Ireland 2007

It is good to be home. Having ready access to indoor plumbing, Ben and Jerry’s ice cream and my bed almost makes up for the lack of local access to Guiness on tap. Must say the rain has followed me though. The drought that has affected the UP over the summer seems to have dissipated in the two weeks I’ve been home. More annoyingly, the winds in Ireland are whispers of what they were. Winds below 12-15 mph have been typical recently. Jasper, the last man paddling (click here for his blog), was last heard from leaving Dublin and closing in on Cork where he started. Of course, he is placing full blame onto me for being the cause of the winds and is quite happy I have left.

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A thousand thanks to Dean for the outstanding job on the blog. Many a phone call seemed that I was just rambling into the phone while he typed (being it was around 9-10pm my time, I was often asleep shortly after we talked). He took those ramblings and turned them into something worth reading. I heard about how well he was doing while I was paddling over there and his writing even earned a mention in a UK sea kayaking magazine.

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Dean is the guy sitting in the kayak between Nancy Uschold and I. Many thanks to him for his great job on the writing the blog.

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Been working on some things such as:

More photos are in the June album and photos from July and August have been added. Click here for the photo gallery.

A slide show is being put together. First showing has been scheduled with Down Wind Sports tentatively for friday November 2, 2007. More to follow.

A new harddrive is being installed into my home computer to handle all the photos taken. Figure somewhere around 12 gigabytes total adding up over a couple of thousand photos (I really don’t want to know the actual number).

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One of things about being an engineer type, numbers tend to become playthings. Below are some of the numbers for the trip.

Starting weight: 162 Ending Weight: 157

Total days: 83

Paddling days: 54

Of paddling days, 8 were shorten by weather, 2 of which caused me to turnaround back to the launch site.

Rest days: 8
Weather days: 21

Total (statute) miles: 1050
Daily average: 12.6 miles
Paddling day average: 19.4 miles

Initial plans were for 1200 total miles. The shorter distance takes into account fewer paddling days due to the weather. Also reflects a shortening of the route by doing longer crossings and avoiding crossing out to some islands such as Bull Rock, Tory and Rathlin. These choices were made due to the unstable weather patterns.

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The last two weeks I have managed to transistion back to my ‘normal’ life. Despite the daily distractions of going back to work, it seems I am always thinking of someone I met over there. There seems to be so many stories, I am amazed that it all could have happened in three months.

Commonly asked questions:

Would I do it again? Absolutely. I would go right now if I could be with the same people.

So does Guiness taste the same in Ireland as in the US? Nope, major difference but more research is necessary to pinpoint the differences.

sam

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The final landing, Coliemore Harbor, with Dalkey Island in the background.

Arrived in Marquette last night, it is good to be back home on the shores of Lake Superior. The trip is now a memory but there are three parts of it that will not be forgotten.

First off, people. From friends who traveled there to folks met along the way, people made it as the Irish like to say, grand. The warmth and generosity of the Irish people still amazes me. So many people were willing to pass time talking while others were willing to go out of their way to help. The Irish are rich in this respect.

Secondly, the places. You can read about it and see photos but actually being on the Irish coast makes one realize the word spectacular doesn’t do it justice. From places like the Celtic Christian monastery site on Skellig Michael to the Conne Mara coastline to the slipway at Brandon Creek, these and other places had me in awe. Getting to see it from a canoe, err I mean kayak, is in my opinion the best way to see it.

Finally, the weather. This part I would not willingly do again. There were two periods of relatively stable/calm conditions that totaled about three to four weeks, the rest was often unstable with wind speeds 20-35 mph or higher. At one point in a 3 week period, I counted 5 days that if I hadn’t made the day’s mileage, I would have had to wait an additional 10 days for the conditions to do a crossing, round a headland, etc.

So the question I have been asked multiple times already, ‘where next?’. There will be future trips but right now I am enjoying what this trip has brought me.

