Greystones - the Good the Bad and the Ugly

Days 36 and 37

We left Dun Laoghaire  at 14.30 yesterday (6 July) for the two hour trip to Greystones. We caught the tide which helped us through the small gap between Dalkey island and the mainland. We had forgotten it was the Regatta and there was a fleet of about 50 boats out on the water which was great to see.

The two hour trip wasn't unpleasant and the coastline was quite interesting, but the auto helm broke about an hour into the journey. So Josh and Roy spent some time when we got in taking the ram to pieces. It may be possible to do a temporary fix but we can't get the part until we get home. Our model is discontinued now so it isn't easy to get spares apart from on e-bay and of course they can't deliver to us as we are on the move. We do have a wind steering system so we may be able to use that instead for our 16 hour crossing on Monday night.

Entrance to Greystones
 We had heard mixed reports about Greystones, some people had warned us not to go, but others had said it was OK. We were keen to see for ourselves what it was like and this is where the good, the bad and the ugly comes in.

Mary on the lovely Lavender Walk into the village

Me with the Beach House pub in the background
The good...everyone is friendly and welcoming. They are making an effort to make the marina into a first class facility but still some way to go. We did find a nice pub last night, the Beach House, with some live music. There is a fish and chip shop which looked nice but we didn't sample it as we ate on board.

Greystones Marina Office
The bad...it's so expensive here, we have never paid nearly £50 a night anywhere else on our whole trip since we started in 2017. We also have to pay a minimum of E3.50 for electricity!! The showers look lovely but the doors won't lock, there is nowhere to put clothes etc whilst showering and no hairdryers or anywhere to plug your own one in.

The abandoned Marina Village project

The ugly...the unfinished concrete block of flats. This project has apparently been abandoned because of Brexit, what a shame. The marina office is also ugly, what do you think?

So that's my assessment of Greystones!! As my Mum would say, fur hat and no knickers, in other words trying to look smart and put on a show but when you look underneath not quite living up to the facade!!

The future for Greystones.






Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Day one and two of the Caledonian Canal - the adventure continues

Image
The Lunatic crew for the Caledonian Canal   We entered the  Clachnaharry sea lock at Inverness for the 1.30 lock and were met by a very helpful, calm lock keeper who talked us through. There was a large sign saying Ireland this way! Clachnaharry Sea Lock, the entrance to the Caledonian Canal, The Great Glen, Loch Ness and Ireland! The lock was timed so that you could then sail through the railway swing bridge, then on to the Muirhead flight of four locks. We had relaxed once we got on to the canal, thinking things could only get better and there is much less to worry about in a canal as opposed to being out at sea, no tides to think about for example. How wrong we were, we were forgetting this is the Lunacy cruise. At the second lock Mick fell in! We heard a plop and a splash and Mick had fallen into the lock between the lock wall and the boat. Josh's quick thinking saved the day as he put the long swim ladder over the edge and Mick managed to climb up before he
Read more

Day 48 and the return to our home port of Ramsgate.

Image
Lunar Sea and her crew back in Ramsgate  Dear Readers, we finally arrived back in Ramsgate five years after setting off on 1 May 2017. The weather then had been atrocious, but it couldn't have been more different for our return. It was promised to be the hottest day of the year, so we had plenty of sunshine and not very much wind. lt did pick up to about 12 knots as we approached Ramsgate, so we managed to get the sails up and the flags flying for our entrance to Ramsgate.  Leaving Dover, heading for the Eastern entrance,  on our way home now. It had been an uneventful 4 hour trip from Dover to Ramsgate, but for some reason the unusually hot weather had created an optical illusion and we had a really clear view of France as we passed Deal. Perhaps it is the high pressure, not sure why?  France, shall we go there instead? We had Josh's daughter Jo on board and Owen and Jordan, two of Josh's grandchildren, joined us in Dover for the day sail. When we got to the approach to Ra
Read more
Image
  Hello again from Lunar Sea in Portishead. The boat has been here for two years now and we are continuing our adventure from tomorrow, the 31st May, by locking out of Portishead Marina (near Bristol in case you wondered) and we will be heading for Penarth Marina (near Cardiff) for our first stop. Then on to Padstow via Watchet for a night's stay and then probably an anchorage for one night off Clovelly, to break up the 18 hour trip from Watchet to Padstow.  We have been so lucky to have found this charming marina which has been Lunar Sea's home for two years, we will be sad to leave, but excited to be on the homeward stretch of our marathon around the UK sailing trip. It was supposed to take 2 years, but due to bad weather in year 1 and a mutinous crew, plus the pandemic in the third and fourth year, it will have taken 5 years (assuming we get back to Ramsgate this year, watch this space!) Wish us luck, calm seas and a good wind. I will try and do a daily blog, sailing conditi
Read more