And Still the Wind Blows ...

The days have become weeks, and we are STILL in Dublin - the forecast always ends with a Force 8, usually from the South or Southwest, which is where we want to go.

The appeal of Dun Laoghaire had worn thin, so we took advantage of a slight break in the weather to go North across Dublin Bay to Howth - a much smaller marina, but with much more going on.

Frustratingly, the dire weather predicted by the forecasters never really seemed to materialise - if anything that was more frustrating than actually having bad weather!

The rather fine Memorial to those Lost at Sea kept us firmly in Howth while we waited out the weather.

Howth is a peninsula - we did the 10km round Howth coastal walk - Howth Marina, and view to the North.

View to the South across Dublin Bay to Dun Laoghaire and to the South.

And the view out to sea, Ireland's Eye and Lamby Islands and Northern Ireland.  Just where exactly is this bad weather ???

Whilst on the walk around Howth, parts of the route were very overgrown, we suddenly found ourselves on a Golf Course.  The golfers were used to this, and pointed us back on our way.

Howth Marina is also Howth Yacht Club - the largest in Ireland, with over 2,000 members and dates back to 1895.

The Marina Workboats - a certain olde worlde charm!

The outer breakwater and lighthouse, 1817.  Complete with geraniums in window boxes.

The Outer Harbour

And the Inner Harbour

There was also the Fishing Boat harbour - it was a very busy place.

Fishing boats were squeezing into every little corner of the Harbour - maybe this weather was on the way, after all.

Then there were the J24's:  Howth was hosting the European Championships during the coming week - once they had been thoroughly checked for conformity with their 'One Design' rules they also squeezed themselves into the Marina.

J24's in front of Howth Yacht Club

Forming an orderly queue

Filling the Car Park

And then, finally, the weather did arrive ...

Zilla struggles to stay on her feet

The outer Breakwater

The Outer Harbour

The world's oldest surviving One Design Keelboat Class (that still actively races), The Howth Seventeens on their moorings, just!

And as if all this wasn't enough to keep us occupied, there were the Harbour Seals to watch:

And Finally ...

So now all that is missing is the weather window so that we can leave the land of Guinness.......

Dublin - We're thinking of becoming residents!

We had time on our hands, as the wind never seems to drop below 25 kts, usually from the South which is where we want to go!  Another trip to the City was the order of the day.

No visit to Dublin is complete with out a visit to Molly, looking well polished in places!

A small corner of Trinity College - a place for the wise, since 1592

Almost as splendid - City Hall, 1779

Customs House, 1791, complete with statue of Brittania on the domed roof - a relic of when She Ruled the Waves.

It's now a City of Bicycles - Boris would be proud of it!

And now for something modern - the Convention Centre

Dublin's oldest Shopping Centre - First traded in 1894 and still going ... but there are others

The very beautiful Stephen's Green Shopping Centre - Claim to Fame:  The Largest Indoor Clock in Europe!

The clearly Very Unsuccessful Docklands Shopping Centre - There's nobody to be seen

Grafton Street - so this is where all the people are

Still on Grafton Street, then on to the many Bridges over the Liffy

First the Old - The Ha'penny bridge, built as the first toll bridge to replace a ferry back in 1816, complete with 'Wise Words' on the risers

The Sean O'Casey bridge, 2005, certainly looked as if it replaced the one that had fallen down!!

The Super Modern Samuel Beckett Bridge

In stark contrast -

The Linesman

The Famine Statues

The Jeannie Johnstone Famine Ship (replica) - made 16 voyages to North America between 1848 and 1855 for those who were off to start a new life in the New World.

Enough of this Culture - back to Dun Laoghaire, to check on the weather forecast ...

Dublin Fair City

The Skipper checked the weather at 0500, and reported -  Wind: 0.0kts, Visibility: Pitch Black, Plan:  Back to bed!  The next opportunity to leave was at the more civilised time of 1000, by which time it was sunny and the wind was up - so off we went.  A 75nm beat followed, taking us 13 hours.

We passed the Rockabill Lighthouse as it was getting dark on our way to Dublin Bay. 

We were headed for Dun Laoghaire Marina (pronounced Dun Leary) on the South side of Dublin Bay - dodging unlit race marks as well as ferries and container ships as we approached.

