The Wild Atlantic Way
We arrived in Ireland on July 6th. Over the last six weeks, we’ve been exploring Ireland’s western shore. To say that we have fallen in love with Ireland would be a massive understatement. I am so glad we decided to take a more rugged path, sailing along the shores of the Wild Atlantic Way.
The Wild Atlantic stretches around 1,600 miles along Ireland's western seaboard—running between the historic harbor town of Kinsale in County Cork in the south to the Inishowen Peninsula (starting at Malin Head) in County Donegal in the north.
Clew Bay
We hated to leave Inishbofin. It is probably one of our favorite stops in Ireland so far! But the time came to move on again. From Inishbofin, we sailed to Clare Island, a quaint small island positioned at the mouth of Clew Bay.
Our first stop was the 3-story tower house of the famous 16th-century pirate queen, Grace O’Malley. Tower houses were often three or four stories high, with a vault over the ground floor, and were protected by a parapet over the entrance, allowing stones or other objects to be dropped directly onto attackers.
Inishmore and Inishbofin
After leaving Dingle, we did a long sail up to the Aran Islands. We arrived at the island of Inishmore just after midnight. I really dislike coming into anchorages late at night—it makes everything a bit more difficult. But sometimes, it is unavoidable.
The Aran Islands are a group of three islands—Inishmore, Inishmaan, and Inisheer—located at the mouth of Galway Bay off the west coast of Ireland. The primary language spoken is Gaelic (Irish), though everyone also speaks English.
Derrynane to Dingle
Ever since arriving in Ireland, we have debated two choices: explore the southern coast of Ireland or travel up the more challenging northwestern shores, much of which is exposed to the open Atlantic Ocean.
The southern coast would take us to places like Schull, Kinsale, Baltimore, and Crosshaven, where we could experience not only the beauty of Ireland but also its charming port towns. The southwest has forts, castles, old market towns, maritime history, and famine history.
The northwestern coast would allow us to experience Ireland’s more rugged and dramatic shores, with enormous cliffs and mountains plunging into the sea. The northwest has less development, ancient monastic sites, Bronze Age remains, Neolithic monuments, and rich Gaelic history, with some of the islands still speaking Gaelic. Sailing this route would also be more challenging. There is less protection and fewer places to hide when bad weather arises.
Bantry Bay Recap
We made landfall in Ireland in Bantry Bay just over two weeks ago. The weather has been unseasonably warm. Ireland is on its second or third heat wave. When we were sailing here, we experienced many days that were cool, overcast, and foggy. This is more of what we expected. However, since arriving, we have had bluebird days with lots of sunshine and not a drop of rain.
In the last two weeks, Remedy has been anchored in six different locations, each with its own charm. Because it was late in the evening and overcast when we arrived in our first anchorage, Lonehort Harbor, we did not really see much. But when we awoke the next morning, we were surrounded by flower-dotted fields and cows grazing and lazing on the shore behind us.