But I do have to admit to thinking about a place without wind…

sam

Sam took a rest day on August 15th, sleeping as many hours as he could manage. Then he and Stew wandered off in search of drinking water. They found a hiking trail and followed it. It brought them to the town of Ballyhoran. Naturally, they found a pub, where they enjoyed — you guessed it, it wasn’t water — a pint o’ Guinness. The locals were watching horse races on TV and the table at which our boys sat had guns resting on it. Our Yuper duo decided to seek greener pastures, and found a restaurant called Turrans for dinner. Then they wandered back to the tent, feeling content, packing fresh water from Ballyhoran.

On the 16th they paddled into force 4 to 5 headwinds most of the day. They passed a bay called Dundrum as they slogged into whitecaps. A rain squall came along, bringing winds up to force 7. The raindrops were stinging their faces for 20 minutes or so, whereupon the squall thankfully moved on. The headwinds were lighter then, and our duo picked up speed. The next rain squall was force 5 or 6 and it lasted only 15 minutes. After that, conditions were quite reasonable. Our Yupers landed on a rocky beach near Annalong, where the Mourne Mountains come down to the sea. In the evening it rained at least five times. Temps were cool, too, at less than 50 degrees F.

By the way, the 16th of August marked 30 years since Elvis had died. For some reason, this was a momentous occasion in Ireland. Plus, Sam and Stew swear they saw Elvis in one of the squalls. He was paddling a gold-plated kayak with tail fins and he was wearing a cape. I’ve not read that paddling into headwinds can cause hallucinations, but who knows?

August 17th started out calm. However as the boys paddled along, the headwinds came up again at force 4, enough to cause the boats to plunge and stall as they slogged along. For lunch they pulled into the harbor of Kilkeel, which is a major fishing harbor with the biggest fleet Sam saw on his journey. After lunch, the wind dropped to force 3 as they crossed Carlingford Lough. This crossing took them out of Northern Ireland and back into the Republic of Ireland. They landed near Cooley Point for camping on the beach. In camp conversation, Stew pointed out that Sam had headwinds all the way through Northern Ireland — that’s 8 days and over 150 miles. We have no idea what this means.

As for the Cooley Point beach, Sam said, “It was a very interesting night.” He woke up at 1:00 a.m. and noticed that the wind had picked up and waves were coming up pretty close to the tents on the beach. By 2:00 a.m. high tide was near, and the waves said it was definitely time to move the tents and boats. The wind was at 25 mph, accompanied by rain of course.

The next morning the high water marks showed that our campers would have been awash. Due to a long haul to the water at low tide, the boys waited for high tide and launched around 3:00 p.m. While crossing the bay Sam enjoyed a lack of headwind. Granted, it was a beam wind at force 5, but at least it wasn’t headwind. Once across the bay, they were able to turn and run with the wind, flying along. They landed at Clogher Head in a small harbor. Our guys found a little stone beach and set their tents as high as they could.

On August 19th they launched around noon and played in the wind yet again. It was offshore at force 5 to 7. However, it was a tailwind, and they got blown along, following sandy beaches. Their day ended at a commercial campground in a town called Rush, which is very close to Dublin. Our Yupers enjoyed hot showers, then went to the Harbor Bar (the local pub) for a pint and what Sam described as “a tremendous meal.”

The Irish go-round paddler Jasper Winn had asked a meteorologist, “What’s up with the weather this year.” The answer was that it’s a winter weather pattern in the summer. The temps are warmer, and the winds aren’t quite as intense, but the pattern is the same.

This morning, August 20th, our Yuper duo went back into town for a hot breakfast. Sam says, “For me, that was a real luxury.” Our boys launched at noon, again taking advantage of the tides, and once again they had force 5 tailwinds. They came up to the Head of Howth, which is the north side of Dublin Bay. As they started crossing Dublin Bay, three ferries promptly appeared heading in, with two ferries heading out. Seas had been running at about 2 feet, but once on the bay, 3-footers ruled, with the occasional 4-footer. However, our Yupers were flying before the wind, with favorable currents to boot. They dodged ferries and had a grand old time, cruising along at over 5 mph.

After the crossing, the wind climbed to force 6 or 7. Our boys landed on Dalkey Island. As you may recall, Sam camped here at the beginning of his trip, the better part of three months ago. Our intrepid paddler succeeding in circumnavigating the land of his forbears, spreading good Yuper cheer along the way, enjoying the charm of Irish pubs, and finishing on a glorious note. It wasn’t easy though. Sam says, “It’s a relief to have completed the journey.”

