What an incredible cruising area the west coast of Ireland is. I have spent the last couple of weeks slowly sailing north, taking in some wonderfully beautiful anchorages, visiting a great city, and finding some really wild, out of the way places.

My crew has been firstly my old friend Crispin, and secondly younger son Jonty. I have also been cruising on and off with the crews of Rinamara and Suilven – two beautiful yachts from our earlier RYS cruise in company.

Bantry had been a fun place to stop, and also to stock up on supplies. Crispin and I set out first for Castletownbere, one of Ireland’s bigger fishing ports. We anchored outside the port, dinghied in, and drank Guinness, later joined by John and Linda off Suilven.

We thought we would next aim for Darrynane, a fairly remote little harbour with a tricky entrance. First, though, we had to negotiate Dursey sound, a narrow shortcut which is subject to swell and has the added challenge of a cable car to avoid.

With the Sound behind us, we headed over to Darrynane, negotiating the narrow entrance and anchoring clear of some moorings.

We strolled up to the only bar, to a warm welcome, both in terms of the company and the fire – it being Irish mid summer…

It was a Beamish evening, to ring the changes, and we watched a game of football of apparent importance. Our Irish colleagues were ambivalent, shall we say, in their support for England, who appeared to win. It was a memorable evening, full of craic.

We aimed for Dingle the next morning, enjoying a good sail across. It is another fishing town, and Crispin and I enjoyed a fine meal out, with great seafood.

Dingle was a good stop, and I found a local mechanic to give me some advice on a couple of electrical niggles on Spellbinder. He couldn’t help directly, but gave me a couple of good ideas.

The next day’s sail was a long one, up to Kilronan on Inishmore in the Aran islands. We sailed in company with the other yachts, picking up mooring buoys and spending a couple of days sheltering from some strong winds. Ashore, we hired bikes, explored an old stone fort, and were tempted by Aran jumpers.

After a great couple of days, Crispin and I headed to Galway, coming into the locked marina as the gates opened before high tide. What a city Galway is. With an interesting medieval past, it is full of history, culture and general vibrancy. It has 19 bars to choose from, and we frequented a few, enjoying live bands, conversations with strangers, and good food.

The time had come for Crispin to head home, and I enjoyed a self-guided walk around the city, and a night out with Calum, Amanda and Aurora, waiting for Jonty to arrive in the morning.

When he got to Galway we decided to head out, as the lock gates were open. Mooring a few hours later at Rossaveel in Cashla Bay at dusk, we took a berth and in the morning exchanged one of Spellbinder’s alternators, solving one of our mechanical issues (Jonty had brought a new one out).

We were pleased with our work, overcoming a couple of tricky challenges, and I was delighted to see amps once more being put back into the batteries by the engine. Spellbinder’s solar panels do a good job of keeping the charge up (particularly at this time of year) but the lack of a working alternator was causing some concern.

Our next destination was Roundstone, a wonderful little port which faces the Connemara hills (The Twelve Pins). The weather was actually quite warm, and I donned shorts and a polo shirt for the first time in weeks.

We loved the place, which was quite touristy (mainly Americans finding their roots, and adventurous French).

Roundstone astern, we headed for another island – Inishbofin. It was quite a long day, but we went for a short explore and enjoyed drinks on board Suilven with John and Linda.

We wished we could have spent more time there, but our flights back were calling and we needed to get to Killybegs. This part of the coast is wild and undeveloped, with little infrastructure in place for the yachts – our choices were limited for leaving Spellbinder safely somewhere , and a fresh northerly breeze had developed, impeding our progress.

A long day’s sail followed, tacking up the coast past Clare Island, then taking a break for a cup of tea in the magnificent anchorage of Kneem Bay, where Jonty had a swim and we experienced wild downdrafts known as williwaws. Joining the other two yachts, we headed round Achill Head, to be greeted by the amazing sight of dolphins jumping fully out of the water all around us.

We anchored in the rather remote Blacksod Bay for the night, enjoying a final drink with the crew of Rinamara, before getting up at dawn and negotiating rough seas off Eagle Island and Erris Head, before the seas calmed and we had a screaming beam reach of a sail all the way to Killybegs in Donegal, arriving in time to take Jonty out to dinner and have a final pint of Guinness.

This recent part of the cruise has been challenging, in quite strong conditions at times, but enormously rewarding. We have barely seen any other yachts. The landscape is dramatic and wildly beautiful, and the people warm and welcoming. What a place to sail a yacht.

Thank you to the crews of Rinamara and Suilven for your great company and general help. Thank you too to my crew, as ever!

Sue and I plan to return in early August to carry on around the top of Northern Ireland.