At first glance, the local Greystones coastal footpath looks rather unwelcoming. However, someone has left a useful gap in the barrier and I decided to investigate further. I soon discovered that many local people ignore the signs too and are simply a little careful where the path is in danger of crumbling down a small cliff.
Greystones Coastal Footpath
The path developed into a beautiful walk and the local footpath commission should really do a local repair rather than erecting several barriers (which have been there a long time and all of which have been circumnavigated). When I reached the cliffs proper, I struck off left, up more well made paths, to the local peak for great views all around.
View Inland - Wicklow Mountains
The weather continues to create an exceptional summer, with Storm Lilian, the 12th of the season.
Storm Lilian
However, our 25 miles close reach, Southwards to Arklow, was no problem, keeping reasonably inshore in moderate waves and up to force 6 winds. It was another day for the working jib, keeping the genoa fully stowed! It turns out to be a particularly bad year for the cruising chute, which remains safely bagged in the forepeak.
Arklow Pontoon Looking Upriver Towards Bridge and Chinese Restaurant
Arklow is a bit of an acquired taste, once famous for explosives and more recently for raw sewage in the harbour. A large new sewage treatment works seems to have solved the latter problem! The light marking the entrance to the very cosy marina is somewhat out of scale and looks as if it came from an old lightship. We moored against the pontoon in the river which enjoyed some surge and swell from the Atlantic gales, somehow working around into an NE facing harbour. Very strange.
And so, back to our Chinese restaurant. The frighteningly efficient proprietress greeted us as old customers (we'd been there twice before and she'd see us most recently two years before), asking how the sailing was going. I think that she's wasted there. She should be running a country.
Next day, the local history walk was an interesting diversion, around the site of the old explosives works.
Arklow Seawall
And then, a sufficient break in the weather to continue South. However, this turned out to be a bit of a battle, close reaching, spring tide sweeping us along, but in strong and variable winds. It seems to be a feature of modern weather that the winds are much more variable than in past years. This leads to almost continuous sail trimming and sail changes, which give me far more exercise than I had reasonably expected! And on top of this, we experienced some ferocious squalls, pushing the wind up to near gale force. At the same time, we seemed to get severe electrical interference, causing the VHF to roar and the wind gauge to spin wildly (it reset when we turned it off and on again, after the squall).
A Squall Approaches
The dilemma was whether to reduce sail and wallow until it hit and then hoist again after, or to keep going and let the (already reefed) main luff through the gusts, which is what we chose to do. This worked well, with the main mostly back-winded but not flapping wildly, as the wind howled past us. Once again, I told Rosie that we are going South next year, which helps me to feel better (whether or not things prove more gentle down there)!
If anything, the squalls became more intense and as we rounded Carnsore Point we came directly into the wind and Atlantic waves, which I rated as "rough" in the log book.
A Squall With Attitude
We beat SW and back NW between the Saltee Islands and so into Kilmore Quay, where we were very relieved to tie up last night at 19:55 hrs.
Little Saltee Island, Wind Moderating, Squall Missed us!
A Hallberg Rassy 40 arrived soon after us, and seemed in need of a berth, so we invited them alongside. This lead to an invitation to drinks after supper, and a pleasant evening was had in their comfortable saloon.
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