Untitled Document

The trip was placed on the website in early May. So, as there were no takers, the search for a gallant crew was extended far and wide until the places were filled. The departure date was the 30th of June with the intention of departing from Crosshaven and proceeding to Fowey in Cornwall. Our course, arrived at through consensus, was 154º(m) until in sight of the Seven Stones Light to the East of the Isles of Scilly and then keeping West of the shipping lane until near Wolfe Rock. From there, it was to be a reasonably straight run to Penzance. And so are laid the plans of mice.

As usual, the plan began to unfurl as did the Genoa as we departed Crosshaven. The forecast was for 15 to 20 knots which soon began to increase to 25 knots accompanied by a swell (Ed Note: breezy with small waves.). Where was our forecast of winds at 5 on the scale? None the less we literally ploughed on with the wind from the SW. We were now about 14 miles out with the wind rising when a small craft warning was issued by Met Eireann and a decision was made to head for Kinsale and sit it out or cry, I don’t know which came first. At Kinsale we adjourned to the Yacht Club where a debriefing was commenced and we thought about all the food we had in the freezer and also contemplated all the fine food we had to throw overboard ( yea I know! Don’t rush me I’m getting close to the thing about the blender).

That night, after several drinks, we again adjourned, this time peremptorily against the skipper to ‘Explorer where Ruairi Allen had prepared a fine meal of Chicken stir fry. This was slopped back by copious amounts of wine by a crew who were becoming increasingly vocal and boisterous. The fact that there was a foreign ship alongside I think helped them in no small measure with their rendition of ‘Sean South’……several times. I tried to appease the crew by pouring more drink into them, in the hope that by the morning they would be sick of Kinsale and ready for sea. No such luck…that night a heavy fog came down and the bloody fog horn kept sounding all night…….all…..all night until I eventually told Dan that if he didn’t stop snoring I would kill him slowly. That worked (no this is not where the blender comes in)

Next morning we stuck our noses out of Kinsale and the wind was now at 28knots and from the West. This was even with the protection of the Old Head on our Starboard side.

The option for Penzance was now slim and heading West into that wind was not a great prospect. A gale warning quickly solved the situation and with the Old Head at our back we ran for Crosshaven and thanked the man above that we were home and not on the sea or even in fiddlers green.

Oh yea; the food blender……Well, the crew thought that the club should invest in a food blender, so that on trips like this, if the food was blended it might come up easier rather than diced!!!!!!!!! Both prospects are a bit like constipation…… they bring tears to your eyes.