We had a very enjoyable 48 hours in Kinsale. It is known as the gastronomic capital of Ireland, and consequently was a very nice re-entry into civilization. First stop - the yacht club showers! The first real shower in over a month felt pretty good. After that, Sunday was mostly spent on a number of minor repairs, and cleaning up the boat, before a very nice dinner.
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| Arctic Tern in Kinsale |
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| Kinsale Marina |
Monday was basically a free day. I spent most of the day catching up on emails and other business, but did have time for a walk around town before another very good dinner. It was early to bed, since our alarms were set for 3:40, so we could be away at first light, for the 30 hour trip to Wales. Tides and currents are a very big deal here, and we needed this early start to ensure we arrived in Caernarfon at the right time to get into the harbour.
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| Sunrise leaving Kinsale |
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| South coast of Ireland |
We motored the entire way to Wales. We went around the Southeast tip of Ireland around dinner time, and traversed the Irish Sea overnight. We made good enough time that we anchored just short of Caernarfon to have breakfast, and wait for the tide to come up a bit more. Thanks to a trip to the grocery store in Kinsale, we had a "proper english breakfast", which was the first meal we had all sitting at the table on the entire trip.
After breakfast, we motored the last hour to Caernarfon.
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| Carnarfon Castle |
Overall the trip was a very good experience. I certainly learned a lot about the boat, and gained valuable sailing experience as well.
I am now off to collect Sara and Emily from the airport in Manchester. I have found us a farm stay for the next week, which should be very relaxing. The boat is getting surveyed (inspected) next Monday, and hopefully within 2 weeks of today it is ours.