Sam also says, “It seems appropriate that on my last camping night of my trip, my tent is rocking in the wind.” And, Sam said he saw a large seal wailing on the rocks today (the proverbial singer signaling the end of the opera). Last, he added, “I really want to thank Stew for paddling with me here at the end. It was nice to have someone motivating me in the headwinds, not to mention having help carrying my boat up from the water and back.”

Tomorrow our guys will work on getting boats shipped back to Wales on a ferry. Sam’s flight back to Chicago is Saturday. So, this is my last blog entry on behalf of Sam. It’s been a pleasure writing this blog for you. I almost don’t want to quit, because it means the adventure ends. I hope you’ve enjoyed the vicarious adventure as much as I have.

On Saturday, August 11th, Sam paddled alongside a road all day — the same road which had sandwiched him by the sea the previous night. Due to the lack of privacy while paddling next to the road, Sam concluded that he had to pee at sea. He didn’t see any cars on the road, so he quickly popped his skirt and commenced tending to business — an act that required all of his attention. Of course, Sam looked up and a car had suddenly appeared. He hoped that the car’s occupants weren’t paying attention to him, but then he saw a face pressed up against the window, staring at him. He was caught — in a foreign nation with his knickers down. I’m pretty sure this isn’t considered good international relations.

Sam had mostly beam winds all day at force 4 or 5, with the occasional headwind. The winds were off-shore, so the seas were not big. However, the wind was a grinder, slowly wearing Sam down.

Sam had to get past the City of Larne. He had a two-mile crossing to get across the harbor, and he had to dodge high-speed ferries blasting to and fro. Sam was about 10 minutes into the crossing when he spotted a ferry. He stopped. About a minute later, another ferry came. Sam waited a minute for them to pass and then crossed uneventfully.

He paddled on to Port Muck, which is next to the Isle of Muck, which sports a castle — no doubt the Castle of Muck. Sam says, “I assume there was once a King of Muck — every boy’s dream.”

On Sunday, Sam met up with Stewart Joseph, fellow Yuper, in the Belfast area. The rendezvous with Stew was to be at Copeland Island, across Belfast Lough (prounounced “lock”). While paddling across the Lough, Sam had beam winds at force 4. Belfast is also served by high-speed ferries. About two thirds of the way across, Sam glanced over his shoulder to see a ferry bearing down on him. According to Stew, the ferries fly at 30 knots even in the Lough. Sam assumes they saw him, because they veered off course a bit to give him a half-mile berth.

Copeland Island is southeast of Belfast Lough. Sam arrived safely, and within a half-hour Stew came paddling in, with a beautiful boat, custom made by Nigel Dennis. It’s an orange over white Explorer with a red seam. Sam says, “It’s really good to see Stew.”

The next day they paddled to Kearney, landed, and started to set up their tents when a young lady came along with her dogs. She was on holiday with her family at a nearby house. After a short conversation, she left.

Ten minutes later she came back and asked our boys to dinner and offered to let them camp near the house, which was a better site. It was an offer that Sam and Stew couldn’t refuse. The house belonged to Neil and Jane McClure, and the young woman was their daughter Alice. Sam and Stew got showers, washed clothes, sipped tea, ate cookies, and enjoyed a lamb dinner. Other relatives of the McClures were there, too.

As the conversation went on, an interesting connection was uncovered. That is, Ian and Sue Harvey and Rob Henshaw (whom Sam was with in Rossbeg) are related to the McClures. One of the McClures had said that a relative of theirs had gone around Ireland once — Rob Henshaw. Sam said, “Hey, I know that guy!” It’s a small Ireland. Plus, Sam redeemed the reputation of Yupers after that urinary indiscretion while solo. It’s also important to note that Stew is upholding the reputation of Yupers well — he gets good marks in international relations.

An interesting tidbit is that the McClure’s holiday home is an old castle that was later turned into lightkeeper’s quarters for a lighthouse a mile or two offshore. Sam says, “We really appreciated the hospitality there.”

