Day 5

An epic day. After another good night in Mary Ann's we were in bed for 10p.m. with a view to leaving Castletownsend on the falling tide. We got up at 5 a.m., got ready and were in the water at 6.50a.m. The wind was calm and we made great progress with the tide. We rounded Toe Head, made for Kedge Island and then for the southern most tip of Cape Clear. On the clear day we could see Fastnet Rock in the distance to our left. The southern tip of Cape Clear is one of the most southern points in Ireland and the falling tide genereated swells of 4 meters (George and Tom you would have loved it!). From there we made a bee line for Mizen Head before the tide turned . We made Mizen Head at 1.35 p.m. - 35 miles paddled since this morning. We then turned north on a heading for Castletownbere, the wind was West South West and the tide turned against us. The 13 miles from Mizen Head to Castletownbere were a hard slog but we eventually pulled in at 6.30 p.m, 11 hours 40 minutes in the water (no lunch stop) 50 miles covered.
We have camped up for the night but unfortunately the weather looks to be against us tomorrow and we might be grounded again. Thank you for all your comments and words of support, we are taking great encouragement from them.
p.s.
Derek is now on Chris deBurgh
Tony is nearly bronzed all over and I am no longer allowed to eat seafood or drink Guinness - the tent has become uninhabitable.

Day 4

Due to unfavourable weather conditions today, with strong winds gusting between Force 4-6, we were grounded in Castletownsend. We used our time on land drying out all the wet gear from yesterday, preparing the schedule for tomorrow and exploring Castletownsend. It is a really lovely spot and we have been made feel very welcome by the locals. A special mention and thank you to Fergus O Mahony, owner of Mary Ann's pub where we ate heartily (and had a few scoops) last night - well worth a visit if you are in the area. Also we received very useful information on the local sea conditions from Robert Townsend, whose family have been in the locality since the 1600's. We plan on an early start in the morning subject to the wind dropping and favourable tide conditions. Unfortunately Derek is still singing today, nothing will stop him. Tony on the other hand is concentrating hard on geting his tan just right!

Day 3

9.10 a.m. start this morning. Another beautiful sunny day with very little wind in the early part of the journey. We had lunch at Galley Head then similar to the past few days, the wind was against us in the afternoon, coming in at our left hand side making the paddling tough. We have come in to land at Castletownsend this evening. Forecast is not great for tonight and the next few days. We covered 30 miles today in 7hrs and 40mins. Apart from the blisters the only other downside to the day was Derek's new habit - he has taken to singing while paddling and if that wasn't bad enough, it appears he only knows all the words to Garth Brooks songs. Oh the pain!!

Day 2

We set out this morning at 10 a.m. from Garryvoe. It was a beautiful day and with the wind at our backs and the sun shining we made good headway to a cove near Inch strand where we took a break for lunch. We were joined on the morning leg by James Twomey. From Powers Head to the Old Head of Kinsale the wind was in our faces and this slowed us down considerably. After nine and a half hours and 35 miles on the water we rounded the Head of Kinsale and came in to land at Garrylucas, Garretstown. Overall a good day and all in good form but weary!

Day 1

We left this morning from the Lookout in Dungarvan at 9.05 a.m. Many thanks to everyone including friends and family who braved the cold morning to see us off in style. Despite windy conditions we made good progress with a north westerly wind at our backs . We made it as far as Whiting Bay, Ardmore by lunchtime and were delighted to see Siobhan with our lunch! Conditions were rough at the beginning but we made good progress in the middle of the day. When conditions changed again this evening we called it a day in Garryvoe, Co. Cork, 33.5miles on and over 7.5hrs of paddlling. We have pitched the tent and dinner was had in the local hotel. Before we settle in for the night we will make plans for the morning and hope to be on the water by 8 a.m. tomorrow.

Off Tomorrow

9 o clock will see us leaving from the lookout in Dungarvan. Weather forcast is not good but we are determined to launch and go as far as weather permits. It's the last night at home and we are all indoors spending the last few hours with our families. All of the gear is packed and the checklist has been ticked off so its all systems go! If you are in or around Dungarvan in the morning please call down and send us off with a bang!

