840 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
[May 26, 1906. 

A Cruise on the Southwest Coast 
of Ireland. 
GIvEN fine weather, the southwest of Ireland is 
as pleasant a yachting coast as one could wish 
for. Snug and pretty harbors abound, but they 
must be made in daylight, as most of them are 
blind, and do not own such conveniences as lead- 
ing lights, or, indeed, any lights at all. The won- 
der is that more English yachts do not venture 
there, though the number is increasing year by 
year. The dotting about of good hotels will no 
doubt ev entually ‘conduce to the coast being a 
happy cruising ground, for the scenery is beyond 
all praise, being wild and beautiful, especially 
when one reaches the mountainous coast of Kerry, 
A few reminiscences of a recent cruise in a 20- 
ton yawl may be of interest. 
We left Youghal at the beginning of August, in 
a fresh N.N.W. wind, at 4 in the morning, on 
board the most comfortable of cruisers, drawing 
about 8ft. of water, and having a crew of three, 
including a steward. The passengers were V., the 
owner and myself. It was an ideal morning to 
commence our cruise, and no fears of seasickness 
assailed us as we sailed past Cable Island and 
3allycotton lighthouse under full canvas, with the 
wind abeam. Our intention was to make Castle 
Haven before night; if not, we had Kinsale or 
Glandore to put into. About noon the wind fresh- 
ened considerably, and we had to take in our top- 
sail. Just as we were making the Old Head of 
Kinsale we got into a nasty trough of sea, and the 
after davit broke, our dinghy dropping her stern 
into the water, and a paddle and some sail covers 
being lost. I was at the helm to allow the rest to 
haul in the dinghy, no light task in a jumpy sea, 
but, in spite of my steering errors, they succeeded 
in getting her on to the deck. Seeing that the wind 
was likely to increase, and knowing we should 
have a better chance of effecting repairs in Kin- 
sale, V. decided on putting in there, where we 
found a pretty harbor. An excellent old boat 
builder made us a new paddle, and the skipper, 
with some purchased wire, repaired the broken 
davit. 
Kinsale as a’ town reminds one rather forcibly 
of a foreign port. V. distressed one of the in- 
habitants by suggesting he had Spanish blood in 
him, the native man asserting that his ancestors 
were true sons of Erin. At Kinsale there are forts 
and a Royal Naval Reserve station. We left Kin- 
sale at dawn the next day, having some trouble 
to, make the open sea, as it was very calm inside 
under the shelter of the land. We did not get 
abreast of the Old Head for three hours, but then 
we soon began to race along past Clonakilty, Gal- 
ley Head, and Glandore, for the wind grew 
stronger every minute, and eventually we ran into 
the blind harbor of Castle Haven in front of a 
summer gale. 
Inside the haven we found a regatta in progress, 
and passed a crowd of little r4ft, dinghies sailing 
bravely in the squalls. Two boats were sailed by 
ladies, one a young girl of about fifteen, looking 
very workman-like without a hat and an abund- 
ance of hair blowing about. They took a severe 
dusting with delightful complacence, but then all 
the Castle Townshend people live on the sea. 
Right inside, under the little village, we found a 
host of small craft and two steam yachts, the lat- 
ter gaily decked out in flags. The regatta con- 
tinued for four days, the hospitality we enjoyed 
was beyond all description, and we were loth to 
weigh anchor again. 
It is a charming spot; the scenery is fine, and 
everyone vies with his neighbors in making the 
stranger at home. We left at midnight, “after 
changing out of dress clothes—it was the only 
chance we had of getting away. One night there 
the yacht dragged her anchor, and she was drift- 
ing gaily toward rocks, when the coast guards 
saw her light moving and put out to warn the 
sleeping crew. This is not a likely thing to hap- 
pen, the night in question being squally and the 
weather particularly dirty. We found it difficult 
enough to get out of Castle Townshend in the 
dark, and even then the ugly looking Stag Rocks 
troubled us somewhat. V. and I took the first 
watch, and toward the end of it we were becalmed 
off the Gascanane Sound. The flapping of sails 
and the ominous wash on the neighboring cliffs 
are unpleasant sounds at_night, especially if you 
are in an Atlantic swell. However, with the dawn 
came a breeze, but we had to tack once to make 
Dursey Head, which we did about 3 P. M., and 
then began our run up the lovely Kenmare River. 
Why it is called Kenmare River I can never 
make out, for there is no river of that name. Our 
objective was Sneem Harbor, and it looked as if 
we would do it easily in daylight; but after pass- 