This morning our boys launched early and had to cross Strangford Lough. They crossed at the flood, with water going into the lough at 3.5 knots. They boys had to ferry across the tidal current. Now they’re camped north of a town called Ardglass, on a nice sandy beach in a valley next to the water. Stew will stay with Sam until the trip is complete. Prior to the rendezvous with Sam, Stewart had been having fun paddling famous tidal races, such as at Anglessey and the Isle of Man.

As for tomorrow, Sam says, “I’m a bit worried about the weather.” A major, widespread storm is coming, but the winds should be off-shore. Sam and Stew plan to paddle tomorrow, with one hundred miles to go.

On August 8th, Sam launched at 0730 and caught a good window to get around Malin Head. The big swell from the previous days had subsided, and conditions were comparatively calm. Sam stayed in close and cruised around the head, enjoying random currents popping up either for him or against him.

He had an easy time of it, slipping into Northern Ireland. (Technically, Northern Ireland is an independent country from Ireland.) After 26 miles for the day, Sam plowed through some surf and landed on Magilligan Beach. It’s a big, long beach. Many fisherman were surf casting from shore. The sand was firm enough that Sam was able to use his kayak wheels to haul his boat inland.

August 9th was both tough and fun. The tough part was the quartering headwind from the southeast, up to force 5.

Here’s the fun part. Sam met a guy on the shore who asked, “Are you going around?” Sam answered in the affirmative. The guy said he wanted to talk with Sam, and they agreed to meet at Portrush.

Turns out the guy was Robin Ruddock, who is a friend of Des from Deep Blue Seakayaking, the guy who had installed Sam’s foot pump.

Robin said, “You need food,” and bought Sam lunch at a fine local restaurant. Robin had lived in this area for 30 years, and he’s been doing outdoor programs for those 30 years, including sea kayaking. He gave Sam a lot of expert advice for navigating the area. Robin had just returned from three weeks of sailing in Scotland, so his meeting Sam was quite fortuitous.

Robin confirmed that the big swell west of Malin Head was atypical for this time of year. In light of the crappy weather this summer, Robin sent Sam on his way rather than offering a place to stay for the night — gotta paddle while the sun shines.

Leaving Portrush, Sam paddled past the Giant’s Causeway, which is a unique rock formation that runs along the shoreline for several miles, during which time the headwinds dropped off.

However, crossing to the next headland, the winds revived and now they were direct headwinds. Fortunately, Sam had current going his way to counteract the wind a bit.

Sam made it to an island called Carrickarede. What’s unique about it is that it’s very close to the mainland, and both the island and the mainland have cliffs, and there is a rope bridge between the two. Tidal currents rip through the channel. The bridge is about 70 feet high, and the people walking across it moved gingerly. Originally, this was a salmon fishermans’ bridge.

After Carrickarede, the headwind picked up to force 6 or 7. Sam struggled on for a couple miles to Ballycastle, where the winds dropped to force 5. Sam continued on to a campsite billed as the most secluded in Northern Ireland, next to Fair Head.

Today Sam went around Fair Head and continued on past Torr Head, where Sam says, “That put me back onto the east coast for the first time since June.” Conditions were flat with light winds for most of the day.

Sam is currently camped just north of Carnlough. He says, “It’s one of the more interesting campsites.” He’s on a rocky beach about 20 feet from the road and 20 feet from the water. The campsite is on a river, so there’s a viaduct under the road. It’s private, but noisy from the car traffic.

Depending on weather, Sam says, “I hope to make the Belfast area either tomorrow or the next day.” Sam hopes to meet Stewart Joseph, a fellow Yuper paddler, near Belfast, depending when Stew catches a ferry ride.

Sam is at 900 miles total for the trip. He has about one week of paddling to complete his mission. Given reasonable weather, all looks well. Sam is an excellent planner.

Saturday, August 4th was another wind day — force 6 with swell over 12 feet. Sam stayed put. On Sunday, August 5th, the “heavy swell warning” was lifted, though the swell was still 10 to 12 feet. The wind was only force 3 though, so Sam went for it. He had to work hard to get out of the bay, but once on the open sea, all was well, and he had an early start. 22 miles later and not much past noon, he made it to just south of Malin Head. Due to the timing, however, he was not able to round the head. He pulled into Port Ronan instead. At the slip he found a group of scuba divers. Turns out they were the Dalkey Divers from Dublin, and they often dive off Dalkey Island (Sam’s first campsite). The divers were checking out the Malin Head area. Sam says, “There are quite a few WW II shiprwrecks around here, including German U-boats, so there are lots of good places to dive.” The divers invited sam to lunch and later dinner at a pub.

