Church Pool turned out to be a well protected anchorage from the SW gale, which arrived as forecast. The mooring had little swell and no current so we stayed head to wind. The wind really howled, heeling us over in the gusts but we still managed to get some sleep. No chance of getting ashore though.
After our second night the forecast was for the SW wind to be force 4 to 6, moderating to to force 3 to 4 later but then becoming N force 4 to 5 overnight. Church Pool was totally open to the North. Time to move on.
On Monday we aimed for the anchorage in Aran Roads off Aranmore, which had some protection with small islands and rocks north of the anchorage. As the passage was only 17 miles we hung on until mid afternoon for the wind to moderate but it was still quite strong when we had to go, the seas were also pretty big. With 2 reefs in the mainsail and 3 in the genoa we were still reaching at over 7 knots, a quick passage. Passing west of Aranmore we entered the roads through the easier North Sound and picked up a visitors mooring just after 18.00.
The wind was still westerly so the mooring was reasonably quiet. By the morning the wind has started to go northerly but no big seas. We took the dinghy ashore to do a little shopping and called in at a little cafe, run by Margaret, a Polish lady, for tea and take away paninis for lunch. The cafe was attached to a hostel run by Margaret’s partner, Sebastion. Margaret kindly offered us showers in the hostel so we headed back to the boat for lunch and to prepare for an afternoon walk and showers. Motoring back to the boat into the wind was a slow process, steering around the bigger waves so we didn’t get soaked. We realised that the moorings were quite a long way out. Nevertheless we arrived safely back on board, were fed and back on shore for our afternoon walk towards the lighthouse on the Northern tip of the island. We didn’t quite make the lighthouse, turning off at the islands drinking water reservoir to make a circular walk.
At the reservoir is a memorial to the several hundred emigrants who left the island for Beaver Island on Lake Michigan in the USA.
Rainbow trout were introduced to the reservoir in the early 1900’s and now breed naturally, one of the few lakes in Europe where this happens. Cutting across to the north east shore we saw lots of peat cutting, which still takes place on the island, before making our way back to the village and our hot showers, bliss!
By this time the wind and sea had increased. It was obvious that we were going to have a much slower, wetter trip back to the boat. Some of the locals doubted our sanity but we didn’t really have much option. Back on board the boat was pitching quite a bit so we opted to get the engine off the dinghy and lift the dinghy onto the deck in case things got worse. Wise move! By taking it carefully getting the boat on board and lashed down on the foredeck was achieved without any drama. We went below for dinner and settled down for the night, or tried to. The wind got stronger and big rollers were coming into the anchorage. We got little rest and no sleep. As soon as it was light enough we got our wet gear on and dropped the mooring to head into Burtonport, a fishing village on the mainland and the mainland port for the Aranmore car ferries, which is accessed through a narrow channel surrounded by rocks, well marked but still not a first time visit for the faint hearted! Nevertheless, in half an hour we were in the shelter of Burtonport pier, tied up to a fishing boat with the boat still again. We were soon down below out of the rain, back in bed we slept the rest of the morning.
Although we were tied to a fishing boat, which was tied to a bigger fishing boat, which was tied to the pier we couldn’t get ashore as the inside boat was being blown off the pier leaving a metre gap. We opted to launch the dinghy as it was only a short row to the landing steps and we then didn’t have to climb over greasy fishing boats.
David’s first trip, still in the rain, was to the information office to get details so we could contact the harbourmaster. Patrick, the harbourmaster, wasn’t in Burtonport as he was responsible for several small harbours in Donegal but he confirmed by phone that we were OK to stay where we had berthed. We got details of toilets and the free shower! There were restaurants and a cafe close to the harbour but the nearest shop was at a petrol station a couple of kilometres up the road. We walked there in the rain to get some basics like bread and milk. The main supermarkets were in Dunglow, which we were told was 4 kilometres from the harbour. We planned to walk there the next day, Thursday 6th, and do a major shop with a taxi ride back.
The rain eased off in the evening and into the following morning, the sun allowing us to dry some of our gear. Unfortunately, in the morning, the Eberspacher decided not to work again so we were still a bit damp. We finally met harbourmaster, Patrick, who agreed to take our rubbish and recommended a visit to Rathmullan on Lough Swilly, another of his harbours. We topped up the water tank with trips ashore with jerry cans then had a hot lunch at the cafe (burger and chips nearly defeated David) before setting off on our walk to Dunglow. By this time it was raining again and we were soon to find out that the 4 kilometre distance was wildly optimistic, 8 kilometres was more realistic! By the time we got to Supervalu we were pretty tired and soggy. Debbie joined the queue at the information desk to check that we could get a taxi back before we started shopping and got in conversation with a nice lady, Margaret, who offered to give us a lift back to Burtonport, what a saviour! Margaret and husband John refused our offer of a cup of tea at the cafe as they had grandchildren to collect so we offloaded the shopping and adjourned to the cafe for tea and ice creams! The rain eased off, allowing us to dry out a bit more, although our walking boots were going to take quite a while to fully dry. Not many photographs of our time in Burtonport, too wet!
The weather was looking better for a move further north in the morning so we got ourselves sorted for moving on.
Sailing Lacerta 