Date: 01-07-06     Time: 19:30 UTC      Position: N53-18.13  W006.08.10   Name: Dun Laoighaire, (south west of Dublin)

Juli er her, og sommeren kom samtidig. En nydelig dag med sol, men en del vind fra sør. Vi brukte formiddagen til å ta turen til Malahide Castle. Den første delen av slottet ble bygd i 1160 og har vært i samme familiens eie i 800 år. Kun de siste årene er slottet blitt overtatt av en stiftelse - pga at staten ville ha så mye i arveavgiften at arvingen ikke hadde råd å beholde stedet, og måtte selge. Her var det iallfall mye historie om fred og krig. Flotte hager og omgivelser var det også. Etterpå handlet vi jordbær på det lokale markedet, gjorde noen småjobber med båten, fylte vanntankene og dusjet. Vi gjorde opp havneavgiften og dro ifra Malahide - kan absolutt anbefales et besøk.

 

Vi hadde sett oss ut en havn bare fem sjømil lenger sør - med sørlig frisk bris var hensikten kun å bytte på omgivelsene litt, og kanskje finne et sted å ankre gratis for natta. Men der i Howth var det fullt. Dette er et ord som ikke eksisterer om norske havner - det er alltid plass til flere båter. Spesielt her der fiskehavnen hadde 100m ubrukt kai, men her var det skiltet at fritidsbåter ikke hadde tilgang. Så etter havnemannens anmodning, måtte vi bare forlate havnen, og forsøke oss på neste sted - halvannen timer lenger sør - igjen med vind og stygge bølger rett imot oss. Her fant vi god plass til å droppe ankeret i den ytre delen av havnen, vinden har løyet, og alt er bare velstand igjen.

 

Arriving with the month of July came the summer. A warm sunny day, but a fresh southerly wind. We spent the morning looking round the castle at Malahide which was started in 1160, and had been in the ownership of the same family for 800 years until the last passing of the property after the death of the owner. The government wanted so much inheritance tax that the new owner couldn't afford the bill, so the place was sold to the National Trust to cover the tax bill. Now it is open to the public all year round, and is well worth a visit. Today is the anniversary of the battle of Boyne - there was a huge painting depicting the battle on the wall of the banqueting hall. Nice grounds too. Afterwards we bought strawberries at the local market, did some odd jobs with the boat, filled our water tanks, showered and settled our bill for the harbour fees. Malahide is to be recommended for a visit.

 

As the winds were southerly, we were only intending to go five miles south to Howth - for a change of scenery and perhaps to be able to anchor for free instead of the exorbitant fees that the marinas demand. However Howth was full - the word "full" does noe exist where we come from - there is always room for boats to raft up outside each other or to find some place to anchor, but the harbourmaster could only recomment going somewhere else. In the part of the harbour for fishing boats there was over 100m of vacant quay wall, but pleasure vessels were not welcome here. This is completely different to what we are used to from Norway. So we headed out into the wind and waves again, and came to Dun Laoighaire - a large harbour outside Dublin. It is here the express boats from Hollyhead come. The inner harbour area is all developed with private berths and some visitor berths, but as the wind had now died down we anchored in an unused part of the outer harbour where we will now eat our dinner in the evening sunshine on deck.