On Monday, August 6th, Sam packed up for an attempt to get around Malin Head. The wind forecast was okay for the morning, but force 8 was in the forecast for the afternoon. Sam paddled out to the head to scout conditions, but it looked pretty bad — inconsistent breaking waves. Then three waves broke around him. Sam decided it was a sign to bail out. He paddled a half hour back to the slip.

It was raining, so instead of setting up camp he went to the divers’ hostel, the Sandrock, and got a bed there. He watched wind and rain for the rest of the afternoon. Sam took his 7th shower of the trip. He said, “That was a very nice shower.” In the evening, several folks headed to the nearby pub for a pint.

Sam was still at the hostel on Tuesday, August 7th with winds at force 6 and 7 from the northwest, though it was a beautiful, clear day. The forecast for today was force 3 from the southwest, so Sam hopes to successfully negotiate Malin Head. He was shooting for an early morning window. Sam had made progress only one of the last five days, but he’s well-rested and well-fed now, with a bright future.

On August 1st, Sam said goodbye to Ian and Sue. They had sent Sam off with lots of heavy food. Mind you, they had been feeding him heavily all along — burgers and sausages and such. A recharged Sam paddled off with winds at force 4 and enjoyed a good day, ending at an island called Inishmeane. The island sports a group of houses next to the beach on which Sam camped. From this vantage point, Sam could see Bloody Foreland in the distance, which is the northwest corner of Ireland. Sam said, “Tides run pretty strong here.”

Sam got up at 5:00 a.m. so he could catch the tide going his way. He noticed the swell had increased overnight, though not the winds. As is so often the case when rounding a point, the seas changed when Sam rounded Bloody Foreland. The swell was 8 to 10 feet. Sam says, “It’s the biggest I’ve seen so far on this trip — about a 12-14 second frequency — not very steep, but when they get near shore, they rise up high and dump when they break. You do not want to be in there. Another problem is that the reflected waves go a couple of miles offshore.”

Once he rounded the point, Sam was tickled to see his compass pointing east — another milestone accomplishment. Sam landed at aboout 9:30 a.m. on an Island called Inishbofin (this is the second Inishbofin — the first was with Nancy and Jukka). People are on this island, too, and also ferry service for the many summer residents and vacationers.

Three folks came up at the slip to chat with Sam. They were from one family, grandfather, father (about Sam’s age), and son. Sam was going to push on, but the men told him the tide and currents will change around 3:00 p.m. to become favorable. Meanwhile, the middle-aged Martin asked, “Would you like a cup of tea?” Sam has learned to never refuse a cup o’ tea. As the conversation went one, Sam learned that grandfather John had grown up on the island, and he fished from a currach back in the day of all manual power to pull nets and such — no electric motors. He gave Sam expert advice on currents in this part of Ireland and what route to take.

Martin’s girlfriend, Suzy, joined the group for tea. Sam reports that Martin’s house was perched where the view of Ireland was fantastic, including the second tallest mountain in Ireland. The home used to be a hostel, and it’s being converted to a rental place for people on holiday. Sam learned a lot about this Inishbofin. Pretty much everone on the island walks for health and recreation. Walkers were everywhere. And, the people who had grown up on the island spoke Gaelic. Also, none of the people Sam talked to could swim. It’s odd, but many fishermen do not know how to swim.

Martin was fun. He looked at Sam with a twinkle in his eye and said, “You used to weigh twenty-five stone,” and then he started pumping food into Sam. Suzy was a good cook, and Sam ate heavily. Irishmen everywhere are probably thinking, “Boy, these Yupers eat a lot.” After feeding him, Martin offered Sam a bed for a nice nap, which Sam accepted for a couple hours. Upon waking, Suzy offered more tea, which meant baked beans and buttered bread, too.

