Canoe Sailing in Ireland 2016

A Canoe Sailing Holiday in Ireland: Ireland's Eye & Upper lough Erne

I've been itching to take my sailing canoe to Ireland for some years.Now with a Solway Dory Shearwater in my possession and a cheap deal from Irish Ferries I finally was able to make it happen. Every other time I went to Ireland in summer the weather has been good, BBQs, sitting outside under umbrellas. None of the rain soaked cliches of the emerald isle ever seemed to come true. So in Mid June I loaded my canoe onto my battered Peugeot and headed for Holyhead with great expectations; it had been good weather there for the previous couple of weeks.

Awaiting the Ferry ay Holyhead

300 miles or so later we arrived at the ferry port and boarded the ship.Once in Ireland I had less then 2 miles to drive from the ferry to our home.Thanks to Solway Dory's fabulous side trolley I was very quickly able to take the canoe off the roof and store it in my hallway. How many other sailing craft can you do that with?

The benefits of a side trolley

Somewhat ominously the heavens open as I was bringing the canoe into the house. The weather wasn't great and the forecast was for rain.

Trips to Ireland's Eye

After a few days rain the weather dried up and although cloudy and grey, the winds were light. I loaded up the canoe and head a few miles north of Dublin to Howth Head, which sits on the top of Dublin bay.It has a pretty harbour and just 1/2 a mile or so offshore from it lies the small Island of Ireland's Eye.Below is a picture that I didn't take!

I unloaded the canoe and with my wife Mari on board took a few turns about the harbour until she was comfortable with the idea of heading out to open sea! I kept a turn or two in the sail and head out of the harbour...

Landing on Ireland's Eye under leaden skies

A very short sail brought us to the east side of the island.

Landed !

Mari & Eve

Heading back to Howth

We took some photos and headed back for the Harbour. 

Circumnavigation of Ireland's Eye

The next day brought cloudless skies and similar light winds.We returned to Howth again in the afternoon to circumnavigate the Island.

Back on the slip in Howth in brighter conditions

Full survival gear for the epic voyage! But you have to dress for the water not the weather,

Leaving Howth Harbour; Ireland's Eye ahead.

Ireland's Eye from the Harbour mouth

Once out of the Harbour I headed south to round the Island counter clockwise, heading toward Howth Head.

Looking south to Howth Head

At the Island's southern point we beat up wind close to the east side of the Island. The cliffs were full of gulls and puffins enjoying the fine weather,

Heading North 

One of the most prominent features is "The stack" festooned with sea birds.

The Stack

Looking back, at the stack!

Behind the stack and behind Howth head you can  just make out a ferry entering Dublin Bay.

Blue weather sailing

Once past the stack we headed west, on the northern tip of the Island stands a Martello tower.

We landed underneath the tower on a sandy beach looking for somewhere to eat lunch. I deployed my anchor to save myself the effort of dragging the canoe up the beach. I ventured off the beach and up onto the low grassy cliffs, hoping to explore some of the island.However this was not appreciated by the nesting seagulls which swopped over my head. Mari wisely refused to leave the beach and was left unmolested by the birds.

On the other side of the tower I could look north towards Lambay Island, a slightly more challenging destination, however its privately owned and landing on it is by permission only.

I made my way back down to the beach for lunch. I was thinking of sailing from Dublin bay around Howth Head to the harbour as the next sea trip: perhaps launching from Clontarf or maybe sail from Clontarf to DunLagoghaire across Dublin bay. However it turned out this was the last days sailing I would do on Irish seas for this trip.

Back in the harbour car park

Upper Lough Erne Day Trip

The next day we head up the hundred miles or so from Dublin and across the border to Upper Lough Erne in the county of Fermanagh . I decided to launch in the more southerly end of the lake , near Crom Castle. The lake here is winding and small, almost more like a river. I made the mistake of not having a map , which made navigation problematic along with the winds, which  were gusty and fluky, and the weather a familiar shade of grey and cool.

We sailed about for a little bit then decided to land at the old Castle ruins. 

The castle was built in the 17th century by Scottish settlers. Although landing was prohibited I decided that the Scottish settlers were most likely prohibited from landing too by the original inhabitants, but that didn't stop them doing so and proceeding to building the castle, I just wanted to fry some some Gunnard fillets I'd brought at Howth the day before.

