Left Kilmore Quay behind this morning, and we have both voted it the best place we have visited thus far in Ireland.

On the way down the coast the weather was fabulous, and it’s fair to say that the trip had more than a few highlights. We had the absolute joy of Dolphin riding along with us and we left the boat on autopilot for a spell to sit up the bow and enjoy the experience………simply lovely. They are so hard to catch on camera, but we did manage this one – not great but good enough.

With the strong tides down the coast there have been times when I thought I had spotted a “fin” but they have turned out to be black 25 ltr containers (used as marker buoys by lobster fisherman) being pulled halfway under the water by the tide so that they looked like a triangular black fin…………………….I have had to take a bit of a ribbing from Sara !!

Well today I saw another “fin” and then lost it in the waves, next thing it was coming towards us, and my immediate thoughts were “oh bugger I’ve picked up a pot marker” as it kept getting closer and closer. So I put the engine into neutral and prayed silently, but this was no pot marker it was – well in truth I was not sure exactly what it was but I knew it was not a rope around the propeller (prayers answered) As it came closer we saw that it was a shark about 10ft long and it had a distinctive white underbelly. I am not exagerating when I say it’s snout was two inches off the boat. Sara made a dive for the camera but it was gone as quickly as it had appeared. We must look up picture of sharks to see if we can identify what it was, this should be easy as it did have such a distinctive look, and not like any other sharks I have seen around the coast over the years.

Sometime later we saw an almighty splash from something that must have been pretty big and we can only assume that this was caused by a Whale or something pretty big breaching……………..what a super day, and one we will remember for a long time.

We arrived at the entrance to Yougal where it is pretty shallow all around with a couple of routes in being clarified by the sector lights on the lighthouse, and as we reached the Lighthouse the tidal effect on the surface was amazing to witness, and our speed suddenly leapt. The pilot books advise against anchoring at the town quay and suggest a point just at the spit of land on the opposite side which is where we decided to drop the hook. The current was flowing strongly and I wondered how the new anchor would set, there was no need for concern as it bit first time, and left us facing the tide, at anchor with the boat speed showing 2.75 kts.

A local chap was out in his canoe and came over for a chat, and I asked him about an area I could see further in behind the spit that looked like it was out of the main tidal effect. His view was to stay put as he reckoned it was both a bit shallow and there was a serious risk of fouling something with the anchor. He did suggest that we might want to be awake each time the tide turned, and you know what it’s like at times like this, one part of your mind is happy that the anchor is totally secure while another part has a tape recorder playing a loop of what he had said.

That being the case I decided to sleep in the wheelhouse, and when the ebb started I was awake for a bit, but there was no excessive tidal effect even though we were on spring tides. Aha said I, he must have meant when the flood started, as when we had arrived we were two hours before high water, and perhaps the tidal effects were stronger when the flood tide started. Once again yours truly was awake, and the real peculiar thing is that there was no strong tidal effect, all the way through to our departure time of 30mins before high water.

Now I am no expert, but perhaps someone can explain how the flood tide one day can be flowing strongly and the next day not especially when the wind has been constantly from the same direction……………answers on a postcard please to……