Jeremy Deller's banner at the Glucksman Gallery, University College Cork (formerly Queen's College). Leica Typ 114, 14 June 2015.
1720
At nearly 300 years, the Royal Cork Yacht Club is the oldest in the world. It was founded by a young William O’Brien, the 9th Lord Inchiquin, whom apparently got the sailing bug from his grandfather, the 6th Lord, and whom in turn is believed to have brought the sport from London, where he attended the court of Charles II. There, the recently arrived king enthusiastically sailed Mary on the Thames. Mary was a private jacht —Dutch for a swift, light vessel—, which the nederlander Seven United Provinces had presented Charles on occasion of his departure from exile.
Peregrinus stays here for a few days, doing light maintenance and awaiting a weather window for passage to the Isles of Scilly.
From the mast hangs the civil ensign club members can legally use on their boats: the Irish flag in canton on a field of blue, defaced with a crowned golden harp.
Life
Life isn't about how you survived the storm...
It's about how you danced in the rain!
Kinsale, Newman's Mall. iPhone 6 Plus, 1/1464", 5 June 2015.
Fastnet Rock
Fastnet was known as "Ireland's Teardrop", because it was the last part of Ireland that 19th century Irish emigrants saw as they sailed to North America.
For the crew of Peregrinus, however, this was the first sight of the Old World: the top of the lighthouse, peeking from a dark sea.
Click the photo for additional images.
The crew, après arrival
Fort Lauderdale to Kinsale: 3,524 nautical miles, 6,526 kilometres, 29 days, four crew: the Seaman, John, the Alférez, and the Admiral, who was the designated Captain for the trip.
Canon PowerShot G15, 29 May 2015
County Cork
County Cork looks... like the movies of Ireland. Emerald green pastures, with hedge rows in between the fields in the rolling hills. In the flower of Spring, tree leaves shimmer in sunlight in an orgy of green.
A gentleman from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine arrived promptly after our arrival, as previously arranged, to admit the Alférez into Ireland. The fee is €50. As we had no Euros yet, he said no problem: he issued and stamped a receipt, and asked us to leave him an envelope with the fee at the bar. We say, 'Sláinte' that!
The Kinsale Yacht Club registration takes place at the bar: best location for check-in we have ever seen. The Admiral asked for an electric adapter for Peregrinus' US-type electric plug. A gentleman in the bar volunteered to help, walked the Admiral back to the boat, and ended up taking the Seaman all over the County searching for said adapter. The gizmo cost €2.30. The life stories John the Scot-transplanted-into-Kinsale and captain of Igraine of Camelot told us over beers and wine back at Peregrinus all afternoon are priceless.
Out of a new world, and into an old one
Peregrinus is now east of the northern tip of Newfoundland, south of Iceland, north of Gran Canaria, and east of Ireland.
The New World is in our rear view mirror, at least for a while.
With favorable winds, we race at 8 knots towards our expected first sight of land, at Fastnet Rock, off of the southeast tip of Ireland, 230 nautical miles ahead.
South of Iceland
Peregrinus finds itself 964 nautical miles NM south of Hvallatur, Iceland; 837 NM west of Guernsey; 1146 NM east of Lumsden, Newfoundland; and 2076 NM north of the Cape Verde islands.
Seas are nearly flat and the wind blows 10 knots from the northwest. The crew seems content and there are no overt signs of mutiny, although the Alférez has shown up on deck without permission a couple of times today. Is he plotting anything? Who might his co-conspirators be?
With nothing below Peregrinus
Peregrinus is now 760 nautical miles NM east of Trinity Bay, Newfoundland; 1,110 NM south of Greenland; and 1,160NM west of Kermorvan (near Brest).
We have therefore cleared Natal and Recife in easternmost Brazil, as well as the South Georgia Islands.
South of Peregrinus, there is now only water, all the way to Antarctica. The frigid shores of the Weddell Sea lie 7564 NM south of here.
What we dream
"We're not, as humans, only what we do, but also what we dream ourselves"
---Sarah Hoyt
Peregrinus now south of Steno Island, Greenland; north of Touros (near Natal); west of Munich; east of Everett (near Seattle).