 | 5 th to 8 th of August 2016 - Dingle |
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| Crew : | Helen and Andy | |
| Destinations : | Dingle Marina. | |
| Distance : | 49 miles |
After speaking too soon, the weather was forecast to deteriorate, with Gale Force 8 winds predicted. We decided to have a long sail to Dingle Marina for a bit of town life. We set the alarm for 6am and were off our mooring promptly. Initially, there was little wind, so we motor sailed until we were well past Bear Island. We were able to sail on and off, as usual close hauled for most of the way. The sea was quite swell at times and we had to pass a couple of headlands, with associated rocks which tended to make the swell worse. However we did have a favourable tide, so passed each headland quite quickly. Off Dursey Island the main rocks were The Calf, Cow, heifer and Bull. The Cow had a fantastic arch and rock pinnacle.
The next headland was Bray Head with The Skelligs to our port. The slate cliffs of Valentia were pretty spectacular, as were the Skelligs, especially Little Skellig which is covered with lots of Guano from the Gannets. We rang the Marina Superintendent at Dingle, who assured us there was space for us. As we entered the harbour we had to negotiate lots of boats taking people out to see the famous dolphin called Fungie. I managed to catch a glimpse of the dolphin, but needed to concentrate as Andy dropped the sails and we headed into the dredged channel to take us in to the harbour. We were safely alongside by 18.30pm.
Due to the string winds we had a few days in Dingle which was a lovely town with lots off cafes and a big supermarket. The main tourist trade appears to be boat trips around the harbour to see Fungie, dive trips and kayak courses. We were curious to know what will happen when Fungie dies, he has been working for the town for many years now. Once the wind died down we took the bikes out for a run to see things from a different perspective.
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