A long way to go today, so up at 5.30 am and out on the ocean by 6.30am. It's cold and the boat is still covered in dew so everyone feeling a little shook as we round the Soverigns and head Eastwards. We are joined on this trip by pilots Brian and Laura and the conversation, of course, turns to aeroplanes as we pass beneath the flightpath of Cork airport. The sun appears and we begin to thaw out and feel a little more human. The winds fall as we progress and we pass the entrance to Cork harbour under sail and motor. It's a long passage and we really need to mantain 6 knots if we are to arrive in Dunmore East before darkness. The GPS is fully programmed and the steam-powered chart table is being marked up continually as we travel. We are running about 10 or 12 miles offshore and routing directly to Dunmore rather than holding a set distance off the coast. And then we see a strange disturbance on the water and it appears to be routing slowly but directly towards us. And as it nears we realize that it is caused by 25 or 30 dolphins in a tight school! They have compacted a huge shoal of fish into a tight ball and are swimming around it in large numbers as individual dolphins dive through it to feed!!! A flock of seagulls follow the unfortunate prey from above and dive in for their share! What a privelaged and extraordinary sight! Onwards and Eastwards past Baltimore. Youghal bay takes ages to pass us by. And again we are rescued from a half stupor by a lone dolphin who leaps out of the water right next to us and frightens us half to death. And now he has our attention and he performs aerobatics just ahead of the boat, leaping and jumping, and generally showing off. He is so close to the boat that you could literally reach down and touch his fin if you had a mind to do so. There are four of us at the bow now and I have to rush back to the helm at times to adjust the lines. Flipper stays with us 
for about 20 minutes until he gets tired of our cheers and our cameras and then he's off to some other adventure. Meanwhile we are closing in on our destination and we place bets on our exact time of arrival. Fearghal is furthest off the mark with a 9.30pm estimate, while I am just one minute off with my 7.00pm eta. We spot the light house at Hook Head from about 30 miles off, and continue on our way. And those last 30 miles pass very very very slowly! And then at last we are rounding the headland and heading into Dunmore and Brian and Laura's friends come out to us in the beautifully painted "Sea Wolf". and guide us up to our mooring. A great passage, a great adventure, and a really great crew! Stayed overnight on the swinging mooring and enjoyed a most relaxing and well deserved sunset!!!Passage: Kinsale to Dunmore East,
Date: Sunday 21st August 2011.
Crew: Fearghal Dowling, Brian O Keeffe, Laura, and Fia.
Duration: Total 12.5 Hours
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