ing the Stickeen Rock the wind failed us. Still, 
it was truly a magnificent evening for watching 
the wonderful lights and shadows on the ever- 
changing mass of mountains that seem to com- 
pose Kerry. Far away to the north were the ma- 
jestic purple Reeks, while all the lesser moun- 
tains shone reddish brown in the rich sunset. 
Slowly we cut our way through the slightly rip- 
pled water, reaching Sharky Island just as it grew 
dark. Knowing something of the harbor, I vol- 
unteered to pilot the yacht into it, but was sorry 
I did, as I found how difficult it is to pick up the 
landmarks at night. Fortunately, I brought her 
to a safe anchorage, if not quite the one we 
wanted. 
When the morning came we got up sufficient 
sail to take us to a disused mooring buoy that 
belonged to the steamer which used to visit Sneem 
every week, but now omits to do so to the chagrin 
of the local people. An amusing incident oc- 
curred when the skipper got on the large buoy to 
make fast; the buoy began to spin round like a 
top, first one way, then the other, and the poor 
old skipper had to dance round with it or be 
pitched into the sea. We laughed till the tears 
ran down our faces when the skipper said rue- 
seblhy thought my dancing days were over, bad 
luck to it.” 
That done, we had time to survey one of na- 
ture’s pet places, and were lost in admiration of 
Gavinish Island and Reena-Furraha’s charming 
creeks. Close to us lay the moorings of the ketch 
Kariad, then racing at Cowes. Lord Dunraven 
usually brings her to Gavinish every year. We 
rowed over to the large hotel at Parknasilla for 
letters and a newspaper. For the next two days 
we experienced a Kerry downpour, but passed the 
time pleasantly in paying visits, which led to many 
invitations to dinners and hospitalities ashore, for 
which the coast is so justly noted. 
One day we sailed a large party up to Dinish 
Island and enjoyed a couple of pleasant hours 
with the genial owner. It is not wise to go nearer 
to Kenmare than Dinish, for the mud banks are 
hazardous, and there is no anchorage near the 
town. Another day we took two venturesome 
ladies for a sail round the Bull Rock, One lady 
painted a picture of the rock as we rounded it, in 
spite of the rough sea. 
Our last few days in Sneem were spent in 
Derryquin, the owner very kindly lending us the 
moorings of his laid-up schooner. Fishing was 
not a success, as there were no fish in the bay, 
though we caught five blue sharks in about as 
many minutes one day. Wewere very sorry to leave 
such a perfect neighborhood for yachting. We 
found that the charts were everywhere of great 
assistance to a boat of our draft. 
Our next objective was Baritry, but on leaving 
Sneem we got becalmed off Dursey Head. Dur- 
sey Sound is a useful short cut, but must not be 
attempted by a boat of any size without an abso- 
lutely fair wind. The tide, running three knots, 
carried us up to Black Ball Head, and then we 
began to drift back. We passed the night hove 
to, keeping the Bull Light open to our view. To- 
ward dawn the wind got up, and with it came an 
unpleasant wetting mist; but we ran into the 
western entrance of Bere Haven all right. The 
day spoilt the picturesqueness of Dunboy House 
and woods, 
We went into the intricate little harbor of Cas- 
tletown, where we had to stay two days, owing 
to a gale. Castletown has a hotel and good shops’ 
but it is not a very cheery place. On the second 
day of our stay there I tried my hand at signall- 
ing, running up, “What do you think of the 
weather ?” Very quickly the coast guards replied, 
“Don’t like the look of it.” We left Castletown 
for Glengarife, with two reefs taken in and a 
snorting northwesterly wind to shove us along. 
We fairly foamed past Roancarrig Rocks and 
lighthouse and the wild northern shore of Bantry 
Bay. It was a glorious sail, and we were sorry 
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Naval Archictects and Brokers. 

ARTHUR BINNEY, 
(Formerly Stewart & BINNEY.) 
Naval Architect and Yacht Broker, 
Mason Bullding, Kilby Street, BOSTON, MASS. 
Cable Address, ‘‘ Designer,’? Boston. 
BURGESS @ PACKARD, 
Naval Architects and Engineers. Yacht Bullders, 
131 State St. BOSTON, MASS. Tel. 4870 Main. 
Marblehead Office and Works: Nashua St., Marblehead, Mass. 
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Storage Sheds. 10-Ton Steam Shearlegs. 21 feet of water 
off our railway. Large Storage Capacity. Ship Chandlery 
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handled. 
HOLLIS BURGESS, 
ot Broker. General Marine Agent. Insurance of all 
inds 
Main Office, 10 Tremont St. Tel.1905-1 Main. 
Branch Office, 131 State St. Tel. 4870 Main. 


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