There were a couple vehicles on the island. Sam asked if the ferry brought them out. They said no. There are three or four drastically low tides per year, and during this time you can drive a vehicle about a mile along a sandbar to the mainland. During a low tide last year, a troupe of musicians drove out in 4WD’s and serenaded the islanders with music.

Sam also learned that socially, Ireland is changing rather dramatically in the rural areas. Salmon fishing is no longer allowed due to depletion of stock. Crabbing is dwindling, too. Also, in this area, potatoes are no longer grown locally. Meanwhile, housing prices are going up, and the number of holiday homes is increasing, such that the locals can’t afford them. Sam had noticed that many homes in rural Ireland did not have lights on in them at night. They’re holiday homes.

Grandfather John offered Sam some crab toes before he left. There’s no market for the crab legs in Ireland, just the bodies. So, the fisherman eat the legs, which they call “crab toes.” Sam stuffed them into his food bag. Extremely well-fed and happy, Sam set off paddling with tailwinds and favorable current.

He came upon Horn Head, which is about 6oo feet tall, and it sticks out from the mainland about 3 miles. There are many heads to get around in this area. The 8 to 10 foot swell was still running, but it wasn’t a big deal until Nelmore Head, which has some shoals on which the swells were breaking. Sam had an adrenaline run navigating to Mulroy Bay. He paddled a mile and a half into the bay so that he’d be protected from the morrow’s gale. He got in about 8:30 p.m., enjoyed some crab toes, and then slept.

Today the wind is at 40 mph with gusts to 50. Sam spent the day sleeping and eating. He knows he’s lost weight by the way his clothing fits. He was hoping for only a 1-day gale, but it appears now that the winds will continue through Sunday.

Sam’s got a couple more headlands in front of him, including Malin Head, which is the largest. Malin Head has vicious currents, with only a 2-hour tidal window of reasonable conditions for getting around it.

Sam was going to meet Stewart Joseph, a Yuper paddling friend, at Malin Head, but now they’ve changed the plan and will meet in Belfast. Stew has been in the British Isles for a while now, and had paddled some tidal races with Nancy and Jukka near Anglesey. Now Stew is on the Isle of Man, paddling more tidal races with an outfitter.

As I took the data for this blog entry, Sam was unusually talkative. Perhaps it’s food. Put in a pile of food and the words come flying out of Sam. Or, maybe it’s because Inishbofin felt like the UP to Sam again. At any rate, Sam feels he’ll comfortably make it to Dublin. In closing, he said, “It’s great to be on the north coast heading east.”

On July 30, Sam found good conditions for the Slieve League — swell at 3-4 feet with force 4 headwinds, but the cliffs mitigated the winds, and then they dropped to force 2. Sam says, “You know, the paddling was just spectacular yesterday. It’s like your neck hurts from looking up.”

Everything towers overhead. The Slieve Leagues are about 2,000 feet of vertical precipices.

Sam rounded a head on the north side of the Slieve Leagues, and found scenery just as spectacular. The cliffs were much lower at 200-300 feet, but just as vertical. Plus, there were more sea stacks.

Then he turned and headed to Rossbeg, and offshore from there he met Ian Harvey and his wife Sue. They had been looking for Sam. Here’s the story.

Ian had rowed across Lake Superior as a fundraiser two years ago. During that outing, he met Nancy Cihak, who is from Au Train in the UP. Nancy connected Sam with Ian. Ian in turn had connected Sam with Rob Henshall, who was the first person to paddle anticlockwise around Ireland, solo in a kayak, back in 1978 or 1979. Rob was instrumental in helping Sam with planning. And Ian’s family has a summer home in Rossbeg. Both Rob and Ian had invited Sam to stop in at Rossbeg.

So, last night Sam had the luxury of a shower in Rossbeg, and he says, “Sue fixed up a great dinner, and we finished the night off at a local pub over a pint of Guinness.”

Sam got a late start this morning due to the late night last night. Sea conditions had built, and a small craft warning was in effect.

