As predicted, as soon as we turn east around Quarantine Island everything calms down. Soon we kill the engine, and with favourable wind and tide we’re making good progress under staysail alone. We pass the seals sunning themselves on Inishleigh, a field of seagulls on Ringaroga where a farmer is cutting silage, and immobile cranes patiently looking for prey on the river bank. Life slows down and everyone is relaxing, enjoying the ride. Bliss!
We’re winding our way up the river, running wide in the bends and keeping an eye on the depth sounder. I pull up the centre-plate a bit just in case. As we round Inishbeg the boathouse comes into view. We spot the orange mooring buoy but it has a couple of ribs tied to it, and there are people sitting out on the front deck of the house. This is slightly worrying because there are often loud parties there in the summer, blasting their music across the river to Creagh. Fingers crossed that we won’t have to move to a quieter spot later on.
Looking at the chart, it seems like the best place to anchor is in the bend between Inishbeg and the pier at Barry’s. The farther we can tuck in there the more shelter we will get, but it also gets very shallow very quickly once you leave the channel. I prepare the anchor, then we start the engine and Eileen and I take down the staysail. I ask Laura to do a u-turn and then come back towards the edge of the channel, pointing into the wind and tide, where we will drop the anchor. She slowly turns up towards what should be mid-channel and deeper water but something doesn’t feel right… I don’t think we’re moving? We’ve gone aground! Crap! A bit of confusion ensues, but a little reversing gets us off quickly. Now turn and approach the edge of the channel, watching the depth sounder. When it gets to about a metre I drop the anchor and we start drifting back with the current.
It’s our first time using the anchor (a 7 kg Manson Supreme) so I’m not really sure what to expect. I can feel it bite almost immediately. I let out the seven metres of chain plus about twenty metres of rode and tie off. The boat comes to a halt and doesn’t move. We sit in the cockpit for a while, keeping an eye out to see if we are moving but we’re not and the hunger soon gets to us.
Soon dinner is ready, and I don’t know how Eileen managed it but we all agree it’s the best pasta ever! We enjoy a glass of wine with our meal, and take in the peace and quiet which thankfully hasn’t been broken by any parties at the boat house.
There were many “firsts” this evening; first time anchoring, first time using the fresh water tank, first time cooking aboard, first time using the portapotty. I’m happy to say that everything worked perfectly! Night falls and I want to see how effective the anchor light is, so I suggest we take a midnight dinghy ride.
The wind has died down during the evening and it’s flat calm now. We call it a day and tuck into our sleeping bags. I set an alarm for 04:30, about the time when I expect the tide to turn. I want to make sure the anchor holds as we swing through 180 degrees. Sleep comes quickly, but after a while I’m awakened by a clunking noise. Is it the dinghy hitting the boat? No, sounds like the rudder. Just ignore it and go to sleep. Clunk. I’m trying, but it’s really loud, the boat acting like a hollow drum to amplify the sound. Clunk. No, I’ll have to get out and do something. I crawl out and tighten the line holding the rudder amidships. That should do it. Now back to my toasty-warm sleeping bag. Ahhhh. Clunk.
Now the visible progress slows down and the list of things to do gets longer and longer. In the photo above you can see that I’ve made a lot of progress and the boat is nearing completion. What you can’t see are the hours spent sanding and coating the interior. The time spent making shaping and steaming in to position of the rubrail. That’s the small piece of wood that runs along the length of the sheer and protects the edge of the plywood planking.
Here’s the 18′ Faering that I’m building at the moment after the first coat of staining. The client is hoping for a blackened tarred type finish with the low maintenance of and epoxy coating.
Here is the 18′ faering all planked up. I’m starting the making of the external keel and stem and stern pieces. You can see outer stem being glued up in the foreground. The sheer of the boat will be cut once she’s right way up so that bottom plank will be more in proportion with the others.
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