Maybe it was time for another challenge. A holiday on a sailboat? Yes, that's something I would like. It's something completely different, but really worth it. After a long search on sites like windseeker.org I found the site maybe sailing. It was then quickly decided that I would go on board on the Maybe, which was going from Dublin to Belfast 02 April till the 07 april. I took the opportunity to go 'city tripping’ in Dublin.
Dublin (31 March 2018 – 02 april 2018)
Dublin is not a big city, it is sufficient sure to stay there three days. If you are longer in Dublin, it is always interesting to make day trips to the beautiful cliffs that Ireland has to offer. But watch out, Dublin is not cheap, So make sure you bring enough money 😉 .
Things to do in Dublin?
Interested in medieval times and ancient churches? Be sure to visit these sites:
- Dublin Castle
- Christ Church Cathedral
- St. Patrick’s Cathedral: Surrounded by a beautiful park where you can go for a walk.
Prefer beautiful and big buildings?? Then you should consider going along here:
- Custom House
- Trinity College: The University of Dublin,
- The Book of Kells: This is the biggest library of Ireland, definitely worth the visit. If you can, book your tickets online beforehand, than you don't have to wait too long to get inside.
Still time?
- O’Connell Street: A very wide avenue that many people reminds of the Champs-Ellysées, with in the middle 'The Spire’ which is 120m high.
- The Hungry Tree: A hidden gem. It is a bit out of the center, but it is really nice to see.
- St. Stephens Green park: A very large park, good to come and relax.
- Ha’penny bridge
Maybe Sailing (02 april 2018 – 07 april 2018)
Due to bad weather the boat couldn't make it to Dublin. That's why all the ‘trainees’ had to go to Cork, where the boat would leave. In Dublin I took the bus to Cork with six other trainees, the other six were already waiting for us on the boat. Arriving at the boat we had some spare time to unpack our bags. The girls were sleeping together in a cabin of four and the boys were divided in a cabin of six and one of two. We spend our first night ashore, so we could all get to know each other better. I was the only Belgian on board, furthermore there were two Brittish guys and nine Irish.
The next day we finally left. There was a good South wind. Since we had to go to the North East, this was ideal. Furthermore, the weather was very good, In the morning the was a little drizzle, but around 11 o'clock the sun came through and the sun was shining the whole time. We first had to leave the harbor and as long as you're not on the ocean, the water is very calm. We had just eaten lunch and then we went to the ocean. Not the best timing. The deck of the ship soon looked like a battlefield. The first eight victims were feeling seasick. The buckets kept refilling themselves. Despite this, we were going really fast, The captain had also decided to immediately sail overnight. It was the intention to arrive on Wednesday in Dublin, because than the wind would turn and would come from the North. We did it as we said, after 30 hours of mailing we arrived in Dublin. Not always as fluent as in the beginning, certainly not the last hours when the wind had already turned. We spent the night in Dublin and we could certainly enjoy a good night of sleep. Sleeping without needing to be on watch is such a luxury.
Thursday morning we played the "sailor games ’ .. A small quiz. Afterwards we could visit the sistership 'The blue clipper’ which was in Dublin as wel. In the afternoon we left again, this time towards the Isle of Man. It went much more smoothly and there were less people sick. About twelve hours later we arrived in Port Erin. Here we anchored. This meant that the ‘anchor watch’ began. By two we to keep an eye on the boat during 50 minutes ( 😉 ) and see if the boat had not moved. Afterwards we could go to sleep.
In the morning we had two hours to visit the Isle of Man. It was very cozy and I have learned that they have there own currency. After I ate ‘Fish and Chips’ and an ice-cream we had to go on board again and we went to Belfast on our last journey. At midnight we arrived and could go to bed.
The next morning we had to say goodbye but I stayed another night in Belfast, also a very beautiful city!
It was over too soon, but I enjoyed it a lot. Here are some numbers: 🙂
hours at sea: 51 hour
distance in nautical miles: 343 (617,4 km)
top speed: 11,6 knot
slowest we have sailed: 0,5 knot
number of sick passengers: 10 out of 12