We left Dun Laoghaire Marina late on a beautiful morning, with everything you’d want on a summer cruise, except for a bit of wind.
We passed the little bay of Sandy Cove, Joyce’s Tower, setting for the first pages of Ulysses, and the famous Forty Foot swimming rocks on the headland, then motored down the narrow channel between Dalkey Island and Dalkey on the mainland, one of the smartest areas of Dublin.
We passed the woods and heathland of Killiney Hill and turned south close inshore across the gentle but beautiful bays of County Wicklow.
Georgia had joined us at Dun Laoghaire for the start of the next leg of our homeward passage, and had time to go as far as Arklow.
The sea was so gentle and the wind so light that we used the fourth crew member, the Raymarine autopilot, to steer much of the way.
After the low headland, we could see Arklow in the distance, with a narrow harbour entrance, which is the mouth of the Avoca River.
The marina is an old dock reached through a narrow entrance in the harbour wall a short way up-river, and is a good test of boat and crew at close quarters manoeuvring. I took her in, and put her exactly where the harbourmaster ordered, giving Tony an even harder task squeezing out again next day when another boat came in behind us.
We were in Arklow Marina at the height of the Irish boom years, just before the 2008 crash, and saw the exuberant optimism of the times in action. Georgia was crewing for me from Falmouth to Belfast in Pepper, the first time I sailed round Britain.
When I asked the way to the nearest supermarket, the man in charge of construction on a site by the marina insisted that I, a total stranger, should borrow his car. I protested, but gave in to his charm – then realised he was handing me the keys of his brand new Porsche Cayenne.
With shopping done in the Porsche, we went off to look at my grandfather’s farm in the hills above Wooden Bridge – taking a taxi for that. Boom and bust, the buildings went up, because here they are, a smart block of flats, with a new supermarket behind.
After mooring Spring Fever, we walked across Arklow’s 19 arch bridge to the town, which turned out to be a sleepy place on a Monday, so we ate on board that evening. Next day, though, we had splendid Irish breakfasts at Coffee 4 You, an excellent cafe overlooking the river and bridge on the town side of the river.
We said goodbye to Georgia, who was heading back to Dublin for work and childcare, and stocked up for our next passage to Milford Haven at the big Aldi supermarket by the marina.
tide by tide 