We took Tigger to 'The people's park' again. It seems only fair. He does enjoy the boat, and loves being with us, but we do make the effort to take him ashore for a run whenever we can. We priced a battery, E150 for a 75ah battery. I was not prepared to pay that so we made our way back to the boat.
Louise went off to buy some fresh bread when I heard someone calling me from outside the marina. I let them in - they seemed to know me and turned out to be the father and uncle of a friend from Cardiff Yacht club. They had heard about our battery problems and offered to help. I made some tea, and Louise returned with cake. Billy and Butch went off to get their boat, along with, they said, a battery that might be ok.
They returned after an hour or so and gave us a 90ah Bosch battery, which was in excellent condition. They also gave us a bottle of liquor, which was delightful. They refused any talk of payment and left, with our gratitude, for a couple of hours crusining up the river Suir. Many, many thanks for your gererosity, Billy and Butch.
Half an hour later and we were leaving Waterford. The pilot suggests working with the tide, so as soon as the flood dnded, we cast off and headed down river for Dunmore East.
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Leaving Waterford"]
[/caption]A gentle motor down the river, past the oak trees and rhododendrons, container terminals and railway bridges, and then Louise fancied a sail. Full sail and 6 knots as the river opened out into Waterford Harbour, we hurtled towards the walls of the fishing harbour at Dunmore East:
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Approaching Dunmore East"]
[/caption]Some friends of ours has stayed at Dunmore East two weeks before, so we were prepared to raft up against fishing boats. We asked a couple of people as we entered the harbour and soon tied up alongside a day fishing boat.
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Rafted UpAs we climbed up over some old boats in very poor condition, I had to climb a ladder with Tigger under one arm. We walked around the bay to a small rocky cove behind Waterford Harbour Yacht Club when I noticed two other day fishing boats approaching Ishtar.Since we had heard that some strong winds were on the way, we'd decided to leave at 04:30. I didn't really want to be in the middle of a raft, so asked the two new boats if they minded if I moved Ishtar back to the outside. They were very friendly and 10 minutes later, we were throwing sticks into the see for Tigger.WHYC were happy to allow a sandy wet lurcher onto their balcony, so Louise and I enjoyed a drink, looking out over the moorings, chatting with the members and watching the sun set as kids splashed and shouted in the sea below.WHYC Moorings"]
[/caption][caption id="" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Wet dogs and yacht clubs"]
[/caption]Took Tigger for a wander around the harbour before retiring for the night. Another beautiful day, another lovely sunset. It was to be a 4 o'clock start, so we tried to get an early night, in this bustling fishing port:
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Creels and Ishtar"]
[/caption]