Hitting the Trail – Leaving Kinsale, IR

Hitting the Trail – Leaving Kinsale
Kinsale was the perfect landfall locale and counterpoint to 3 weeks in the Azores and nearly another full week underway. All of us loved the Azores but honestly felt like the food was a little less than our perfect. Kinsale offered restaurants and provisions that no foodie on the planet would turn up their nose to. Ireland, famous for their butter (and all of the yummy things one makes with butter) and meats as well as seafood and fruits and veggies with everything in perfect season as we arrived in early July, made any weight lost on the passage across the Atlantic quickly found in the first week here. Below are some pictures of the English Market in Cork. This was the absolute coolest place for someone who loves food as much as I do – I was in heaven. I couldn’t decide what to prepare first and poor Alec was laden with packages on the 40 minute bus ride and 15 minute walk home.

The gracious reception at the Kinsale Yacht Club was so very much appreciated. To a one, the members and employees treated us as friends and it was such a lovely spot to relax and rejuvenate. Located right in the heart of Kinsale, it is a short walk to countless pubs, shops, restaurants and transportation. Below is Richard, the dock master who was helpful and friendly and we are enjoying a pint at the Yacht Club. If you plan to come this way, there is no better place to stop. paul@kyc.ie For Paul Murphy who can arrange dockage.

Other highlights of the time here and of importance to anyone following in our wake – As I mentioned in the earlier post, Customs was a breeze – so much so that when I offered them the “cat” paperwork, the official said “Oh we don’t worry with that…”. Hmmm. Not long after that I asked a local vet if we could get a pet passport and his reply “Oh if they are indoor cats and not really going ashore you don’t need one”. It was tempting to let it go at that but after a few emails back and forth with Jennifer Hamilton (Dirona) she got me thinking. So I called and emailed the contact that Jennifer had and while we should have contacted Ireland Agriculture within 5 days PRIOR TO our arrival AND they should have been inspected upon arrival, they arranged (and very pleasantly I must add) to have them inspected anyway (nearly 2 weeks after our landfall) the following day. Below is the picture of the inspector who arrived, inspected the cats’ chip to confirm identity and inspected and stamped the paperwork, enjoyed a cup of coffee and some fun conversation and he was gone. We now have 4 months to obtain their passport for free movement around the EU which we will need to do here in Ireland or Scotland at the very latest. Doing it in England could risk invalidating the paperwork if they Break out of the EU (Brexit). This is crucial actually. In Sweden and Finland (at least) they would not be allowed in even on the boat without it – which I didn’t know but Jennifer shared with me. Both of these destinations are on the plans for next summer. Additionally, if the cats get sick and need to go to the vet, or if we all needed/wanted to travel back to the states, they need the passport. If you have animals that you plan to cross with – email me and Ill share the info that I have learned along the way. Despite the hours of research I spent on this – I learned so much more “doing it”. Thanks Jennifer for continuing to be a source of both inspiration and information!!!!

Other “housekeeping” items tended to during these 2 weeks included getting fuel. The crossing by the numbers –

Atlantic crossing by the numbers (Stuart FL- Bermuda, Bermuda- Horta, Azores, Horta-Kinsale, Ireland)
Engine hours: 517 hours
Fuel consumed: 3350 (Engine Only)
Fuel consumed Generator: 500 est. With constant use
Nautical Miles Traveled: 3968

Roughly 360 meals were served out of our incredibly efficient galley on the 22 days at sea.
On the homeschooling front we have made some progress and continue to learn more and more everyday. Sometimes, as in most things, it feels like 2 steps forward, 1 step back. For us, when I look at the past month since Jack came aboard, I have seen a really big change in just this short time. When he arrived, he spent hours talking about Minecraft (something we know absolutely nothing about). So – interesting thing here- Jack isn’t allowed video games – at all. He played Minecraft with a school friend on the school bus going to a field trip several months ago. Most of his friends play Minecraft and so in an effort to be a part of the conversation at school, Jack, being the incredibly resourceful person that he is, has bought tons of books (many with his own money) to learn about Minecraft. Now keep in mind – this is a fictional VIDEO GAME. Crazy! But it has it’s own vernacular and rules and intricacies that Jack really wanted to be able to share with his friends. So he showed up and spent an entire evening talking non-stop about MINECRAFT. Alec and I were freaked!!! What the heck has happened to our child? So part of what we are managing with this homeschooling thing is just changing the conversation from what he is comfortable with (Minecraft with his friends) to Ancient Greek history with us. Funny right? Actually what I believe and hope and pray is that by doing this, we will all start learning about something of value that we can all share and talk about. But the crucial element that Im learning here is that Rome wasn’t built… ya you get it. This is just going to take time and now that we have a month behind us, I can see a difference. After talking about Ancient Greece and listening to pentatonic Greek music yesterday as part of his home schooling, Jack spent the next hour building Greek God legos on his own play time. Progress… and a little dividend. Thank you God!!!

Next stop – Crookhaven!!! We are underway as I type this. Crookhaven wasn’t even on our short list a week ago when we were plotting and planning the next stop – and then I got an email from Gratitude’s former Mom and Dad, Braun and Tina Jones. They could not have said enough about it and Alec and I remembered reading their blog also. We looked into it and in fact Crookhaven is the perfect spot – distance wise – and in terms of things that we wanted to see. Crookhaven it is! I love the generosity with which information is shared by other cruisers and the blogs are such a great way of sharing it with more and more travelers.

2 weeks in Kinsale:
The Storm Plates were taken down and windows washed: YAH!!!!!!!

Irish Trad dancing and music

The Charles Fort

The James Fort

Cannonball Race

Best Dinner in Brunos