We debated staying longer in Portumna, but decided that we would stop here again on the way back up. The weather forecast called for strong northerly winds, but we were heading South, so thought it might work well for us.
We set off around 11:00 when Andrea went down for his nap. The wind was really blowing, and our first stretch was heading more to the West. This mean that it was really rolling. It was just about at the point that we came around to head southerly, that Sarah passed the helm off to me. Sarah was dismayed that my driving was so much smoother, until I pointed out that I had just turned us to go with the wind (and waves). It also meant that my job was easier, as I wasn't fighting the waves all the time.
When Johnny and I were bringing the boat down from Malahide, we had been using the autopilot. When we reached the Liffey, it started acting up, and we suspected that some linkage was broken. With a couple hours ahead of us, I decided to give it a try. Sarah was driving, so I called out and told her I was turning it on. I was prepared to turn it off again, but it worked like a charm. This allowed us both to enjoy the scenery.
With a following sea (lake?), we made good time. Soon we rounded the turn at the bottom of Lough Derg, and headed west towards our destination, Mountshannon. To our port, we could see a very beautiful motor cruiser (Bo Derg) headed in the same direction. Not knowing if there would be room in the marina, I sped up a bit. That didn't help, as they were a much faster boat. We ended up following them in to the mostly-empty marina.
We secured a spot which afforded us a beautiful view South over the lake. Once settled, we took the dogs out for a walk. On our way through the marina, we spotted David's boat Seaway. He and Lisa were hard at work cleaning up the boat. We waved, and they came over to chat. We decided to all head up for a late lunch at the one pub that was open. It was only our third meal out since the pandemic started.
At lunch with Lisa and David
The sunset that evening was spectacular. The whole marina was bathed in a golden light, and the trees on the shore seemed to glow.
One of the interesting features in Mountshannon was a maze. I'd never seen anything like it. paths led between hedges, banks and walls. At several points there were paths up onto the walls, where one could get a bit of a view of the labyrinth. I wish I'd had something like this when I was a kid.
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