Ian suggested Sam visit a local ring fort called Doon Fort. It dates back to 3,000 BC. The guys checked it out in the afternoon. It’s one of four complete ring forts in Ireland, and it’s perched on an island in an inland lake. Sam and Ian used a wooden rowboat to get to Doon Fort. Sam reports, “The walls were about 12 feet high and 10 feet thick, and there are passages inside the walls, which you can crawl through.” Those ancient Irishmen knew how to make forts.

Ian gave Sam a tour of the Rossbeg area. Sam says, “Several ships of the Spanish Armada had wrecked around here.” Ian knew the stories and locations of the Spanish figurative footprints on the area.

Sam enjoyed his wind day very much, and the forecast looks okay for more paddling tomorrow.

Sam was fortunate in that the force 6 or 7 westerly winds for July 26th didn’t materialize as forecasted. Instead, winds were force 5 from the southwest. Sam decided to paddle.

It was wavy and windy until he got around Benwee Point, after which everything was protected and calm for a while. He enjoyed caves and sea stacks and spectacular scenery in general. The unlandable Stag Islands were looking good offshore.

Conditions started building again around the next point. Sam saw another sunfish. Even in the rough water, it was at the surface, flopping back and forth. Then Sam entered a very tall protected slot canyon, from where he watched a small rain squall proceed across the bay, though the sky was still blue overhead. Following the squall, gusty winds came in and the sun slipped behind some clouds. Sam landed for lunch on a cobble beach, next to a friendly waterfalls spilling off the land.

Sam noted that he’s seeing fewer and fewer house ruins, and the people seem to be getting friendlier and friendlier as he goes, which is kind of amazing because they’ve been friendly all along. Sam says, “Now they’re UP-friendly.”

Back on the water, the winds calmed again. Sam paddled to a town called Ballycastle, found a boat landing, and set up camp for the night.

The next day he paddled to a nearby head call Downpatrick. Sam noted that the cliffs are lower — about 100 feet — but caves are still all over the place. A large seastack about 150 feet tall sits just off Downpatrick Head. Sam marvelled at the horizontal layers of shale, staggered at at the edge, zigzagging all the way up.

Killala Bay was next, and it was a 2-hour crossing. As he crossed, the winds came up — force 4 to 5 from the west. Sam saw a lot of surf on the east side of the bay. He stayed about mile offshore to stay out of the surf. For the rest of the day, the coast was one big surf line, and the land became low, maybe 20 feet high.

Sam hoped to stop at Easky for lunch. An old castle sits right on the shoreline next to the pier. When Sam paddled behind the pier, he found that the boat ramp was getting hit by 2 to 3-footers. However, behind the pier were some steps next to calm water. So, sam slipped out of his boat and onto the steps, tied off his boat with his towline, and had lunch.

Back on the water, Sam found that the seas had built again. Everywhere he looked, the horizon was nothing but waves. He was in 4 to 6-footers with light white caps. A tailwind was pushing him smartly along. Then he rounded Aughris Head in Sligo Bay. The head made protected water, and a boat ramp was handy, so Sam landed. People were all around. Turns out it was a water safety course, and the people were happy to hear Sam’s story. He logged a 31-mile day in all.

The next day, the forecast was good for a crossing from Sligo Bay to Donegal Bay. Halfway across (13 miles) is an island called Inishmurray, which sports a Celtic Christian monastery dating back to 550 AD. It’s built inside of a bronze age ring fort. The water safety leader from the day before had told Sam that to land there he’d have to dump out of his boat and swim to shore.

However, he found a little slot on the edge of the island with calm water in it. He was able to get out of his boat and enjoy lunch. Sam continued the crossing to Teelin. There’s a Teelin Point, a Teelin Bay, and a town of Teelin. After a 26-mile day, Sam used another boat landing and set up camp.

He’s still camped there for today, July 29th, which is another wind day. The forecast called for force 6 headwinds, and they came right on schedule. It’s also colder. Sam has had to zip up his sleeping bag the past two nights. The locals say it’s unusually cold. Rain is still falling on a regular basis. Sam says, “It’s rained 8 times already today, and I swear, sometimes the sky overhead is blue, but it’s still raining.”

Sam plans to paddle the Slieve League Cliffs tomorrow if all goes well. “Slieve” is Gaelic for “mountain.” The Slieve Leagues are purported to be the highest sea cliffs in Europe — this according to a local boat tour organizer.

