Untenable Anchorage - Warm Welcome

Quite predictably the weather in England is cooler than Gibraltar.

It is also ‘That time of Year’ when almost everyone seems hell-bent on emptying the shops and supermarkets of their entire contents.



I had two options –join the frenzy, or retreat to a quiet sanctuary.

Gatwick was empty, the flight to Shannon on time. A quick one in “Durty Nelly’s” in the shadow of Bunraty Castle, and it was off to Ennis for the craic in Brogans, a great little bar. The guinness was good, and so was the session – I even had a little play myself.



Eire is a beautiful country. Its rugged west coast conceals snug anchorages, open bays, and wild wave swept rocks under towering cliffs. This coast is serious sailing. When the wind blows the Atlantic Ocean vents all its pent-up energy on the Emerald Isle. It can be fearsome, anchorages untenable, yet always it remains quite beautiful.


Killkee Bay

Winding around the mountains and hills, on its way down to the sea, the River Shannon drains the lakes and peat bogs, in heart of the country, with the sound of the fiddle wafting down from a session.



It snowed on the way back from the session in Larkin’s Bar -- another great night. In the morning ice covered the car, and snow capped the hills.





I fell in love with the country, and the people, whilst cruising round the UK in 2001 – and it hasn’t changed.