10 Years Baltimore Rally – 100 Years Lighthouse on Fastnet Rock
by Claus Riepe
Click on any photo to see a larger version.
Zis article is aimed at all who have - like me - never before attended a Drascombe Rally, and at those who have already been everywhere, and now look for an exceptional adventure. This is about the 10 year anniversary Drascombe Rally at Baltimore in August 2004, and why you should consider to go there in August 2006.
This Baltimore is not the one you see when looking out from Johns Hopkins
University twentieth floor windows. This Baltimore is so remote you need a
superior car navigation or a VERY large scale map of Southwest Ireland to find
it at all, and a full tank of petrol to get down to it. And if the Almighty
would not have sunk a HUGE marker nearby, Fastnet Rock, or if the villagers
would not have built a funny shaped stone monument they call ‘The Beacon’ onto
a high cliff over the minuscule and vicious harbour entry, unlit except in
bright sunshine, you would never even find it coming in from off-shore. It´s
by a lot of open natural harbour water which otherwise gurgles most of the
time rapidly through narrow sounds between dozens of islands with every tide.
And it is usually so windy there that reefed sails tend to unreef all by themselves.
So, clearly, for Drascombe sailors –and for Irish yachties in general - it is a perfect setting. A challenge too hard to resist, and so some 30 Drascombes succumbed to the temptation in August 2004. Was it fun? Seen from a distance of several months, it was the best fun in years. Seen from within, oh boy!, it was tough.
Not the people though. One could drive into the village, boat in tow, and perfect strangers started waving hands. Where to find the slipway? – “Next to the –free- car-park.” -“Need a hand with launching?” “Tie up alongside, welcome to walk across, through the cockpit, anytime!” –“Use my mooring, my dinghy, have some of my petrol!” –Heavens, this is paradise by the sea!
To find accomodation: Simply climb up the short stairway from the harbour, aim for the nearest ‘Vacancy’ sign in view, and within minutes you can be all set in a place as cosy as Granny´s. This Baltimore is sure welcoming to strangers with a small boat.
First day, August 5: Full Irish Breakfast is quite like a the full English, but it has added cholesterol, mucho, so it is pleasant the Baltimore Sailing Club is just a few steps away, and has chairs. Skippers Briefing: “Much wind, a lot of rain later, visibility very poor in the squalls, so we go out into the Atlantic and round Sherkin Island, but you better avoid Lousy Rock and a few dozen other danger areas. And by the way, we have laminate sealed your maps this year to protect them from becoming dissolved again”. -A promising start, let´s go. I was short a hand, so I put out the word – and was heard. (Hi Osnat!).
And then the real fun began. It started with a light drizzle.
Drascombers are not like racehorses, all lining up at the same time. Their individuality prohibits that (or is it the in-born speed limit of our beloved boats?). They sort of appear at their own good time, and from all directions. And when they all had finally appeared this morning, done their reefing, and had started to make for the open sea, which some there like to refer to as ‘Europe’s No. 1 Ships Graveyard’, they disappeared again – in the squalls. At one point, when on top of a good one, Osnat and I looked around, and thought proudly we were leading, but in fact we were the last, for they had all turned round and were already heading for the ‘Jolly Roger’ on Sherkin Island. A wise decision, we never complained.
If this Baltimore is remote, the ‘Jolly Roger’ is remote from remote Baltimore. To get there you either have to swim or, in our case on that day, to plane before the gusts, with all sails down. But it pays to finally get there, because the hot soup, the pints and the hot Whiskies are of the very first order. Only, some 50 Drascombers in there at the same time can make it a bit crammy. And wet, for we all had got a bit of a soaking, both from below and from above, so everybody tried to shed some weatherclothing and find a spot for drying it. And an ominous squawking arose from inside the steaming clothing heaps, as some had left their VHF sets on and somewhere in there, there clearly were more important things to attend to that morning. Really, the ‘Jolly Roger’ offered ideal conditions to make new acquaintances and friends. But that was practically all that could be done on Day 1, for the rain and the wind stayed much the same throughout.
In the evening, we all met in Bushe`s Bar, the inofficial headquarters, for the official opening. Many warm words and witty good speeches, most notably from Declan Tiernan, the official speaker of Drascombers in Baltimore and in Ireland. Blimey, the spirits were high already. All were quite happy. But not much so about the next day’s planned cruise, which was planned to go round Fastnet Lighthouse on the occasion of it’s 100th. birthday. After a squally day like this, it seemed preposterous to consider that for the next day. But Drascombers are just like that, as you all know.