Gunnard a'fry!

After enjoying our  Gunnard and a nice cup of tea we sailed back to the launch point, packed up and drove back to Dublin for dinner with friends, it was quite a long day , and I was returning back to the Erne the following day for an overnight sail.

Upper Lough Erne Overnighter

the following day I set off again for Upper Lough Erne in company with my Nephew Osin. we were heading slightly further north and to the west side of the Lough to the Share Discovery Village, outdoor activity centre where we were meeting up with fellow canoe sailor Frank Dobbs, The centre has a bothy on Trannish Island  but it was in use by a school when we inquired.Frank suggested we make north down the loch to Knockninny House  a hotel and pub some 3 or 4 miles away. I set about assembling the canoe and storing camping gear for two in it for the first time.I was delighted to discover how much gear the Shearwater can hold. It easily held tent, tarpualin, sleeping mats, sleeping bags,2x dry bags with spare clothes, cooking gear and food, water, and a crate of beer. All this as well as the normal equipment of spare paddles, anchor, bailing bucket and various other bits of safety equipment.

 We set off in light winds across Shanagy bay and landed  on Creaghanacreesty Island for a cup of tea and some lunch.

Once refreshed we set off northwards. I was very happy to be in the company of Frank , who as well as sailing the lough in his canoe also sails a barge on it with his family so knows the lough well enough to guide us. As I had discovered the day before navigating the lough can be a challenge  even with the charts Frank had provided us. Upper lough Erne was formed by the the flooding of glacial drumlins to create over 150 islands and a network of peninsulas making a marvelous but challenging network to navigate.

We head on North towards Innishore, following the main navigation route which has numbered markers assisting in the navigation. 

Another great feature of the Solway Dory Shearwater is the ability to allow the "passenger" in the canoe to skipper the canoe, simply by extending the steering stick and sliding the sheet block on the boom forward, Osin was able to sail the canoe for almost all of the trip in the forward seat. I enjoyed being a back seat passenger for once and enjoyed being able to attempt to map-read, drink, eat,observe wild life and generally annoy Osin from the rear seat. I was also able to offer paddle assistance  when the wind dropped or we were shadowed from it by an Island 

As the afternoon drew on we made our way slowly along the north side of Innishcorkish,Edercole Island and the Nann group of Islands

Patches of blue sky appeared at we made our way North West. The bovine population of Nann Island west seemed to be enjoying wading in the reed beds.We moored up at the public jetty on the island and brewed up a late afternoon cup of tea.

After rounding Nann Island West the lough opened up, as did the skies unfortunately. The wind dropped to nothing,
We rolled up the sails and got the paddles out as we made our way across the lough looking for the route though the islands for the comfort of the pub and the prospect of an evening meal which was made more and more  attractive with each paddle stroke and each drop of rain.

Paddles out ....

...Sails furled....

...across the open water.

A light wind eventually picked up allowing us to sail onto the beach in front of the pub.We ordered some beer and food and later as the daylight started to fade made our way back to the canoes to sail a short distance to Innishliroo. This island has a house on it but at the moment is uninhabited.We landed at a small grassy cove and erected tents and tarps in the increasingly heavy rain. A last cup of tea was had and then we went to bed.I hadn't felt great all day and was becoming increasingly ill as the night went on, feeling somewhat  feverish in the damp conditions.







In the morning I a took a quick look around parts of the Island, including the cottage. The island is still up for sale. Yours for just £250k.  Here

we had our breakfast before breaking down the camp packing up the canoes  and making our way back to the Share center.Before we left the island I managed to loose the 8" screw in hatch cover to the rear bulkhead. I found out they don't float and were impossible to spot on the dark bottom of the lake.

Sailing back to the Share Center

The winds had strengthen a bit and had shifted from a Westerly to the East insuring that we had a headwind for the second day as we returned back to base!

Making for a short cut through the reeds

After accidentally sailing past the center and to down  the lady Craighavon  bridge before we realised our mistake  we turnaround and finally landed and set out packing up the canoes and saying farewell to Frank before heading back to Dublin.

Postscript: The following day I developed a chesty cough that eventually took me to be the Mater hospital suffering from pneumonia! Finished off any sailing for most of the summer and took a couple of months to recover from.

Tis a damp place Ireland, alright.

