A Sailing Holiday – Ardmore Bay

The anchor held well overnight, nary a peep from the anchor watch in OpenCPN. I was up at 0530 because I was awake, and watched the sunrise while trying to hook up a flopper stopper. Alas, while the wood is of good size, the weight on it was nothing like enough to counter the buoyancy of the plywood in a sufficient manner to actually work as a flopper stopper. So a working awning, and a working table, but a not-working flopper stopper; 2 out of 3 isn’t bad!

A lazy morning and a late breakfast (scrambled egg, smoked mackerel, toasted soda bread), and then off to the boat slip in the dinghy to look at Ardmore. Not the most attractive village (to K and I), though nice beaches. If you were here with a car, perhaps it’d be an attractive base for exploring the coast. The local store for food had an ok selection, and we were able to get a few supplies, but again it feels like it’s only a stop-gap and everyone must go elsewhere.

We went looking for the anchor when we came back from lunch ashore (looked at St Declanโ€™s church and round tower), and couldn’t find it. The water isn’t crystal clear, but overhead sun and only 2 metres of water, so we could trace the chain a bit, but not far enough to find where the anchor was – it’s in sand at least, and apparently well buried.

Put the awning up, trying a new layout to get it more angled to the sun, unlike the traditional tent we used last time. Seems to work – two corners on the poles, one on the lifeline, and one on the end of the boom, with the boom raised.

Looking at the weather forecast for the next week, and its be great for going south west, but we need to go east and north. its going to be unpleasant, I’m sure.

The afternoon was passed by taking the dinghy around to the wreck of the Samson, and photographing birds, followed by a dip in 17C water. That temperature is distinctly too cool for me, but it was pleasant sitting in the sun to dry off after using the solar shower to rinse off the salt water.

Kedge is out tonight, in a hope that it’ll keep us faced into the swell so we have a nicer night than last night. Forecast has an easterly coming in (and that means Ardmore is open to it), but it’s a low grade of wind, so shouldn’t be too bad. Meatballs (beef sourced in Ardmore) and mash for dinner tonight, K has missed spuds ๐Ÿ™‚