Land Ho! Approaching Dingle Bay in darkness, but the lighthouse at Tearaght Island is beaming out… Earier, before it got dark, we spotted the rocky outcrop Great Skellig, murky on the horizon…

Sailed port tack all day making great time – 189 miles in the last 24 hours – all directed towards Dingle!

As a consequence, we’ll arrive around midnight to 1:00am tonight – and rather than try to navigate our way into Dingle using only an iPad – not something we’re used to – at night, we’ve decided that we’ll throw an anchor down in the adjacent bay – Ventry Harbour, which has a wide open entrance and provides good protection from North Westerly winds (which we’ve got).

We’ll move into Dingle in the morning – where a hammerhead slip awaits us!

All in all a good trip – but it’s a shame its so cold and grey!

Land Ho! Approaching Dingle Bay in darkness, but the lighthouse at Tearaght Island is beaming out… Earier, before it got dark, we spotted the rocky outcrop Great Skellig, murky on the horizon…

Sailed port tack all day making great time – 189 miles in the last 24 hours – all directed towards Dingle!

As a consequence, we’ll arrive around midnight to 1:00am tonight – and rather than try to navigate our way into Dingle using only an iPad – not something we’re used to – at night, we’ve decided that we’ll throw an anchor down in the adjacent bay – Ventry Harbour, which has a wide open entrance and provides good protection from North Westerly winds (which we’ve got).

We’ll move into Dingle in the morning – where a hammerhead slip awaits us!

All in all a good trip – but it’s a shame its so cold and grey!

We’ve been sailing all day! Broad reach basically with variable winds – so have had full genoa and main out but now have 2 reefs in the main. We’ve actually ripped the main at the luff just above the first reef position – so we’re either using full main or 2 reefs. Even with 2 reefs and just 15 knots of wind, we’re moving along at a healthy 8 – 9 knots!

Dingle is under 200 miles away now – so tiredness lifts and is replaced by expectation – and hopes that it’ll be warmer there than it is here!! I had to break out all my winter clothes last  night!

We made 169NM in the last 24 hours and our average speed for the entire trip at 6.45knots is approaching our standard planning speed of 6.5…

Looks like a Saturday morning arrival in Dingle…

Yesterday evening was uncomfortable – motoring in sloppy sea conditions with insufficient wind to fill the main and quiet the boat. Sleep was once again at a premium.

Shortly after midnight last night I was able to turn the engine off again – and I set up to be close hauled in a gentle wind, setting full main and genoa on the starboard side (for a port tack…) conscious of the fact that I was working with noisy ropes and winches, right above the aft cabin where Laurie was trying to sleep.

After just 30 minutes or so, the wind came up further and we had too much sail up. I reefed the main. A little later, with higher winds, I had to reef the genoa – not easy as there is no spare winch for the furling line – so I had to let the sail flog a little so that I could manually pull the line sufficiently for it to reach the port side winch. Needless to say, much noise in the whole process!

The wind was now taking us pretty much due east – we want to go north east – and while we could point the boat closer (not at) Dingle, by being harder on the wind, this would cause us to heel even more – not conducive to sleeping… I cracked off a little so that it was a less rolly, less heeled motion – which involved even more noisy sail adjustments.

Laurie got up for her 3 am watch not a happy camper – I’d pretty much kept her awake her entire sleep time. Beating a rapid retreat, I quickly went to bed! Not good sleeping at all. We were in a washing machine.

When I ‘woke’ in the morning, Laurie was immediately on my case to change out the genoa for the smaller jib which would allow us to point higher – she really likes to aim for the target!

So, before coffee I was up in the cockpit in now cold windy conditions, switching sails (and praying that the jib furler was going to allow us to furl the sail when needs be). Laurie was right – the motion was slightly better and our pointing significantly improved.

