Sailing to Santiago

[gigibarry]

So I have a chance to sail on the tall ship Jean de la Lune to A Coruna, leaving Portsmouth on the 31st of August and then to walk to Santiago. At present the best option to start the trip is to fly from Dublin to Southampton to meet the ship, but I would really love to go using "no planes, trains, or automobiles", as my husband puts it (he's very tolerant of my quirks, bless him). Does anyone, by chance, know any sailing boats headed from the Dublin area to Portsmouth near the end of August? It's a long shot, I know, but here's to dreaming.

 

[whariwharangi]

Cork to Roscoff France. Roscoff to Plymouth.
http://www.brittanyferries.ie/ferry-routes

Else Dublin to Holyhead and train to Plymouth.
http://www.irishferries.com/uk-en/routes/dublin-holyhead/

 

[NualaOC]

Sounds fantastic @gigibarry, Buen Camino!

 

[gigibarry]

Thanks, Nuala!

 

[cherrys]

So I have a chance to sail on the tall ship Jean de la Lune to A Coruna, leaving Portsmouth on the 31st of August and then to walk to Santiago. At present the best option to start the trip is to fly from Dublin to Southampton to meet the ship, but I would really love to go using "no planes, trains, or automobiles", as my husband puts it (he's very tolerant of my quirks, bless him). Does anyone, by chance, know any sailing boats headed from the Dublin area to Portsmouth near the end of August? It's a long shot, I know, but here's to dreaming.

What a great trip you will have. My father, Ken Austin, in whose honor I did the camino, would have been thrilled. He lived in Schull, Co. Cork The big regatta there is Aug 6-7, and I know boats come over from England for it (or used to when he lived there), so they must go back. Maybe a slight chance of connecting with someone??? There is a Schull website I think, or http://www.wildatlanticway.com/ might help you. Good luck, wish I could come with you (but I'll be starting St. JPDP Sept 6) - Cherry

 

[NualaOC]

What a great trip you will have. My father, Ken Austin, in whose honor I did the camino, would have been thrilled. He lived in Schull, Co. Cork The big regatta there is Aug 6-7, and I know boats come over from England for it (or used to when he lived there), so they must go back. Maybe a slight chance of connecting with someone??? There is a Schull website I think, or http://www.wildatlanticway.com/ might help you. Good luck, wish I could come with you (but I'll be starting St. JPDP Sept 6) - Cherry

Cherry, your post brought back lots of happy memories of summers spent in Schull, hanging around the boats. Sad memories too, of the fatalities during the storms that hit the 1979 Fastnet Race.

@gigibarry - here's the website for the Schull yacht club: www.shsc.ie
There's probably an Irish sailing forum of some sort - I wonder if you might get some useful contacts through that?

Please keep us posted on how this works out. It's an intriguing plan!

 

[gigibarry]

Thanks, Cherry and Nuala for your leads. I'll follow them up and maybe get lucky! If anyone else is interested, I suspect there are still spaces available on the Jean de la Lune. They're allowing 9 days for the crossing but did it in 80 hours last year and are hoping to beat that this year. Perhaps enough time to walk to Muxia as well in that case

 

[cherrys]

Cherry, your post brought back lots of happy memories of summers spent in Schull, hanging around the boats. Sad memories too, of the fatalities during the storms that hit the 1979 Fastnet Race.

@gigibarry - here's the website for the Schull yacht club: www.shsc.ie
There's probably an Irish sailing forum of some sort - I wonder if you might get some useful contacts through that?

Please keep us posted on how this works out. It's an intriguing plan!

Hi Nuala - I remember my father telling us about those fatalities. Schull is a great place to hang out in. We will miss owning my father's house there, but all things come to an end eventually. Did you know the Waterside/Black Sheep burned Easter Sunday 2015, the day I got there? It was still closed when I left late November with no plans to reopen. Hackett's is still going strong though! Thanks for looking up the Schull yacht club website. Hope to run into you one of these days - Cherry

 

[NualaOC]

Hi Nuala - I remember my father telling us about those fatalities. Schull is a great place to hang out in. We will miss owning my father's house there, but all things come to an end eventually. Did you know the Waterside/Black Sheep burned Easter Sunday 2015, the day I got there? It was still closed when I left late November with no plans to reopen. Hackett's is still going strong though! Thanks for looking up the Schull yacht club website. Hope to run into you one of these days - Cherry

Ah the memories! And yes, hopefully we'll get to run into each other one of these days.

 

[Saint Mike II]

So I have a chance to sail on the tall ship Jean de la Lune to A Coruna, leaving Portsmouth on the 31st of August and then to walk to Santiago. At present the best option to start the trip is to fly from Dublin to Southampton to meet the ship, but I would really love to go using "no planes, trains, or automobiles", as my husband puts it (he's very tolerant of my quirks, bless him). Does anyone, by chance, know any sailing boats headed from the Dublin area to Portsmouth near the end of August? It's a long shot, I know, but here's to dreaming.

Hola/Greetings Gigibarry - so did you get to sail on the tall ship?? I am sure a number of us would be interested in your adventures.

 

[gigibarry]

Hola/Greetings Gigibarry - so did you get to sail on the tall ship?? I am sure a number of us would be interested in your adventures.

Ah, Saint Mike, sadly it wasn't meant to be. Unfortunately the owners/ crew of the boat were very behind schedule and that, combined with a general lack of communication, meant that we had to scrap our flights to meet the boat in England. In the end it didn't sail until about 2 weeks later than was planned and we had to be back to work by then. We salvaged a trip by booking a last minute flight to Vigo and getting a bus to Porto. From there we walked to just north of Caldas de Reis before we had to hop in a taxi (oh the shame!) to Santiago because we were flying home at 6:30 the following morning.

Perhaps another time for the sailing part (...sigh...) but any time on a Camino with my backpack on and time with my love makes for a good day.