So we are now heading north. We have bounced past Mizen Head and the dramatic bridge that spans the ravine that divides the lighthouse from the mainland. The seas off these headlands have been quite choppy but this time we were distracted by a great display of dolphins. I have tried and failed to get some decent pictures but we typically seem to see dolphins each time we head offshore into around 60 metres of water. They seem to manoeuvre all around Little Scarlet, swooping and diving and sometimes leaping out of the water for around thirty minutes and then head off, presumably after finding that we are not very interesting after all! Google tells us that they are Short-Beaked Common Dolphins, the most abundant cetacean in the world and they have a speed of around 60 kmh!
We had been recommended to visit Glengarriff – at the head of Bantry Bay, a lough that extends around 25 miles inland. This turned out to be a fairly boring and long slog with the wind behind us and we were a little underwhelmed by Glengarriff although view was rather tempered by the drizzle and gusty weather. To be fair Glengarriff is a beautiful enclosed harbour with a tree-lined shore backed by mountains but also home to a large hotel and several rather expensive looking houses.
We felt that our evening would be better spent in the small harbour of Bantry, an hour or so away across the top of the lough so we headed off in search of an alongside berth and a top up of fuel and water. Once again however we found that the almanacs and pilot books were rather over enthusiastic about the facilities for yachts or maybe we were just too early in the season but there was no room in the very small marina so we found a mooring just outside and secured ourselves for the night. We were wet and fairly cold so a meal and an early night onboard was more attractive than trying to get ashore in the tender.
Monday morning was beautiful and clear with a fresh breeze coming up the lough. We slipped and had a great sail down the lough and were excited to find a marina that promised to provide a berth and, importantly, showers, laundry facilities and fuel and water. Lawrence Cove marina is a wonderful sheltered spot on the north east side of Bere Island, just inside the entrance to Bantry Bay. It was comfortable to be alongside for the first time in nearly a week. We were given a great welcome by Rachel, the owner and we were quickly fuelled, watered, showered and off to explore Bere Island. Again lots of history; a French fleet of 43 ships carrying 15000 troops attempted to support the Irish rebellion against the English here in 1796, Martello Towers were constructed to defend against the French in 1805 and, much more recently, in 1970, 50 people were killed in an explosion on board the French oil tanker Betelgeuse at a nearby oil refinery.
Once again we found that pubs were either closed or unable to provide food so another meal on board. We are told that limitations in hospitality are due to a severe shortage of staff, partly due to the legacy of COVID during which many, it was suggested to us, had got out of the habit of working as they were paid to stay at home.
A planned early night became a fairly late one as we had to coordinate washing machine and tumble dryer useage with another visiting boat crew – a relatively local couple (Shannon) who were intending to head south to France and then up to the Netherlands and the UK East coast. It will be fascinating to monitor their progress in Peggy M on AIS.
