Travelling East & sad to leave.

"Fifty eight years!" I exclaimed, as his old head nodded in approval of my awe. 

"Aye, fifty eight years at sea and this boat now some nineteen years old and having saved twenty lives." 

Tommy continued with his story of how even he was surprised at how many times he happened to have been in the right place at the right time to pluck a life back from the sea.

There was also a sombre tale. His old fisherman's head swivelled in the obligatory polo necked seamans sweater to give a cursory nod to a plaque on the opposite wall of Fethard quay on this the South East Irish coast. The plaque remembered a 2002 tragedy at sea where three members of a local family had perished. Tommy had also been on the scene then but had the grim task of pulling bodies out of the sea. Anger and resentment were evident in his otherwise experienced seafaring wiseness as he told how the boat involved was known as being rotten as a plum and should have been off the water months before never mind have got a licence to take anglers out to sea.

Tommy went on his way. Tanya and I saw him later further up the estuary by his moored boat as we were on our river mussell collecting walk.  The walk was pleasant and for the first time in two days the thick and clammy wet sea mist had cleared and we could actually see things.

We had left Castle Gregory two days previously. There was a lump in my throat as I waved Keith and Justine goodbye while slowly driving past them waving back from the doorway of their shop. They had been wonderful hosts and had made me feel very much at home and part of their large community/family.

Moving on though is what we do so eastwards we headed into the ever decreasing vision and wet gloom of what I would normally call 'classic Scottish mist'. Guess here it will have to be Irish Mist. The dismal feel and mood of its close clammyness coupled with lack of any distance vision eventually found us quite early on securely set up for the night on a forest track.

There was not much to recommend it as an overnight spot apart from safe to walk Tanya and the barrier preventing entrance into the forest proper had a sturdy metal post which was just what I needed. Earlier in the day I had another scrunch as I reversed Sadie and once again not noticed a low, bright yellow, water main marker. No damage apart from it bending the full width towbar. This is exactly the reason the towbar is still on Sadie. To prevent me damaging her rear end more seriously. Sadie was carefully positioned in front of the sturdy metal post. Rope was tied between sturdy metal post and towbar. A gentle nudge forward from Sadie and hey presto! We now have a 'hardly bent at all' towbar.

Another sightless day of misty wet Irish gloom saw us travel the coastal path and eventually make tiny Fethard Quay our perch for the night. The mist cleared next morning and I was finally able to see what a delightful spot we had found. All the more so when you add in Tommy's seafaring yarns, three fresh herrings thrown up to me from the boat they had been caught in not an hour before, and of course the delicious river Mussells which were later enjoyed for lunch.

Next stop was Wexford and then a touch north to Merton, home to my niece's current boyfriend. Gerald welcomed me to his tidy, clean and efficiently run dairy farm on the grass rich land running down to the river Slaney. I have to admit here to very comfortably slipping back into my, prior to counselling, work role of agricultural rep as I listened to the difficulties Gerald outlined as to farming in Ireland during this time of financial crisis and extremely limited cash flow. My spot for the night was in front of their beautiful and purpose built home overlooking the gently sloping river valley. My three fresh herrings successfully gutted and filleted by yours truly went down a treat for dinner.

Now moving on again. This time with Sadie snug down below on deck three with (fingers crossed) a sleeping Tanya inside her. The Irish coast is now dropping away to stern while Wales, my gateway back into the UK, slowly fetches our helm. It is late at night so cannot see a thing but memories of my trip around Ireland are good. I have a feeling I will be back next year ..... 'to be sure now!'