22nd to 24th May 2022
Our plan was to head to Carlingford Lough, which is a beautiful inlet marking the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic. We set off early on Sunday morning, leaving Adam behind on the pontoon to wait for his flight home at 3pm.
I had woken that morning with a slight ache in my side, which I assumed was a result of sleeping awkwardly. But very soon after we had set sail the ache grew to a very uncomfortable pain, and before long I was incapable of doing anything except groaning and lying down. It's a strong experienced crew, so there was no need to turn back; but the direction of the wind meant that getting to Carlingford would have been a long slog, so we decided to go to Ardglass instead, a bit further north. We were under sail for about two-thirds of the way and as far as I can tell it was an uneventful passage, but I wasn't in much of a state to enjoy it.
By the time we arrived at Ardglass the pain was much better, and I decided to go for a shower in the marina facilities. As I was bending over to put my socks back on after the shower, something went snap in my back, and suddenly I was barely able to move. Somehow I made it back to the boat, but it was clear that this was going to be a bad one.
Meanwhile we were getting messages from Adam updating us on his progress. His flight to Gatwick was cancelled, and eventually he was put on a plane to Manchester. From there he had a tortuous and uncomfortable series of train rides, facing further cancellations and overcrowding, arriving finally back to Cambridge in the early hours of the morning.
Back in Northern Ireland, we had some thinking to do. I was in no fit state to undertake a serious sea-passage, even as a passenger: any kind of movement was extremely painful, and the thought of having to brace myself against the swell was not at all welcome. Various scenarios were imagined, including leaving me behind in a B&B until such time as I could catch up overland. A cocktail of painkillers and back-rubs was applied, and we decided to see what things were like in the morning.
The first part of the night was hell. I could stand, and I could lie down, but moving from one position to the other was excruciating. At one point I genuinely thought I was going to spend the night standing up. However, I did manage to get into a relatively comfortable position, and got some sleep. Early in the morning we all woke and assessed the situation.
By now my back was a little better. I was still no use as skipper or crewmember, but I thought I could face staying lying down while the others sailed the boat. The weather forecast was giving us very calm conditions, so the chances were that it would be as smooth as we could hope for.
We decided to skip Carlingford altogether and go to Howth, near Dublin. Because of the lack of wind we motored most of the eight-and-a-half hour passage. The crew reported a pleasant trip, with some fine views of the Mountains of Mourne; but I missed all of that, confined to quarters and dividing my time between snoozing and taking painkillers. We arrived safely in Howth just after three pm.
By the evening I was feeling much better - still moving somewhat gingerly, but a huge improvement over the night before. As I write this we are still in Howth; Debbie and Bryan have gone into Dublin but I have decided to take it easy. Meanwhile Mike and Chris have tested positve for Covid, so are staying on the boat. We are speculating that the cold I had a few days ago may have been Covid: I did a test when I first got a sore throat, and it was negative, but we hear reports that the current strain only shows up in the tests when you have already developed symptoms.
So here we are, with three-fifths of the crew out of action for one reason or another. The plan is to stay here another night, then go to Arklow, further down the coast. Then on Friday we will have to do a very long passage to Milford Haven, where we will leave Goldfinch till next month. The forecast for Friday is for very gentle conditions, so it is likely to be a long trip under motor. But this all depends on there being enough people in a fit state. We shall see what we shall see.
I hope you all feel better soon!