The fundraising effort is going extremely well - a huge thank you to all those that have given so generously over the last few weeks - we are going to try and continue this great effort while we are paddling around this great country. If you cannot get to us directly you can donate to the very worthwhile 'Make a Wish' cause at Permanent TSB Bank Account Number: 10915037 Sort Code: 990634.

Final preparations

Due to unforeseen circumstances for the last week we have had little time for kayaking so yesterday saw what was probably our last spin before launching next Sunday. We completed a leisurely spin for a couple of hours, weather was good and we managed to get the final few tweaks sorted with the boats. Derek was working hard on perfecting his 'bombproof' roll - I don't think he realised just how cold the water was! We were also joined by Tomas Walsh for the spin, Tomas is going to join us for a few legs of the journey in week two or three so we are looking forward to having him along.

This week we are completing the final preparations - making sure all of the gear is sorted, the drybags are packed and any last minute jobs get done. Weather is good at the moment and the long range forecast doesn't look too bad out to the end of the week - lets hope things stay that way for a while.

Many thanks to my sister Linda for putting together the map of our route on Google Maps follow this link Kayaking Ireland RouteMap 2007 for full details on the planned route.

I will do a final post before Sunday and from there on it will be my son Aaron who will be keeping you updated as I will be phoning him daily with our progress.

One week to go !

One week to go - planning is in overdrive and we are busy getting the last few bits and pieces together. We have developed an 'ideal route' that we will endeavour to follow - this will allow us to track our progress against a baseline and keep us on track to finish on time ! The route is as follows:


The Lookout, Dungarvan, Co. Waterford
Ballycotton, Co. Cork.
Courtmacsherry/Clonakilty, Co. Cork
Cape Clear, Co. Cork
Dursey Island, Co. Cork
Doulus Head ( Cahersiveen) Co. Kerry
Brandon Point, Brandon, Co. Kerry
Killkee, Co. Clare (via Loophead)
Doolin, Co. Clare or Inishmore, Aran Islands
Aughrus Point, Clifden, Co.Galway
Achill Island, Co. Mayo (via Clare Island)
Benwee Head, Co. Mayo
Aughris Head, Co. Sligo
Rossan Point, Co. Donegal
Dunglow, Co. Donegal
Melmore Head, Co. Donegal
Glengad Head, Co. Donegal
Ballycastle, Co. Antrim
Larne, Co. Antrim
Portavogie, Co. Down
Kilkeel, Co. Down
Skerries, Co. Meath
Greystones, Co. Wicklow
Courtown, Co. Wexford
Carnsore Point, co. Wexford
Tramore, Co. Waterford

Some of the days involve paddles in excess of 35 miles so conditions will need to be in our favour if we are to succeed. The overall plan is to stick as closely as possible to this route and makeup any time where we can. I will post again this week on the final preparations and also reivew the kit we intend to use for the few weeks we are at sea.

The story so far...

We are three paddlers from Abbeyside, Dungarvan in the south east of Ireland who will attempt to circumnavigate Ireland by kayak in the Summer of 2007. Tony O'Mahoney, Derek Lyons and I (Brian Fahy) are planning to complete this 1100 mile journey in 35 days - starting on the 27th of May and returning home on or before 1st July. This expedition has been in the planning phase for the last two years when Tony initially came up with the idea. Impending middle age and the realisation that our bones were starting to creak a little more every year prompted us to go for this challenge with the help and support of our families and friends.

Tony, Derek and I have been friends for over 30 years and we began kayaking over 20 years ago when we setup the first sea scouts movement in Abbeyside. Two years ago Tony dreamt up the idea of kayaking around Ireland as the ultimate challenge for three guys that were hitting the big 40! As well as this being a personal challenge for us, we have teamed up with the Make a Wish Foundation of Ireland in an effort to raise some money on their behalf. To see some of the fantastic work this foundation does please click here.

Over the coming days I will post further updates on our planned route, the kit we are bringing and how our final preparations are going, as well as a few photos (if Derek ever remembers to bring the camera with him !).