Chris Across Atlantic
June 3rd, 2006

Roundstone Harbor

After a bumpy start the weather has settled down and the cruising here has been great. Ireland has been under High pressure weather for the last five days- sunny skies and very light winds. I love these conditions as they open up cruising possibilities- all the outer islands with poor or in some cases, non-existent harbors become fair game.

I left Galway Docks with a moderate westerly and had to beat out to the head of the bay. The next day’s forecast was for strong N’ly winds so I headed for Cashla Bay, an indent into the northern shore of the Galway Bay. Cashla lies within Connemara, Co. Galway’s western region, mountainous, scenic, rocky and very Irish. The locals speak Irish as their first language, but with quite a different accent than I heard in Co. Clare and even in (east) Co. Galway. It is also a hotbed of the traditional sailing craft of this area, the Galway Hooker. These amazing boats, the largest being about 45’ long, plus a huge bowsprit and the main boom overhangs the stern, making an overall length of close to 65 feet. These boats used to carry cargo and all important turf from Connemara to the Aran Islands and across Galway bay. After WWII the boats fell into disrepair as road haulage became more common. The boats lay rotting on the shore until they were revived in the late 70’s. As the story goes, the Irish in America sent the money, the boats were rebuilt and now they prosper. In present days, the life of the boats revolves around the Criunniu na mBad (literally the gathering of the boats) festival in Kinvara every August. It is a weekend of racing, music and a few jars of the black stuff with a frothy top. There is a boat builder there in Cashla, with a shed and a Hooker in the works.

With the wind settled into the NW, I was thinking about where to go. Most of Connemara was to the west and upwind- not too appealing. I remembered last year trying to get to Inishmaan, the middle island of the Aran Islands which stand in the entrance to Galway Bay. I approached the anchorage last summer but didn’t anchor or land as a big swell was running through the harbor. Really the harbor is an open roadstead- looking to the SW there is no land for thousands of miles. This said the harbor is very protected from W swell and NW winds, so I was game for the chance to go there. I spent a lovely day on Inishmaan, walking the beaches and visiting the Dun- the ring fort on the summit- dating to the pre Christian era, now that’s old. You might be able to see from the photos- the wind was tanking from the NW that day. A good Force 5 to 6, brilliant sunshine. The short story on the Arans- There are three Islands- Inisheer (east), Inishmaan (middle) and InishMor (big island). InishMor is the only Island with a harbor, this, along with the size of it has meant easy access for the past century. Having been to Inishmor last summer and seeing the high speed ferries disgorge their passengers; I had no intention of returning there. One of my pictures from Cashla Bay shows three ferries in a row heading from Cashla to Inishmor. In relative terms, Inishmaan is unspoilt. The day I was there I saw three tourists and a dozen locals. The locals were having a birthday party for a child, and were talking about how the pub was lively last night with four tourists! It’s a great place.

After a rolly night in Inishmaan, I headed back west to Kilkierian Bay, west of Cashla Bay and highly indented. I spent a few days there and enjoyed the light air sailing and anchoring here and there throughout the day. With the High pressure weather, the wind didn’t get up till mid morning and lasted to about two hours before sunset. Sailing always entailed using the nylon drifter or spinnaker. The cruising was fabulous.

Yesterday I headed off to Roundstone, west again into the westerly sea breezes. I’d honestly say the wind was never more than 6 knots all day. On the way to Roundstone I stopped at St. Macdara’s Island which has a church dating to the 6th century. With the Connemara Mountains in the background the scenery was brilliant.

St Macdara’s Is lies about 6 miles south of Roundstone, and coming up the sound I met a Benateau First 31.7. Those who don’t know- this is a hot racing machine. He was motorsailing on a close reach, and Tradition was flying her new Blue Drifter and churning a nice white bow wake. While I won’t lie and say we beat him in, I would say he had a hard time overtaking us. When I dropped anchor in the harbor he just had his mainsail cover on.

Dolphins apparently don’t like engines. I snapped the photos just after the racer had passed us out, and I must say I was amazed by these dolphins. I’ve never had dolphins so close to the bow of the boat! They escorted Tradition up Roundstone bay and peeled off when the bay shoaled up. A great end to a day on the water.