Week 8
| Date | Blog Entry | Related Pictures |
| 19/08/08 |
The weather remained as normal today, howling
winds with common heavy downpours pretty much the same story as
it has been all week, it wasn't until late in the evening that
something terrible happened. We (me and my Dad) already had eaten dinner aboard Cari with Pam and Alan and were talking about the passage ahead when a car pulled up and through the wind we heard someone calling for the 'young lad'. It was the harbour master advising us that there was a 31ft steel fishing boat coming in and going alongside where Padiwak was lying. He said we can either go alongside Cari or alongside the fishing boat. The HM retired to the pub and we decided that it would be more comfortable to lay alongside Cari as the the fishing boat would probably move in the morning. With no guarantee that he would be coming in we didn't move Padiwak straight away but had clothing ready to keep the strong winds and driving rain at bay. About 15mins later we saw the fishing boat coming in and like we were asked I started to move Padiwak back alongside being careful in respect of the elements of the foul night, Pam and Alan were helping and within a couple of minutes Padiwak was alongside Cari. I was just tying the bowline up when I saw Alan go to catch the rope for the fisherman, a splash followed and as I looked up again Alan wasn't on the quay. Abandoning everything I got across the two boats and over to Alan in the water and grabbed hold of him, just behind me my Dad got hold of Alan, along with Pam. A man walking his dog also started to help but trying to pull someone up a shear quay wall is quite hard. At this point there was another splash with one of the fisherman going in the water. We initially thought it was to help Alan but he had also slipped in on the same cobble stone. Still trying to get Alan out of the water was hard so I went to get help, running to the sailing club everyone came out, a couple helped, the rest watching. My Dad managed to get a line round Alan and with a few more pulls we managed to get Alan out of the water. The fisherman sorted himself out but the worrying thing was the fishing boat engine was still running in reverse whilst there were people in the water. After getting out of his wet clothes Alan's ankle started to swell up pretty fast, Pam and my Dad thought it would be worth it being looked at and at that moment the ambulance was coming down the hill along with the coastguard. After the initial check the paramedics decided to take Alan to the hospital. It must of been about 11pm by this time so my Dad followed the ambulance to the hospital. They returned at about 3am, Alan has broken his ankle but seemed in high spirits despite the ordeal modelling a new cast. It was a shock at how quickly everything can be fine one minute and then the next a nightmare can un-reveal itself. The whole thing wasn't good, in my opinion not the best decision to move boats in gale force winds and driving rain, and why the steel fishing boat couldn't go on the end of the pier I don't know. It was also rather distressing that the Public Rescue equipment was no where to be seen and the HM's attitude after the event wasn't what I would have expected. I won't go into the details all we can say is that Alan albeit unlucky to break his ankle was fairly lucky that he didn't land on a boat or sweeped out of reach, the whole situation could have been much worse. At the moment Pam is going to sail the boat with Alan as 'cargo' round to Milford Haven and see what happens there. Pictures are of Cari and Padiwak alongside and Jack Sound viewed from the cliffs. |
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| 16/08/08 |
Still in Fishguard with gales forecast for
the next few days and a fairly difficult passage ahead it
doesn't look as though we will be moving for a while, we have
managed to get alongside the quay wall which is very sheltered
although the wind has been strong for quite a while now along
with the heavy rain. Today I was luckily enough to go out sailing in an Open 30 which is made to rules to 30ft in length just like an Open 60 etc. This boat had sailed round Britain two years ago and it was great to get out sailing on it even in windy conditions. The speed at which it accelerates and its overall speed is fantastic and as it is a fairly wide boat when healed over when you look over the side at the keel your quite a long way from the water! More pictures of this wonderful boat can be seen in the gallery for Week 8. It was also the annual 'fun' raft race and despite the weather it still went ahead, even though it is only for fun the teams seemed pretty interested in winning, with the RNLI bringing lots of muscle and a sleek catamaran design they managed to beat the other two teams even if they did tow one of the marks accidently for quite a while caused by running it over! |
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| 14/08/08 |
Today was probably the best days sailing so
far this season, Padiwak flew across the Irish Sea in winds of
15-20knts completing the 60+ mile trip in 11 hours. We left
Arklow at about 8 o'clock in wall to wall sunshine and then
steered straight for Fishguard. The mountains on the Irish coast
were disappearing as the wind started to build and with Padiwak
on a close reach we were regularly hitting 7knts and then
dropping to 6. The sea wasn't to lumpy until we were about half
way across and even then the waves weren't to big, shipping was
also quite light apart but one tanker 'Clipper Nora' which held
a collision course for quite a while but with AIS it was easy to
watch the CPA (Closest Point of Approach) and when this didn't
change I called him up to see if he had seen me. AIS made this
process much quicker as the vessels name and call sign are all
displayed eliminating the time consuming of trying to identify
the other boat at over a mile away. Lots of boats left Arklow all heading for different places but two, Halsway Grace and Cari were heading for Fishguard so even in the middle of the passage when we were out of site of land for about 4 hours there were still other around. We even managed to have a photo shoot mid Irish Sea! The wind stayed all the way to Fishguard were we anchored up as the sun started to set, it was a perfect end to one of the rare perfect days in a season of pretty foul weather. |
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| 13/08/08 |
Still in Arklow but tomorrow is looking quite
good for a crossing to Fishguard, today I've been sorting the
boat out with food and fuel, but also we had a small problem
with the battery charger but that's all done now. The marina
have been great and today when I asked where the nearest petrol
station was they offered to run me there in the car to save
carrying them all back. This was great even though it wasn't too
far away but as I went to pay I was stopped and the bill put
onto the marinas account. This was great, thank you Arklow
Marina and I would recommend a stay there to anyone. The met office forecast for tomorrow is, South or South West 3-4 increasing 5. With that kind of wind it should be a good trip as the sea should of flattened off meaning we can sail fairly fast and cover the 60miles in good time. |
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| 12/08/08 |
Finally managed to get out of Howth with
winds and seas easing have now made it to Arklow, probably the
most southerly point Padiwak will get to whilst she's in Ireland
as its looking quite good to cross over to Fishguard in the next
couple of days. We left Howth and carried all of the tide down
the coast, this coastline again is quite interesting with
varying landscapes. The wind was south westerly at first but
went more westerly later meaning a close haul before easing the
sheets on to a reach, just Padiwak's kind of sailing angle.
Coming past Wicklow quite a nasty squall came over and I did wonder if Wicklow would be needed for some shelter but it did only turn out to be a squall so we continued onto Arklow. The entrance was un-eventful passing the bird covered breakwater and turning the corner to head up stream. The scrapped trawlers on the shore indicated how the fishing industry in Arklow was fairing with more enforcement of quotas and other external pressures, inside the fish dock most trawlers sat unused displaying 'for sale' signs. The marina is quite small just like its entrance which could be quite easily missed but offers excellent shelter for the gale which is forecast tonight. It seems like lots of people are taking shelter in the marina and on the moorings outside in the river but we managed to find a place inside along with Cari a Sadler 34 who we met in Port Ellen on Islay and have been meeting up with down the Irish coast. We're definitely here tomorrow but the day after looks quite good for the approx 60mile trip across the Irish Sea to Fishguard. |
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