This summer was the first time I had been able to contemplate time on the water. I knew that we wouldn't be able to consider a long trip as we had family commitments to consider. But we wanted to put some of our recent changes to use.
We headed to Skerries on a day of fine offshore wind, allowing for smooth seas and some fun tacking at the end of the day into the anchorage. The boat sailed well, even though the hull was a bit dirty. This year I couldn't afford the time or money to haul out and antifoul. I did go under the boat with scuba gear to scrape off most growth but it wasn't ideal. Nonetheless we were happy with her performance. We stayed two nights in Skerries and caught up with some boaters. The only downside was a non starting outboard and losing the plastic air intake overboard when trying to sort it. But we were really glad to have been out on the hook for a bit.
We returned to see family and the next trip was a powerful sail south to Wicklow in 25 knots on the beam. The boat went really well and all systems worked. Yippee !! We stayed two nights and switched off with the usual walk around the headland to the lighthouses. We returned north to Dun Laoghaire for a catch up with other boaters and then back home to Malahide. All good on board and with plenty of day sails planned with friends for the rest of the summer. Great to be back in action !!