DOUGAL ON TOUR

IT’S A CORKER!

When looking for a longer cruise, beyond the UK, what could be better than a true Irish welcome at Cork.

Cobh - a point of departure for so many, the town is now a wonderful location for cruising sailors to visit. All images: David Henshall

For some time now these diary pages have been looking at the trend across leisure yachting that has seen the sport embrace better and more capable boats.

As we have reported over the last few years, boats today are getting bigger with the drift upwards in size showing little sign of being capped by the wider financial malaise. Meanwhile, everything from bow thrusters to furling sails make boat handling easier, whilst ‘rolling charts’ on a plotter have revolutionised navigation, making more extensive use of our boats not only easier, but more fun.

But for the vast majority of sailors and powerboaters, we actually only use a small percentage of our boats’ capabilities, for even a cross channel sail is hardly ‘blue water’ sailing, as on a good day no sooner has the coastline sunk away astern than the destination is rising up above the horizon ahead.

The more adventurous of us might opt for a longer sail westwards, yet this is a route that can be done in day long sections, never losing sight of land out on the beam. The exception would be the exciting lure of leaving the mainland behind and travelling out to the Scilly Isles (an area that the Diary will be featuring soon), but with just a little more planning, it is possible to tick all of the boxes and indulge in just a taste of true ‘blue water’ cruising.

CORK CALLING Having left the crowded marinas of the South Coast behind to head westwards, the next step would be to round Land’s End, before heading across the Irish Sea to Southern Ireland, where the delights of the superb and unspoilt cruising grounds are waiting to be explored.

Top of the list of destinations would have to be the huge and magical harbour at Cork, which is not just a superb sailing area but is rich in a

A wonderful cruising ground, Cork retains many memories of its past, such as the old wartime heavy calibre gun standing sentinel up on the hill

The entrance to the harbour at Crosshaven, a popular destination for achts not on fro across urope ut fro further a e d

sailing heritage that is easily the match for the South Coast of England. Just how big the harbour is at Cork can be seen in the contested claims for it to be the world’s second largest natural harbour after Sydney Harbour.

The bragging rights as to who actually gets the best of the rest award has long been hotly contested between Poole and Cork. The parochial home support might love to focus on the wonderful waters inside of Studland and Sandbanks, yet much of this is too shallow for the majority of yachts.

Cork, on the other hand, is not just larger but is usable over far more of its expanse. Moreover, whilst us Solent sailors might think that Cowes is very much the source of the mother lode of leisure sailing, it is Cork which can, without doubt, enjoy the claim of hosting the world’s oldest yacht club. Nestling up in a beautiful arm of the harbour at Crosshaven, the Royal Cork Yacht Club has been looking after the needs of sailors since 1720, a role that it continues to fill today as visiting yacht people will readily attest to.

HISTORIC TIES The history of Cork takes us right back to the earliest beginning of leisure sailing, which as a pastime has even older roots over in the Netherlands. During the Cromwellian years, Charles II had been exiled across the North Sea and it is during this period that he is understood to have taken an active interest in being afloat.

When he returned to the UK in the 1660s, and with the Crown restored, the activity would soon build here and we have details of how Charles escaped the attentions of court life in London by heading down to Itchenor, where he kept his yacht the Mary (a present from the Dutch) whilst his mistress Nell Gwynn maintained a house just along the road from the present Itchenor Sailing Club.

One of the King’s closest courtiers was Murrough O’Brien, who Charles would later ennoble as the Earl of Inchiquin. Leisure sailing in the harbour at Cork would grow and, in 1720, a descendant of Murrough invited some friends to formalise their activities under the umbrella of the ‘Water Club of the Harbour of Cork’ and the foundations were laid for a structure that leads directly to the wonderful premises of the Royal Cork Yacht Club today.

Cork was, though, far more than just a centre for the landed gentry to play with their boats, as possession of the harbour provided a perfect base from which the Navy could exercise control of the Western Approaches and access to the English Channel. Various conflicts saw the construction of increasingly heavily armed fortifications that ensured that Cork and everything within the harbour would remain safe. COMING AND GOING The gun smoke from Trafalgar had hardly cleared when a new source of smoke would be seen out afloat, as steam rapidly started to replace sail, and Cork took on a new role being a prime sheltered location for the coaling of ships ahead of the trans- Atlantic crossing.

At the same time Cork was an ideal stop off point for the steamers heading across to the US and, following the Great Famines in Ireland, there was a steady flow of displaced people heading out across the sea to find a better life in the ‘new world’.

The Titanic took on passengers at Cork, with many of those who were lost being passengers from 3rd class – and with Irish origins.

Indeed, one of the towns within the harbour, Cobh, would be the last time the ill-fated ship made landfall. Today, Cobh hosts the Titanic experience, located in the old White Star ticket office, which is yet another worthy experience for visitors to the harbour.

Being a city close to the sea, tragedy is never far away and just a couple of hours further west along the coast is Kinsale Head, which is crowned by the Old Signal Tower, now a museum dedicated to those lost in the sinking of the Lusitania.

This is far more than simply a memorial to the 1,198 passengers and crew who drowned when the ship was torpedoed in 1915, as the 360° panoramic views of the Atlantic coast and headland have to be experienced.

IRISH EYES ARE SMILING Happily, Cork is now a bustling and vibrant city that visiting sailors can spend days exploring, whilst the sights of Cobh, Crosshaven, Blackrock and Spike Island (to name just a few) offer the perfect antidote to those fed up with the same old congested locations.

It is, though, a blue water, foreign destination but one that is just twoday sail away and has that wonderful tradition of an Irish welcome on arrival. No wonder they say that the Irish eyes are smiling!

There are still plenty of lovely locations to wake up in which are away from the bustle of the marinas