Monday 4 June (Kilmore Quay to Arklow)

A long day's motor (again), leaving at 0600, to round the SE corner of Ireland. The real SE-most point is Tuskar Rock, but there are several well-tested inside passages which save a couple of hours travelling.The first Is almost immediately after leaving Kilmore Quay, and is St Patrick's Bridge, a channel about 300 metres wide inside the Saltee Islands, with only 2.4m under the keel at MLWS. It is well marked though, and easy in calm clear weather such as this day. Beyond this the north-going coast is lined with N-S running sandbanks, rather like those off the Belgian coast, with strong cross-currents, but preferable to the outside passage, which again is many miles longer. We arrived at Arklow at 1800, where we picked up a pontoon berth on the river, just outside the marina entrance. Arklow is a rather unattractive town, with one street lined with run-down shops and pubs and equally run-down people! We did the full circuit of the town, and stopped for a drink at the Bridge Hotel (the only one we would have fancied risking), where there was a newspaper cutting on the wall describing the return of Gypsy Moth III to Arklow, where she was built in Tyrrell's yard.Ate soup and rolls aboard, and prepared for the shorter trip to Dun Laoghaire next day.