Round Ireland

PART ONE

“You’re going around the UK in that?” This was a fellow boater’s less-than-encouraging reaction when I told him I was taking my 30ft motorboat on a UK circumnavigation. However, in 2016 I completed the voyage unscathed, via the Caledonian Canal, and now I was planning another one.

Samphire is a regularly maintained and constantly upgraded Beneteau Antares Series 9. She’s RCD B-rated for eight passengers and has a 200-mile range, so the fact that the majority of sub-40ft motorcruisers spend most of their time on their berths is certainly not down to any limitation in seaworthiness. I can only suggest that we motorboaters are, in general, less interested in longer distance cruising, and are more ‘potterers’ by inclination. As a potterer myself, I can well see the attraction, but I like to think that I also have a more adventurous side too.

I’d moved Samphire to Fleetwood to concentrate on the tope angling for a couple of years, and found that Morecambe Bay reminded me of holidays in County Kerry. This is when the idea first came about to circumnavigate Ireland. “OK” said my wife Kath, hesitantly, and my crewmate Tony – who had joined me round Britain – agreed with a “What am I letting myself in for!”

Which way round?

I enjoy planning, which is just as well because any circumnavigation of Ireland in a relatively small boat demands it. The first question was… which way round? The Irish Cruising Club (ICC) Sailing Directions and other sources indicated a slight preference for a counter-clockwise direction. However, this seemed to be down to avoiding having to sail close-to-the-wind. After studying swell and wind patterns, I concluded that I’d plan