Monday, June 11, 2007

Day 16

Up at 6.15 a.m. and on the water for 7.45 a.m. We headed straight across from Achill Island to Portmore on the mainland. The weather was fine and with the breeze at our backs we made speeds of 4-5 m.p.h. along the coast heading for Erris Head. We stopped 3 miles short of Erris Head for lunch, spent 90 minutes having lunch and a bit of rest before heading on for Erris Head. Again conditions were good and we made steady 4-5 m.p.h. progress. We rounded Erris Head in perfect conditions and headed northeast for Benwee Head. We could see from Erris head that Benwee Head was surrounded in mist and as we paddled closer the day got a bit cooler as the sun disappeared behind the mist. We had a fabulous paddle for the last leg of today's journey - the cliffs around Benwee Head are about 600 feet tall and the sea stacks and caves in the area were fantastic. After Benwee Head we paddled on for approximately two more miles and have stopped in a location called Portacloy. It is a pretty desolate area and we are currently making the 3 mile trek to the local shop for supplies. It looks like its going to be a Guinness-free evening! The plan for tomorrow is to head in towards Aughrus head with a view to crossing Donegal Bay on Wednesday. Thanks again to everyone for the comments and good wishes. Also please continue the prayers for the fine weather as we head up north. 36 miles 8 hours 3 minutes on the water.

6 comments:

The Angler said...

Well Lads yer very near the top of the climb then the flat, then down hill all the way yer flying fair play to ye.Tony any fishing yet for lunch the tan looks to be coming along nicely or else your drinking some amount of whiskey.keep up the good work and enjoy.

ADee said...

Enjoying the blog, nice to see the pictures. Hope the weather holds and help ye out. Yer making excellent progress. Sounds like something pretty memorable.

darren said...

well lads,
great to see how far ye have reached. derek looks like your doing a bit of sunbathing. the time on the camera must be wrong because you'd hardly be in the pub at 4pm and its not even st stephens day!!! keep the photos coming and fingers crossed on the weather. take care.
darren claire & katelyn

~~Emily~~ said...

hi lads (",) emily here!!
yer doin well and glad to see the weather is holdin up for ye..yer sum men paddling by day...downing pints at night..don't kno how ye do it!!! fair play to ye (",) lol
willie says: "derek ur drinking more than i am...and charlie is up on every cushion in the house, hurry back fast b4 he heads up stairs, r they will be nothin left wen u come bk home!!!"
keep up the good work, enjoy and dont be drinking to much!!
luv willie breda emily & rian xxx

Martin Flynn said...

Hi Lads
Glad you are all progressing so well. Hope the weather keeps up for ye and no doubt the experience & scenery will be memorable.
Greetings from punjab in north india where temp is 47C and rising
keep paddling and give the drink a miss some night

toin and niamh said...

how come brian has two pints in front of him.must be thirsty work and poor tony has nothing!!! tony we knew you were doing the minding all along.lol