Frank Pastor

Overcast, wind N, 12knts. Low tide with 1m waves at 3s so unsettled chop. We set the small jib and reefed mainsail which turned out to be a good choice. We beat northward for an hour through 1m waves, occasionally 2m smell from the west. We were the only sailboat out on Donegal bay. No dolphins or whales today. We tacked, fell off and did a broad reach back to the mooring. Anticipated difficulty picking up the mooring so had the outboard idling in neutral. While approaching on a reach, the wind shifted and headed us so I put the motor in forward. I bogged and died. With the breeze blowing us back I managed to restart and it died again. I adjusted the choke, restarted with a bit of throttle and managed to power back up to the mooring. Sara was great grabbing the float on the first pass. Need to sort out the motor before the next trip. I believe its fuel delivery problem as there was no back pressure in the primer bulb.

Low springs, 0.4m at the pontoon and tight squeeze getting the dingy out. Wind N at 12knots, 1m chop at the mooring with the fordeck pitching making setup difficult. We trying sailing off on a beam reach to the east but the waves and wind said "no", so the fell off to port and jibed the sailed east through the moorings to open water. The jib and reefed main were a good choice and we worked to windward, tacking NE and NW against the northerly and in 1m chop with the occasional 1.5m wave. A good day sailing, in breezy wavey conditions and giving us a good core workout. We saw a small pod of dolphins leaping over the waves on our last leg toward the moorings.

Very light breeze, ENE 4 knts, water like glass. We sailed off the mooring with main and genoa set and ghosted along at 2knts. After clearing the moorings we tacked and headed northwest in search of wildlife. The wind remained light at 4-6 knts but enough to sail along maintaining about 2.5-3 knts of boat speed. We spotted sea birds, porpoise and dolphins. We watched a brilliant sunset but no green flash. The track shows going through land but seems to have ignored several tacks, maybe due to poor GPS signal.

We had a lovely breeze, easterly at 9 knts. Slight chop and no swell. We sailed off the mooring and headed north on a close reach at 4.5knts with our dinghy in tow. 6nm out and we found a large pod of dolphins. With rare calm seas and gentle breeze we tacked west for a bit then south until being distracted by another large pod of dolphins so headed west on a dead run to watch them play at the bow and stern.

Clear skies, Wind NW 12knts gusting to 15knts. Whitecaps and choppy seas with some waves at 1m. Granny's first time out in twenty years. At 86, she wasn't up for a ride in the dinghy, so I rowed out to the mooring, set out the fenders and docklines and motored to the pontoon to pickup the crew. With everyone on board, two other crew asked for a lift out to another boat, so we gave them a ride out to Jellybean. It was a tough job pulling up to Jellybean with with choppy seas but we got them on board then backed away and set sail. We sailed east then tacked west and back again all the while looking for dolphins. After two loops we sailed back toward the harbour, lowered sails and motored to the pontoon. I perfectly maneuvered the boart to come along port side to but failed to get the motor to shift into reverse a bumped the dock. oops! We dropped off our passengers then Sara and I motored back out to put the boat on the mooring.

Light breeze WSW 5knts, calm seas in the moorings, 1.5m swell at 6s out past the headlands. We sailed off the mooring under full main and immediately set the genoa on port tack. It didn't take long for the dolphins to show up and they did not disappoint. We sailed 1nm out then tacked to port, easing into a beam reach on the way home. I was trying to get Sara to start the outboard but it ran then died. In thing it was just finding the right choke and throttle position. We keep the engine running in neutral as a backup in case sailing onto the mooring goes wrong. We picked up the mooring under mainsail only. Another beautiful evening sail.

Very light breeze less than 5 knts, WSW, mid tide rising, calm seas and perfect for spotting dolphins. We sailed off the mooring under full main and then hoisted the full genoa. We ghosted along under 1 knts and headed out to spot dolphins. Forgot to start tracking and then lost GPS so full track didn't record. We sailed right through a pod of dolphins and they put on a great show for us. We tacked and headed back on a close reach with a slight breeze, started the engine about 100m from the mooring as the wind died. Ava picked up the mooring float with Sara's guidance.

WSW 14 Knts, falling tide, 1m swell, heavy overcast. Sailed off the mooring, shook out the reef and sailed across the bay looking out for whales and dolphins. The sea and swell made it difficult to spot anything but I did spot a small very dark colour back with a small dorsal finn that might have been a Minke whale. Later we spotted a couple of dolphins but none came out to play.

Another after work evening cruise. Heavy overcast, Wind west at 18knts, gust 25knts, 2-3m atlantic swell past the headland with some whitecaps. We sailed off the mooring under reefed main, fell off to a beam reach heading north, then set the small jib. Sailed out toward St. Johns point with a good number of seabirds on the water but no sign of dolphins or whales. 2km out and we tacked to port and headed back to the mooring on a broad reach with heavy swell on the starboard quarter. We dropped the jib and put the motor in neutral but as we approach the mooring the wind shifted 90degs and the last 100m was done under motor. Another good day out. looking forward to some sunny weather and less spicey days so we can see dolphins.

Evening, heavy overcast, 10knts westerly with heavy steep chop and 1-2m swell. No other boats out so we had Donegal bay to ourselves. We sailed off the mooring, sailed for an hour then sailed up to the mooring under main.