June 2, 2019
We woke up to another wet day in Scotland, which would be our last in the lovely if often grey country, as today was our intended departure back to Dublin. We spent the morning having another in-depth engine lesson, covering the heat exchange system as well as transmission and filter system. Thrilling stuff, really… I'm kind of hoping that when the engine decides to act up, Stephen might step up to the plate. Not that I want to subscribe to or agree with the somewhat sexist designation of “blue jobs and pink jobs” on boats that you often hear cruising couples talking about; but given Stephen's background in engineering and given the importance of the engine to our safety, maybe this is one “blue job” I'll let him take. I still paid attention and took meticulous notes, as Stephen and I are in agreement that we both need to make the effort to be masters of all aspects of this boat in order to maximise our safety. There is no formal division of labour - we both need to be able to do everything on the boat and be able to exchange rolls, as you never know when someone may be incapacitated or unavailable when something goes wrong and has to be dealt with swiftly. This necessity has made the whole learning process engaging in that there is never a time you feel you can switch off. Before this trip, I would have considered myself one of the least handy people I know. Having always rented a flat in either New York or London and having had the super or landlord at my beck and call, I hadn’t really needed to know how to do anything other than pay my rent on time. Two weeks into this trip, while far from being Tim the Tool Man Taylor, I can now proudly say I just about have my head around the power management system of our entire boat: I know how the boat’s engine converts kinetic into electrical energy in our batteries, the difference between AC and DC current, and the different applications for each. And I know how to use a strap wrench to tighten the drive belt on our engine (sexy, huh?). I have made a conscious effort not to shy away from things that don’t come easily to me on this adventure and instead to embrace them, and I've found the experience to be equal parts frustrating and empowering. You know what they say - you're never too old to learn how to use a strap wrench!
We did our passage plan to Dublin, a sail that would take about 28 hours, so we needed to get a wriggle on if we wanted to make it before nightfall the following night. We were a bit scuppered from the get go, as upon weighting anchor, we realised our anchor had been fouled by some large, mangey and truly ancient plastic fishing traps. We stopped to haul the traps up manually so as not to damage our windlass and then had to cut them into pieces so we could store them until we found a safe place to dispose of them. These traps smelled absolutely rancid and quickly made our once clean decks filthy with sludge, slime and dead fish. But we've learned as a general rule for responsible mariners, whenever possible you should remove plastic from the sea and never throw it back . It was absolutely chucking it down with rain as the boys wrestled with the knives while I navigated us out of the anchorage and around the rocks onto our desired heading down to the North Channel. We found a stowaway in one of the traps- a big gloopy octopus who oozed out of one of the holes and then very cleverly camouflaged himself to match the crisscross pattern of the fishing pot behind him. Pretty stealth, though I must admit he would have looked a bit more appealing on plate with some potatoes and chorizo. Stephen and I were on first watch as we sailed south. The sun finally peeked through the clouds at around 8:30 pm, with Florence screaming along at 9-10 knots. Weary and chilly, we went off watch, but the heel of the boat is making sleep challenging. Oh well - back on watch in 4 hours!
We sailed as quickly as we could throughout the following day on a mission: get to Dublin safely before the Force 9 winds came howling in sometime that night! So we steamed ahead, keeping morale up by telling embarrassing stories and trimming Florence’s sails to maximise efficiency. Stephen was disappointed that due to a strong current against us for most of our North Channel crossing, we would not make it to Dublin in time for the Champions League Final showdown between Liverpool and Tottenham. However, given the wonders of the modern world and of 4G, we were able to stream it onto my laptop and were able to half-watch the match in the cockpit (while dodging tankers and fishing buoys) as we sailed down the emerald coast of Ireland. We thankfully made it back into Dun Laoghaire marina just before dark, around 10:30 PM. I executed my first park in the near darkness into a cross wind, but nailed it - swept the dock with my bow, and in short order we were tied up and safe behind the breakwater of the harbour that would protect us from the F9-10 winds (40-50 knots) that were scheduled to whip through overnight and most of the following day.
Finishing such a long and sometimes tedious passage called for…. You guessed it, celebratory drinks at the local. The only spot still open was good old Wetherspoons, located at the edge of the harbour. I have to say, being on this trip and living this lifestyle has given me an appreciation for places like 'Spoons that I never had before. Any place you can get a pint of beer, a large wine and a bag of crisps for under EUR10 is fine by me, and just about the right price for two people without salaries at the moment. EUR10 couldn’t get you a crappy glass of wine in a pub in Notting Hill! Plus, all of our money these days goes to boatyards and chandleries on things like new plumbing hoses, spectra line, and shackles. So anything cheap looks pretty good to me! The three of us practically sprinted to Spoons to make it there in time for last orders. Fun fact: On a sat night in Dun Laoghaire, Wetherspoons actually has bouncers! We had to sweet talk our way into Spoons in Dun Laoghaire that night. Add it to the list of weird and wonderful experiences this trip has brought us! A few drinks and merriment to be had in that fine establishment, then passage fatigue set in and it was lights out.
Along with a celebratory pint at the local, I’ve learned of another slightly less enjoyable ritual upon completing a passage: boat cleaning day. It's remarkable how dirty a boat can get in just the course of a week. Florence's crew spent most of the following day deep cleaning the boat, inside and out. I had the pleasant task of cleaning under all the floor boards. Good GOD do things collect under there. Pro tip: if you ever want to know if a boat has been well looked after, look under the floorboards - that's where the secrets lie. But by late afternoon, Florence looked all sparkly and new and it was effort well-spent. The day continued with my other favourite activity: going to the chandlery and spending all our hard earned money on things like snatch blocks and dry lube (insert obvious jokes). Ever wondered what a snatch block is? No, its not like a cock block - it's this nifty gadget for controlling a line that is about the size of a fist and will set you back a clean cool 400 quid. Excellent, let’s get 2! I can say with confidence that the 45 minutes we spent in the chandlery that afternoon was the least fun I’ve ever had spending money Oh well, has to be done! I distracted myself by perusing the pilot books for the Balearic Islands while the two Steves discussed the best way to splice 50 meters of line for our downwind rig and whether or not to put thimbles on our drogue bridle... Yeah, I have no idea either. All in, it was a productive day, and we felt Florence was in good shape and in a safe place for us to leave her for a few days. Two of our good friends from Notting Hill who had recently moved back to Australia were getting married in Puglia, and we didn't want to miss it. It will be the first time seeing them and many of our friends from back home since we left, so Stephen and I were excited. And no offence to Florence whatsoever, but after what has been a very intense few weeks, we were ready for a bit of a boat break and to sleep in a bed that didn't move. We have a very early wake up call to make it to Dublin Airport tomorrow, so time to sign off. I can taste the spritz and seafood pasta already. See you back on board in a few days!
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