead now, and the Clare Coastline visible on Port Beam (on our left hand side). 2000hrs Position N52*43.5' W10*08.14' 6kts. We have refuelled the tank again and the motor is ready for use if the wind drops. To quote Ronan; "Damian kicked up a deadly (excellent) dinner (mash and bangers)". I'm not sure what he meant but I don't think it was that bad for a meal that took all of 3 minutes to prepare...on the sea!!! 2100hrs N52*37.31' W10*05.5' 6.5kts 183*. Nothing much to report here, we've finished dinner and are settling in to watch the sun go down over the Atlantic as we are about to pass Loop Head...well some 4 or 5 miles out. 2200hrs N52*31.6' W10*03.45' 6.5kts 179*. We contacted "Tralee Sailing Club" at Fenit to let them know we were on our way, but would be late arriving, and to see if a pint might be got. We then contacted home to let them know we were safely crossing the "Shannon Estuary" on our way to Fenit for the night. All this was done using our mobile phones as we had regained coverage. Navigation lights are on now. 2300hrs N52*26.226' W10*00.377' 4.5kts 180*. Darkness has fallen ... fully. "Genny" (Genoa-front sail) down and on we go into the night with full main only. Serious concentration was needed here, as none of us had sailed into Fenit before, not to mention in the dark of night. With all the necessary nav aids, and of course the knowledge how to use them, we navigated our way around "Little Samphire Island" and into Fenit Harbour safely. Wednesday 12th July 2000 0140hrs Position N52*16.247' W09*51.767'. Tied up at the Marina. Called "Shannon Coast Guard Radio" to end our "TR" (let them know we had all arrived safely at our destination). When we were all "Ship Shape" we took a walk around the village, even if it was 2am in the morning and no one around. We just needed to walk about for a while on "Dry land". A few cans of beer were taken out of storage and then a good nights rest was had by all. The berth at the marina we tied up at just happened to be right across from the famous "Jenny Johnson". This was truly a great sight first thing in the morning. We were welcomed by some fellow sailors (who we met in Clifden over the years, when they sailed up for the "Blues Festival"), and Michael O'Sullivan organized breakfast ashore for us, then gave us some good "Local Knowledge" advise on the next leg of our journey through the Blaskets.

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