As the day wore on, with each of us trying to catch short naps, the wind and seas began to ease a little and finally this afternoon we opted to switch back to the Genoa to regain some speed. But alas, the jib would not furl. Once again we were on the foredeck trying to untangle the mess, we dropped and raised the sail in an attempt to free everything but no go. Fortunately, we have a spare furling line, so we dropped the sail again and switched lines and were finally able to furl the jib. Touch wood, if/when we need the jib again it’ll behave properly…

We made 177 sleep deprived miles in the last 24 hours, albeit much of it not in the right direction! The weather has turned decidedly north European: cold, wet and grey! Feels like home!

As I write this, the boat is pointing close to Dingle, Laurie is sleeping in the now comfortable motion, so hopefully, tomorrow morning, all will be well aboard Toodle-oo! once again!

For most of the day we were sailing with poled Genoa and main today – going quite quickly – managing 174NM in the last 24 hours. However, at about 6:00pm, it all came to a screeching halt with suddenly no wind…

This was expected and had been the subject of quite a debate on Toodle-oo!. Our course was being interrupted by some weather – our nice downwind was disappearing to our starboard and being replaced by headwinds from the port. I had developed a plan that would see us going at 90 degrees to our destination for a few hours – to get through the front and then we’d have plain sailing the rest of the way in. When I showed this to Laurie she baulked! Going at 90 degrees to our destination is not something she has ever been a fan of – so we developed an alternate strategy – which ends up most likely being the better strategy, keeping us away from potentially heavy weather for the last part of the trip. Unfortunately, it means that we’ll be motoring for probably 24 hours or so now before we get a light wind on our port side to work with – but after that, hopefully plain sailing into Dingle.

So the wind died this evening and now we’re motoring with the main up to reduce our roll, but slatting back and forth being very annoying. I decided to try to stabilize even further with the small jib – so pulled it out a little. However when I went to furl it a bit, it wouldn’t. The furling line was well and truly tangled and after about 30 minutes at the bow trying to get it untangled, I gave up and we decided to drop the sail. Once down I was able to get the furler untangled and we re-hoist the sail – though decided against it’s deployment! New furling line required…

Not much sleep today with the rolly seas, but all is good aboard – though we could really use some recent decent movies to watch! I’m down to watching Turner and Hooch and The Hobbit!

Consecutive days of Spinnaker runs! Today we switched to starboard tack and were flying – aimed right for Dingle!

Unfortunately we don’t like running with a spinnaker during the night – in case a squal hits us –  it would be near impossible to douse the thing in time – so last night we poled the genoa out to port and had the main over on starboard, going wing on wing almost dead downwind. The boat was rolling like crazy, but we managed to reduce the roll considerably by bringing out the smaller inner jib and holding it tight and close to the shrounds – worked like a charm! acting like a damper, preventing the violent lurching we had been experiencing. Unfortunately, our speed through the night was disapointing at between 4 and 5 knots.

This morning’s sail change involved furling the jib, furling the genoa, dropping the pole, gybing the mainsail and raising the spinnaker! Took us over half an hour, but she certainly likes this point of sail as we head north east towards Ireland and try to make up some lost speed/distance.

Tonight we dropped the spinnaker again, raised the pole and set the genoa once again – maintaining the current point of sail but at just a little more sedate 6 knots.

Yesterday’s 24 hour run ended up at a respectable154 NM – and our first without the engine running!

We’re finally managing sleep – so things are much less tense aboard ship!

Tomorrow we’ll pass halfway – which means Gin & Tonics all around!

Last night we were trying to run down wind with the sails set wing on wing (genoa one side, mainsail the other) but the wind was very light, the seas lumpy and the crashing and banging was just horrible! We ended up turning the engine on and motoring all night – at least the noise was constant and the motion lass reminiscent of a washing machine – so we were able to get some sleep. I did best out of the whole scheme – went to bed at 3:30am and had to be woken this morning at 10:30! Finally I feel better.

However, Laurie did well to wake me – we set up the spinnaker and immediately set off like a scolded cat – at one point doing 9’s and 10’s consistently! The motion was decent too.

Now, Laurie says she can’t sleep during daylight, so I sorted the aft cabin out by fixing up some heavy drapes (towels) and turned the aft cabin into a cave. Fooled her brain into thinging it’s night and she finally got some decent sleep too.

