Before breakfast I went up on deck to watch the sunrise. In the dark morning, the Esperanza had rounded the coast of County Mayo, and was steaming into Donegal Bay. As we travelled east, the run rose above the foremast, a bright ball in a grey sky. North of us were the mountains of Donegal, and to starboard, I could see the headland of Mulloughmore, and the strange flat-topped mountain of Ben Bulben. Anyone who's ever read the poetry of WB Yeats will be familiar with this landscape, from his poems 'The Stolen Child', 'The Lake Isle of Inishfree' and others. And then there's the story of the love affair between Diarmuid and Grainne - major characters in ancient Irish mythology. One of the areas on top of the mountain is know as 'Diarmud and Grainne's Bed' - supposedly the place where they eloped. Ben Bulben is in county Sligo, an area full of the remnants of prehistoric society - huge 4,000-year-old burial grounds, and other megalithic monuments. Around Strandhill, you can sit on ancient 'oyster middens' - stacks of oyster shells, dumped by humans thousands of years ago - and watch seals sunbathing in Ballysadare Bay.
The Esperanza dropped anchor outside the harbour of Killybegs - some new crew members were due to join us here. The conditions were incredibly calm - with the wind blowing from the east, the whole island of Ireland sheltered us. Many of the crew haven't ever been to Ireland, so it was a bit strange for them to be so close, yet still at sea. Still, they all seemed to agree that the wild west coast was as romantic as they imagined.
A little after breakfast, a trawler appeared on the horizon, but 'hove to' (i.e. stopped) instead of entering Killybegs harbour. We were starting to do some boat training on the Esperanza, so Maaike, Dave R. and I took the 'Grey Whale' inflatable out towards the trawler, for a look. It wasn't a bottom trawler, by any means - but we pulled up alongside anyway, and hailed them. It was an Irish boat, out of Sligo, and extremely well kept. Eventually a fisherman wandered over to the side to talk to us. He wasn't terribly chatty, but we did learn that it was a herring boat, and fished somewhere 'way out there'. On the way back, I got some nice shots of the Esperanza, with a backdrop of the mountains.
Later in the day, we got back into some serious boat training. This involves learning how to safely launch an inflatable - some of the boats we use are big, and very heavy, and are launched using a crane. The crane driver lifts the boat clear of the deck, and over the side, while the deck crew control movement, to stop it swinging around. Once over the side, but above the water, the boat crew clamber in, the boat is lowered to the water, and unhitched. And yes, we all get our turn!
Then we pile into the boats, taking turns to perfect our skills in driving, turning, and pulling alongside the ship (for disembarkation of passengers and bringing the boat on board). As we're out driving around, a large yellow inflatable comes speeding out of Killybegs. After doing a circle of the Esperanza, they pull up, and we head over to say hello.
It's a couple of guys who are running a 'Sea-fari' company. They were taking the boat out for a run, and were surprised to find Greenpeace in their neighbourhood. They tell us that Donegal Bay has become home to some Minke whales in recent years, and they see them almost every day. As we part, they shout 'keep up the good work!’
After dark, we weigh anchor and turn our backs to the coast. The lights of Sligo and Donegal recede into the darkness. We're not going to see land for a long time...
