Well, here we are in Dingle, county Kerry. We’ve been here for nearly two weeks already, socked in by really atrocious weather. It has rained everyday and the wind in the harbor has not dropped below 20kts since we arrived. The seas outside have been 4-5 meters and even the fishing boats have stayed inside. Other than that, Mrs Lincoln, we’ve had a great time here. Right now the All-Ireland Coastal Rowing Championships are taking place right beside Zephyr. These are very hardy folks rowing traditional currauchs in very tough conditions. The crews range from under 12 year olds to masters. Unfortunately the announcer’s speaker is right outside. It goes on all day for three days!

The bay here is too shallow to anchor in so we are tied at the marina in the harbor; our first since leaving N.C. It’s a nice place and at only 38 Euro/day the price can’t be beat! We are well protected and town is at our doorstep. We had a pretty nice sail over from Valentia and spent a night in Ventry before slipping into Dingle. There is a great music scene here so we have been hitting all the pubs in the evenings. Nancy has been keeping a close eye on the weather and when she saw that the remains of Ernesto and a follow-on Low were going to keep us here for a while we decided to take a road trip.

We started by taking a bus to Tralee then to the Cork airport to hire a car. We stopped in Limerick for the night and took in a tour of King John’s Castle which was built in the 13th Century. It really gave us a senes of what medieval living must have been like. Upon returning to Dingle we found the bilges full of water! The entire bilge pump circuit had failed and the ever-leaking rudder post (we have to wait until we get hauled to replace the stuffing gland) had filled the engine room. Anyway after a day’s delay re-wiring the battery bank and repairing (and isolating) the pumps we were off on the road to Galway and beyond.

The first thing we learned is it takes twice as long to get anywhere than the GPS tells you; just because the sign says 80km/h you can only go 50-60 unless you are on the M roads, which are few and far between. We longed to have a TR-3 or TR-6 for this trip, the roads are super curvy fun. Anyway our main destination was Enniskillen, in Northern Ireland. This area is where the McGuire Clan was centered from the 10th century. There is even a castle built by Hugh McGuire in the 1400’s. It is now a fascinating museum which also houses the Enniskillen Regimental Museum. McGuire is still a very common name in Fermanagh County. From Enniskillen we ventured down to Tullamore to see the Grand Canal and check out the area where some of Nancy’s relatives originated. We drove through some beautiful, green, countryside and lovely villages.

Along the way we passed a sign alerting us to watch out for Road Bowling in progress. Well, we of course had to investigate, so we stopped at a pub with a crowd of men outside and asked what was up? Well, two gentlemen took us by the arm and introduced us to the arcane world of Road Bowling. Basically, two guys, each representing a team, throw, underhand, a 28 oz steel ball down a road for a mile. Whoever gets there first wins. When the ball runs off the road they mark the spot. The next throw begins from that spot, and so on. The trailing ball throws first each time sort of like golf. The big difference is the crowd stands in the road down range from the thrower-in the middle of the road! The mysterious part is the betting. This particular event had a pot of 14,000 Euro. The money is put up by supporters of each side and is exchanged with a nod or handshake; the wagers must match evenly before the game begins. Quite exciting with lots of cheering and camaraderie all around. Great fun!

Whew, after that we had to return the car at a different airport, take a bus to the train station, the train to another bus and back home to Zephyr. All was well when we arrived this time. Traveling by bus and rail is very convenient in Ireland. It is possible to get almost everywhere relatively easily this way. The buses and trains are clean, comfortable and efficient. The trains we rode ran at speeds to 100mph routinely.

Oh, I almost forgot; we stopped a couple of times in Annascaul, just up the road from Dingle, to visit the South Pole Inn. If you have been keeping up with the Book Nook you will know I’ve been reading about the Scott and Shackleton expeditions. Well, a Kerryman named Tom Crean was an important member of all three expeditions. After his Antarctic exploits he opened a pub in his hometown that still operates. It is filled with artifacts and memorabilia, including a full-sized replica of the boat he crewed, along with Shackleton and four others, 800 miles across the Southern Ocean to South Georgia Island to seek rescue for the rest of the expedition members who were stranded after their ship was crushed in the ice. It’s a pretty cool place!

So that brings us up to date. Nancy is hoping for the waves to abate around Tuesday so we can venture on to the Aran Islands before returning back to County Cork for winter haul out. For now we’re going out to watch some of the rowing!

Cheers! Stay in touch and join us aboard.