The West Coast

Killybegs

Tuesday, July 26. Touring by Bus. The mooring we took belonged to a sailboat which was scheduled to return today. We picked it up because it was yellow which in EU land is supposed to mean it is a visitor’s buoy. But here visitors are to tie up on the town pier where there are both small and huge fishing vessels. We wanted to do some touring today so we got up early to be able to move the boat. We tried to find a place to anchor given the alternative but no anchorage was to be found. The harbor is full of fish farms. Reluctantly, we tied up to a 45 foot fishing boat which was outboard of a 60 foot one. We hung around until we could contact the harbormaster who said the boats were not scheduled to go out for awhile so we were good to stay.


Numerous folks here talked about how depressed the fishing industry is here. The EU imposed quotas so boats only go out about 4 months a year. The rest of the time they are virtually mothballed. The town is quite small and dependant on the fishermen.
We took a bus to the lively weaving village of Ardara. Only 1 bus a day goes there leaving Killybegs at 10:45 AM. Only 1 bus comes back to Killybegs at noon. Not much time to spend in town. From Ardara we could get a bus to Donegal also at noon. But from Donegal we could get a bus back to Killybegs in the late afternoon. So we boarded the bus for our day out.

Ardara was lovely, had better services than Killybegs, had lots of tourists visiting the weavers, and generally was a very pleasant village. We made good use of our hour there and then off to Donegal at noon.

It is nice to get off the boat and see the inland countryside. The decent into Donegal with a view of the bay was glorious. We would have sailed there but the harbor dries out which is why we extended our stay in Killybegs and decided on taking the bus.

Donegal was very busy with tourists. We found a small gourmet food shop there that sold amazing Irish cheeses and a very unusual bacon. They also stocked wine from a winery we like near Le Fleix. We were able to stock up on fruit and veg. We were back in Killybegs by 6 PM.

Wednesday, July 27, 2011: A Day for the Boat. After a month on the go, there was a lot of boat maintenance and cleaning to do. We started the morning off by sending RXC up to the top of the mast, my favorite activity. Various repairs were accomplished, line for the topping lift was replaced, but to repair an antenna would require a second trip up to the top. Unfortunately, it began to rain so that second trip is put off until another day.

While up the mast RXC noticed what he thought was a problem with the engine’s turbo charger. So his next project was to search for a Yanmar mechanic. A trip back to the shop where the line was purchased was fruitful. He was hooked up with a mechanic who came by to look at the engine within the hour. As it turned out, there was no problem so we can be on our way tomorrow.

Thursday, July 28, 2011: Killybegs to Broadhaven: Crummy weather, crummy seas, crummy sail. We left Killybegs at 7:45 AM in sunshine and light winds. Within the hour it clouded over and the winds kicked up. The seas were 2-3 meters and very lumpy and confused. We had a 60 mile sail, all of it unpleasant. We banged badly and one wave knocked out our wind instrument. We still have wind direction but do not know the speed. Finding out what part is needed will take another trip up the mast. Our compensation for such a lousy day was a welcome by about 40 dolphins that came swimming towards the boat to usher us down the river to a mooring. The anchorage was not that much calmer that the seas.

Friday, July 29, 2011: Broadhaven to Killary Harbor. Today’s sail was only slightly better than yesterday’s. Seas were still lumpy, wind was still strong, and it rained. We were about an hour and a half away from stopping for the evening when we picked up a lobster pot. We could not get it off the prop using a boat hook so it took RXC donning his dive gear and going overboard to release it. The boat was bobbing away and it took about an hour to release us. We finished our sail another 60miles and anchored in tiny bay with beautiful scenery. This anchorage was a bit calmer.

Saturday, July 30, 2011: Killary Harbor to Roundstone. A third day of crummy seas and weather. It was clear and bright in the early morning, so we washed down the boat. We started out about 10 AM just when the clouds moved in. The sailing conditions had changed little. We sailed and motored around Slyne Head to ease the banging of the bow. We arrived in Roundstone which is a quaint village built on a hill. We plan to stay here a couple of days at least until the seas change.

Sunday, July 31, 2011: Roundstone. This is a Bank Holiday Weekend in Ireland so things are busy. The tiny village is bustling with tourists and the pubs and restaurants are overflowing. We had a good pub lunch of smoked salmon sandwich and seafood chowder. It is still rainy but the wind seems to have eased. We are trying to go to Galway by bus from here to meet friends but it might just be easier to meet them on Aran Island because busses don’t run on Sunday and will run on a holiday schedule tomorrow.