Over the last three days, Sam covered 83 miles. He’s at 720 miles for the trip at this point, with about 400 to go. He was glad to rest up a bit today — went into town for a few supplies, picked up dinner for the evening, and went into a pub for a pint. Again, it feels like the UP in terms of the people. Sam says, “Everybody is happy to talk, they love their land, and they’re very friendly.”

Sam is feeling very much at home. He went all the way to Ireland to find the UP.

On July 22, Sam, Nancy, and Jukka enjoyed spectacular scenery and light headwinds. In their view were islands 1500 feet tall, and the mainland with mountains over 2000 feet. As they paddled they came upon a rarity. It looked like a dolphin’s flipper or something waving around in the air. Upon closer inspection, they found that it was a sunfish, which has the strange habit of waving part of its oddly shaped body in the air. Our paddlers actually saw a sunfish two days in a row, which is extremely rare. The fish probably drifted over from the Bahamas.

Our trio made a stop on Caher Island, about ten miles off the mainland. It’s the purported resting place of Saint Patrick, and there is a monastery site there. The church walls are still standing, and Prayer Rocks are out in the field.

From Caher they paddled to Clare Island, making a stop at a harbor. The locals were holding a Galway Hooker race. Sails were all over the place. Just to make things really interesting, at another place in the harbor, they were holding a currach race (essentially skin-on-frame row boats). Then our paddlers pressed on to Achillbeg and set camp after a 24-mile day. Jukka pulled out here to camp with his family on a nearby island.

A fellow with children came up to talk with Sam and Nancy on the beach at Achillbeg. He appeared to be in his late 40’s. It turns out he was the first Irishman to sail around the world solo. You just never know whom you’ll meet.

The next two days, the winds and the currents were present. On the 23rd, Sam and Nancy traveled in the Channel between Achill Island and the Mainland. They had favorable current up to the north side of the island, but a force 5 headwind cancelled out the benefit and then some.

They saw a school group in canoes who were using their tents as sails, and just flying toward them. Sam and Nancy made only 12 miles that day, due to the strong headwind. They camped on the northeast side of Achill Island.

They were camping in an area of peat bogs. The Irish have used peat for fuel for centuries, and they’re still harvesting it in this area today.

On the 24th, the wind had shifted and our paddlers had force 4 tailwinds as they paddled between Belmullet Island and the mainland (Blacksod Bay area). They also had a current in their favor, so it was very light paddling. Sam says, “It was probably the easiest 24 miles of the trip.” They went to Broadhaven, and pulled out at a boat launch at Binroe Point.

Jukka met them here and picked up Nancy, so Sam is solo again. Jukka and Nancy will return to Wales and paddle a bit before heading for home — Jukka to Finland, and Nancy back to the UP.

An ill wind blew as Jukka and Nancy left, picking up to force 7 in the evening. This morning, the forecast was force 5 to 7, and Sam took a rest day. There’s a small fishing fleet at Binroe Point, and they stayed in today, too. The fishermen are saying to Sam, “You won’t be moving for a couple of days.” Tomorrow’s forecast is for WSW winds at force 5 to 6, which will push up big waves coming off the North Atlantic.

Sam reports that he has over 600 miles for the trip now. He’ll be Solo Sam until August 5th or 6th when he meets another Yuper paddler, Stewart Joseph, at Malin Head.

Before that, Sam faces the most technical part of his journey, with large cliffs and strong tidal currents in a remote area exposed to the North Atlantic winds. Sam says, “I feel that I’m in a good place for that. It was rejuvenating to paddle with Nancy and Jukka.”

Last, Sam relates that when Kevin Lehner and his wife Leann were in Ireland, they took pity on Sam and washed his shoes — not only in soap but also in disinfectant. Kevin predicted that Sam’s shoes would not stink again until the Aran Islands. He’s now past that point, and his shoes still do not stink. Sam says, “Thank you, and what you did really works.”

The name “Sam” is prone to pick up adjective nicknames. Stinky Sam? Not good. Kevin and Leann saved him on that one.

Solo Sam? Not so bad.

Tune in on the weekend for the next exciting episode in “The Saga of Solo Sam.”