Canoe Sailing on the Upper Dart 2016

A gentle Spring canoe-sailing trip down the upper reaches of the Dart Estuary from Totnes to Dittisham

The first proper sail of the year took me to Devon and the Dart Estuary. On alternative weekends the tides in the Dart will either be low or high tide around midday. On low tide weekends its  ideal for launching on Dart sailing with the ebb tide to lower reaches of the estuary or perhaps to its mouth, and then one can either stop in a pub or continuing out to sea to wait for the tide to turn, and then you can use the flood tide to bring you back to the launch point rather effortlessly, even if there is little wind.That makes for a good full day out on the water. On the weekends when the tide is high at lunchtime its slightly more difficult to make a full day of it on the Dart. In the mornings the tide wants to take you higher up into the Dart, and for craft propelled by sail or paddle there is an effective tidal gate to the passage down to the lower reaches at the anchor stone just below Dittisham where the estuary is very narrow.

On these weekends I find its better to launch in the upper part of the estuary at Totnes and make a leisurely one way trip down to Stoke Gabriel or Dittisham. 

On the slipway at Totnes, ready to launch the recently named 'EVE'

Heading out of Totnes on the Home reach

This part of the Dart is tricky to sail, the wind will follow the estuary as it winds through steep hills , often putting the wind on the nose or casting complicated and counter intuitive wind shadows on the way. The secret is to not worry about too much about it; just enjoy the scenery and take the sailing opportunities when they arise... and be ready with the paddle.

Looking back to the fleshpots of Totnes

For about a mile from Totnes the river runs fairly straight in a South Easterly direction. Once away from the town the river valley opens up a little on the right hand side and the wind altered from the South West to the West, allowing me to gently  reach towards Sharpham

A bit of decent wind....for a while.

There are four significant bends in the river which wind you past Sharpham and Asprington and out onto the more open part of the Dart estuary.

Its a lonely part of the river at most times, the hills tighten in on the river and the view of fields gives way to steeply sided valleys on either side, densely covered in oak trees, that dip their branches into the water at high tide.

Sharpham House comes into view on the right bank, a sturdy Georgian pile with a picturesque boat house nestled among the oaks trees.

Sharpham Boat House

Primeval vibe of the upper Dart 

About from these few intrusions of human activity parts of the Dart take on a primeval character,its easy to imagine you're traveling in virgin jungle territory. I did see another canoe sailor at this point, head in the opposite direction;they were on a sit on top with a homemade sail and no leeboard, and their progress against the ebb tide seemed slow. I was tacking across the river at this point so our paths didn't cross for a chat.



The last bend in these series reveals Duncannon, historically the home to the Dart salmon fishermen

Duncannon

Once past Duncannon the Dart dramatically opens up; the hills recede a little and the water widens to half a mile of so stretching away for a couple of miles down toward Dittisham. An expectation of better, more constant winds and a chance for so proper sailing is felt.

The open part of the dart!

But sometimes not realised! However after a becalmed start the wind in this open part of the Dart did fill in, Soon I was passing by the little creek leading to Stoke Gabriel

Passing Stoke Gabriel

Looking Down towards Dittisham

As ever , you can see Dittisham long before you can reach it , the village sits on top  of a bend in the estuary and only comes down to the water on the far side.

Getting Closer

Slip way at Dittisham

There's a old slip that is ideal for landing a sailing canoe just past the jetty at Dittisham. I land there and headed for the pub and wait for my Mum to arrive with the transport!

During this trip  I was wearing a pair of Palm dry trouser for the trip. they are great when a full dry suit isn't necessary, they are very well made, with additional protection on the seat and knees however they have no socks just ankle seals.(you can see them in the first pic of this blog) I was wearing a pair of sealskin waterproof socks and my normal typhoon rock boots. But even in May my feet became cold during the trip . I changed into sandals and headed for a pint. It was quiet this early in the season and I managed to get a seat by the window overlooking the river. I decided then and there I needed a pair of fully waterproof launch trousers to keep my feet dry. I subsequently have purchased a pair of Kokatat Tempest trousers which have been brilliant: strong but light and no more wet feet! It was a pleasant and afternoon sail and a gentle introduction to Eve of saltwater.

View from the Pub .

The view down river toward the Anchor Stone. Wet socks=No fun.