OK, the next day, Friday started not very promising, apart from the full Irish. Dull sky, wind against, so the tidal currents would be full contrary by the time the fleet could be out at the rock under sail. And there was a severe swell to be expected from last day’s turmoil. So, the core fleet made for a pub again, this time some miles out on Cape Clear Island, which is remote from Sherkin Island and the Jolly Roger, which itself is remote from … - I think you have the overall picture by now.
Once inside the little west harbour of Cape Clear, the wind had left, the clouds vanished and the sun started beating down, hard. It is a tiny little harbour which apparently was forgotten in full decoration after they had finished shooting ‘Treasure Island’, ‘The Blue Lagoon’ or ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ or something of that sort. It is under what looks from below a 4000 ft. pinnacle, which rises vertically right up from the water. Some Drascombers instantly had to get up there. And had left instructions for all others to do a ‘Sunflower’. To form a Sunflower, to anchor and tie all boats gunwhale to gunwhale in one big circle, is fun. But it is also hard work because you have to get all these individualistic Drascombers to do very much the same thing at very much the same moment. So Declan did the work, and everybody else had all the fun.
We ourselves only enjoyed the perfect result because we –on that day I had David aboard (Hi David!)- had made for the Fastnet instead. With huge respect, I must admit, but with likewise huge success in the end. It turned out to be a wonderful experience. The seas out there were big but benign enough. But you still approach the rock with trepidation, because it sits on a submarine rock ridge which rises up steeply from depths of 250 ft. to around 60 ft., and there is massive tidal current wrestling with that submarine ridge and with wind and swell at the same time, so you can have all sorts of funny wave formations, we had been duly warned. But all was grand that day, especially to turn back home swiftly after rounding the rock, under boomed out Genoa and Main straight downwind for more than an hour. Fastnet really is a long way out, when looked at from within a small open boat made in 1976, while floating over 250 ft. of green water, with some white on top.
After re-joining with the sunflowered fleet at Cape Clear harbour, there followed some of what they call in Ireland ‘Crack’, and then we all sailed home to Baltimore, in the company of some school of Dolphins. We will –hopefully- never forget that happy day and trip, because it was all just perfect. Only, on the way home we noticed an ominous ridge of dark cloud high above us.
Next morning, Saturday, there was a ‘severe gale’ warning in operation, increasing for the afternoon and night, and so most of us went out again as planned. Though not for long, because it really got windy. But it was still fine enough for some private racing inside the harbour. And then before long, ships and yachts from all around the area started to fill the harbour for shelter from the coming storm.
We weathered most of the storm quite comfortably inside the Baltimore Sailing Club at a farewell Dinner that evening, and at a subsequent ‘Sing-Song’ at Bushe´s Bar, for which ‘Karaoke’ would be too short a word. All were in great form. There were loads of prizes given, and Declan’s proven gift of ‘Blarney’ positively culminated when he told us the story how he had found that day one full Drascombe crew sitting merrily in their boat on it´s trailer in the car park, waiting in some comfort for the storm to worsen, while bracing for it with a drop of the Bubbly. Drascombers are adaptable to all climates!
What
followed next morning was a short spell of headache, also about what to do.
The sea was still too rough and the wind was still very high, so we
quickly abandoned all thoughts of sailing and made for the hills instead. Declan took us on a long hike along the cliffs and showed us the most enchanted
places and spectacular views overlooking the boiling Atlantic from high above.
Ruins of long abandoned settlements near the cliff’s edge, covered with
ripe blackberries, and looking out as far as ‘The Needles’, with
seaspray being blown up from the sea 200 ft. below, and with multiple rainbows
overhead. A true delight for all. The day ended with drinks and crackers on
the patio of Brigid’s and Declan’s place, in warm sunshine. Another
perfect, perfect day.
And thus ended the official part of Drascombe Baltimore Anniversary Rally 2004, full of impressive adventure and fine camaraderie, in harmony and leaving happy memories with all who were there. Many thanks! - And very much looking forward.
To close, I would like to mention that some genuinely hardy Drascombers (not me!) left the next day on own keels out of Baltimore Harbour into the open sea, heading for Cork. And that Jack o’Keeffe has made an own website (www.drascombe.ie/) to tell about that adventure cruise. If you want to see some photos of what I have tried to write about above, you may want to visit that website. And if you consider coming to the Drascombe Baltimore Rally in 2006, don´t think or hesitate, just do it, whether you are a novice or an ‘Old Hand’. Baltimore Rally is hard to beat, rain or shine.