Boring, boring, boring winter cruise

[oceanfroggie]

. . . well sort of

Short 40k winter cruise this morning up Lough Derg. Before starting out the whole boat was covered in a thin layer of ice, had to defrost the windscreen and pour warm water on the side deck as it was impossible to walk on it. It was lethal. Got the boat out of shade into the sun and the ice quickly melted off.

What a privilege to be out on the water on a day such as this

Bonaveen Point where the Shannon enters Lough Derg

Low mid winter sun over Killaloe

Lough Derg

Co Clare hills

Post Autumn colours

Low sun over Tipperary hills

Guess where?

Relaxed displacement cruise

Nearly fell asleep but well wrapped up

Mountshannon in winter haze

A hidden passage?

Inniscealtra Island (aka Holy island but not to be confused with the other little Lough Derg in Donegal)

Famous chap has something atop his old stone head

Benjamin Rock

Goats road

It's like summer

Reed bed colours on Lough Derg's Cloondavaun Bay

Winter cruising can be awesome even if its freezing

 

[MarieK]

Great day out

 

[kashurst]

winter days out like this are beautiful - thanks for posting. Ireland looks a lovely place to sail around

 

[AndieMac]

Thanks for sharing OF, all the best for the season ahead.

 

[volvopaul]

Very nice , I want to come to Ireland .

 

[bigwow]

Very nice , I want to come to Ireland .

I wouldn't, it's bad for your liver in my experience:encouragement:

 

[pks1702]

Boring yeah I guess.... if this was Mumsnet!

Great photos, beautiful scenery, water, boats, wake, wildlife.

Super post as ever OF

 

[rbcoomer]

Very nice , I want to come to Ireland .

+1 Simply fantastic! Having been inside all day, I'm the shade of that marker buoy at the moment - not the red one either :encouragement:

 

[Whopper]

Great post OF!

@volvopaul, you should barter your services in exchange for a weeks holiday on an Irish members boat!

 

[alt]

OF- Nice one, see you in the Spring!!

volvopaul - I'm based on the Corrib... MUCH nicer than the stinky Shannon... you're welcome any time... and I don't even have anything for fixing

 

[Greg2]

Looks fantastic. If ever there was a reason for not de-commissioning the boat for the winter......

 

[AlmaKerrick]

a good place to sail on .. even more than that and it would be a privilege to surf such a water body .. i am planning a visit soon

 

[DAKA]

Great report/photos

I didnt bother reading the post yesterday due to the inappropriate heading .

Do you have to fight the urge to push the throttles forward ?

 

[oceanfroggie]

Thanks for kind comments. Just feel lucky to have the privilege of enjoying boating.

Great report/photos

Do you have to fight the urge to push the throttles forward ?

Thanks. Not really. There are times we plane on the larger Shannon loughs if weather is ughh or time is short. When its nice I just stick on the autohelm and chill out moving about the boat taking in the experience. For a short stretch I put her up at 22kt to keep the engines happy. Noel

 

[MapisM]

Before starting out the whole boat was covered in a thin layer of ice, had to defrost the windscreen and pour warm water on the side deck as it was impossible to walk on it. It was lethal.

Urgh, that sounds scary. I'll rather stick to southern Med winter weather, thanks!
But I must say that the scenery is stunning, well worth the initial effort.
Well done, and thanks for sharing the experience with us!

 

[oceanfroggie]

Great report/photos

I didnt bother reading the post yesterday due to the inappropriate heading .

Do you have to fight the urge to push the throttles forward ?

Well I did give her a short blast to clear here throat near the end of the passage.

 

[scubaman]

Somehow missed this earlier but what a wonderful cruise it must have been. Good to see people enjoy their boats also in the 'off-season'. Daylight must be in short supply over there too?

Again beautiful scenery and beautiful pics!

 

[Matt341]

Excellent pics, thanks for sharing.

Winter boating is certainly unique, I remember a few years ago when we had a particularly hard freeze - we couldn't get into the boat as ice had accumulated in the sliding door mechanism!