This evening with a weather forecast that is taking the wind north east, we’ve decided to follow – so we’re back dead down wind – wing on wing 🙁  – but with flatter seas 🙂 – so hopefully Laurie will get some sleep tonight too.

We’re pointing right at Ireland now – but going rather slow – just 4 – 5 knots – but that’ll do. It’s certainly not going to be a fast passage – but uneventful would be nice!

The wind picked up last night finally as we crossed the windless ridge and we were able to turn to the north and sail, making decent progress on the day with 144 miles travelled and only 20% engine time. Not quite towards Ireland – but a lot closer!

Unfortunately, a couple hours ago a squall came through and ever since then, our wind has diminished – like we’re on the wrong side of some other ridge now. I’m trying to get a GRIB file (weather forecasting file), but the SSB can’t connect with a good station – so we’re sailing rather blind right now.

All well aboard – though both of us have had a sleepless time of it so far. Hopefully in the next 24 hours we’ll be able to catch up somewhat.

Remember… plans in sand at low tide… We seem to have made and changed about 6 major plans so far in August alone – and it’s only the 11^th!

We hit a bump in the road with Laurie’s citizenship – turns out she has to apply at the Portuguese consulate closest to her home town – happens to be in New Bedford, MA. She also has to do the language test in Boston and needs to get an FBI background check – involving fingerprints and a two month process…

That leaves us with a problem of her tourist visa running out – even if we were to extend it another 90 days… So… we need to go to a non-Schengen country and as it happens, the UK will allow her to stay for 6 months…

Initially we looked at reverting to an earlier plan and head to the Outer Hebrides – that was until I realized I don’t have electronic charts for the UK, nor do I have the pilot book for the Outer Hebrides – and since last time in Scotland we came somewhat unstuck because of a lack of pilot, we’d like to get one before we arrive there! We decided (on advice from an OCC friend) to stop in at Dingle in Ireland where friendly OCC Port Officer, Harvey Kenny has arranged for us to be able to check in and he’ll accept a couple of deliveries for us – guides and charts! (Without us having to pay VAT or duty – see below…)

Then I got talking with Daria Blackwell, Rear Commodore of the OCC and Port Officer for Crew Bay on the Irish west coast, who’s convinced me that we should spend more time in Ireland…

OK – so what’s the plan?

Well, we’re delaying Patagonia for a year… This year we’ll finish off the season with a trip up to Ireland and around the North West Coast. It’s supposed to be pretty full on sailing, being subject to some high winds from the Southwest – making the shoreline one big lee shore (that means that if things go tits up, we get blown onto the rocks – not off them ☹) However, the scenery looks great, castles, ruins, and all rather remote… We’ll end the year by overwintering in Whitehaven – where we were in 2013/14. Laurie will head back to the US – probably for about 3 months – in order to complete the Portuguese thing, while I stay aboard – and no doubt visit sister Kate in Yorkshire at times… Maybe I’ll sneak a visit to the US too.

When do we leave the Azores? Well, remember those three packages we had shipped here (22 days ago now)… The important one still has not arrived! It’s in Ponta Delgada somewhere, but they are now assessing the duty and taxes payable! Turns out we’re going to pay VAT on all new items… VAT = Value Added Tax… What Value did Portugal add to the items? In all other EC countries, as a US citizen, if you’re prepared to do the work for it, you can claim back all the VAT you paid on items bought in the country and being taken back. In other EC countries, if we have items shipped in for a “Yacht in Transit”, no duty gets charged… I think I’m beginning to see how Portugal managed to climb out of their economic hole of a few years ago! I wouldn’t mind but the value of the stuff is less than $100 – BUT has our boat documentation in it – we can’t leave without it!

Further plans… talking wet, wet sand and a very, very low tide… in 2019, we’ll do the Scottish thing in a more relaxed manner, then come south via the Scillies, France perhaps, Portugal, Morocco, Madeira, and overwinter in the Canaries and then in 2020 make our bid for Patagonia.

So, now we’re looking for cruising guides to Ireland!