Dun Laoghaire Harbour was built between 1817 and 1842 at a cost of approximately £700,000 back then.  They thought big!  The harbour arms encompass 250 acres, and there is about 2.5 miles of inner and outer breakwaters and it is a 3 mile walk from the Starboard entrance beacon to the Port one. 

Fishing was the thing to do at the end of the Breakwater.

No Port would be complete without some Art - This time it was quite fun!



Lifejackets:  Useless Unless Worn

Dun Laoghaire Promenade

We walked 'The Metals', the route that rocks were transported along for the construction of the harbour - a nice walk, but there were quite a few rules, not that we could always understand them!!



The 40'  - This is one of the Sea Swimming locations round the bay - with rules, of course.

In case Dun Laoghaire isn't what you are looking for, there is always Bullock Harbour, you can even rent a boat here and go fishing - there was also a huge chandlers here, catering for your every boating need.

Time to visit the City - we took the Dart Train, then an open top bus tour of the City.

Naturally a stop at the Guinness Brewery was on the agenda.

Arthur Guinness started the business here in 1759, when he secured a 9,000 year lease of the massive site and water rights for an annual rent of £45 - clearly a sign that he was a good business man!

Naturally there were Rules



Inside the Home of Guinness



It is a spectacular building, on 9 floors, with much of the old machinery forming the displays.  3 Million Pints of Guinness are produced daily at the new Brewery on the same site - in earlier times 1 in 30 of the Dublin population was employed by Guinness, but now there are only about 800 employees.



The old barrels - each holds 720,000 pints of Guinness

Boiled with hops in these little pots.



The Copper - holding 172,000 pints for distilling.

Barrels of a more manageable size.

And on to the Guinness Bar - for yet another free sample

Quality Control - up in the Gravity Bar, at the very top of the Guinness Building - with 360 degree views of Dublin.  A perfect outing.

Back to the boat, where we await a break in the weather - we are sheltering with the best of them, as Sanya, one of the 2011-12 Volvo Ocean Race yachts is also in Dun Laoghaire. 

So - now we wait:  Forecast today - Force 6 to 7, gale 8 later, occasionally strong gale 9.  I don't think we'll be going out to play today!

Northern Ireland Revisited

We dragged ourselves away from the lovely Isle of Man - we'd got quite used to the sight of grown ups in leather romper suits on huge motor bikes roaming the streets - we headed back for another look at Northern Ireland.

Initially Ardglass was our chosen destination, we set off at mid day when we could get out of the marina and set the #4 and a reef in the main. The wind then decided to drop and out came the reef....it then dropped even further and we had to change the #4 for the #2 headsail.  After all that exercise we had a pleasant but sedate sail across the Irish Sea.  This now meant that we would arrive at Ardglass at low tide - on a spring - so no chance of getting in there.  On to Portaferry instead.

Portaferry (so named because it is the port where the ferry goes!) is at the head of Strangford Lough, known for very strong tidal rips, up to 7.8kts on a spring.  Having contacted the Harbour Master and been assured that it would be no problem to enter at the current state of tide, we spent the next 1 1/2 hours on the same spot, doing 2000rpm.  So much for that local knowledge!!!

It did give us plenty of time to study the buoyage of the area.

Never did understand what either of the white 'beehives' were for - did think of asking the Harbour Master, but not sure that would have helped!

We finally made it to Portaferry at dead low tide, in the dark.  Its all in the planning.

The next day we took Zilla for a walk whilst waiting for the ebb tide - there was an air of neglect about the area, lots of boarded up properties - even the estate agents' was for sale.  The 'shower block' was a portaloo.  Time to move on to Ardglass.

Quite a narrow entrance concealed a well shetered old fishing port.

Ardglass was in fact three basins - the Marina, the fishing boat harbour, and 'God's Pocket', which was created as a safe refuge for Fishing Boats during severe gales.

God's Pocket

Clearly the gales would have to be at high tide to avail ones self of the Pocket!

With a beautiful start to the morning and a slightly rising wind forecast it was time to move on. Carlingford Lough was our intended destination, but after discussion with the Harbour Master at Ardglass he persuaded us that it wasn't worth a visit and we would be better off going straight to Dublin......so Dublin here we come.