Baltimore Yacht Charters

Baltimore, Co. Cork

Imagine your great grandfather is the lighthouse keeper at Fastnet. His focal point is the horizon. He scans for ships and conducts the light that safely signals them home. You are born by the sea and grow up with its currents in your veins. You yearn to be offshore, navigating your own vessel. This is Con Minihane's lineage. He took to the water over twenty years ago. He is our skipper today on our maiden voyage on the "Inishbeg."

It is a beautiful Sunday morning, and we are on a dock in Baltimore harbor, eyeballing the "Inishbeg." It is a sleek, 50-ft yacht, built in 2005. It has a handsome, wood paneled deck, a sturdy mast, and a huge white sail.

My travel partner and I have been waiting to sail for a long time. A few years ago, we'd considered crewing a wooden sailboat from Fiji to Australia. The Aussie owner had newly purchased the sailboat off E-bay and hired a Pilipino captain to sail it home to him. The captain was looking for crew online. The route was through pirate-infested waters, and the boat wasn't exactly sea-worthy. We were desperate to learn to sail and seriously considered this opportunity. It was either this adventure or move to New York City. Both options presented the same amount of danger. Unable to decide, we flipped a coin. The coin said New York.

"Come aboard," his wife Mary beckons. Con issues us each an automatic portable floatation device. Once they are strapped on securely, we can relax. We exchange hellos with the other passengers and sit down on the luxurious wooden deck, enjoying the sun. Mary appears with two French presses of fresh, gourmet coffee and begins pouring. She certainly knows how to get a party started right. Balancing saucers on our knees, we eagerly toast our departure.

Once all cups and saucers are stowed below, we begin the glide. Con's masterful maneuvering eases the yacht into the currents of air and water. It is Con + the sail + the wind + two other crew (following all the rules of geometry and physics) that = our motion. And Con and his crew run around like crazy, releasing pink ropes that drop a second sail, tightening blue ropes that make the main sail swing forward, and coiling rope to anchors to the deck. I try to understand all I'm seeing and what they are doing, but they are performing too many calculations at once. All I can do is sit back, trust their expertise, and enjoy the ride to Cape Clear.

I duck below deck. The cabin is very handsome. Built to highest standards, the "Inishbeg" has a fully equipped galley, a posh entertainment system, and three bathrooms showers. Multiple bathrooms give you options when the yacht is tipped sideways. Later I'll learn that you want to use whichever bathroom is higher.

I climb back on deck, and we are cruising ! It is a gorgeous day, the sunlight bouncing off the water. Little sandy beaches are stacked away along shore. We approach a seal colony, and Con hands me the binoculars. I spot two fat, gleaming bodies wiggling on the rocks. A third and a fourth come into view. The islands off Baltimore are home to plenty of wildlife from herons to porpoises to dolphins and occasionally even whales. Con points out where we are on the map and traces our route to Cape Clear.

We skim across the sea. I stare out at the surface of the water and at the shore whizzing by. It is incredibly peaceful and beautiful. I love the feeling of having water beneath me, it is like being cradled in a fabulous bath - very relaxing. The wind awakens my body, sensitizing my skin and causing my hair to dance wildly around. The yacht cuts into the water, tipping sideways and picking up a lot speed. It is truly fabulous and exciting to rush forward at an extreme angle.

At Cape Clear, we dock the yacht and prepare for lunch. Pleasure cruising sure works up one's appetite, and Mary has done a good job anticipating this. She breaks out a full spread in the galley and hails us down. Fresh sandwiches, scones, cheeses, and fruit, along with a couple more French presses of that fantastic coffee - it all looks good. We gather at the table and devour everything.

On the way back, Con lets me take wheel. I've been waiting for this chance all afternoon. I have a famous pirate queen in my lineage, and she comes out of me whenever I get offshore. I think Con senses this and gets a little nervous. He'll have no pirating with his "Inishbeg" today. But it is a challenge enough just to keep us going straight. I can feel the force of the wind pushing us along, and any abrupt turn of my steering would throw us in the path of the other vessels that are speeding our direction. Before I have time to make a decision, he takes over the wheel. I am relieved to hand it back over to him, though disappointed to let go.

We get back to Baltimore and are reluctant to leave the boat. It would be fun to become a stowaway and cruise the islands on the "Inishbeg" all summer. This day of sailing was one of the highlights of our trip to Ireland. We say our goodbyes to Con and Mary and the other passengers. We are so pleased to have met them and shared such a spectacular experience.

Baltimore Yacht Charters, Baltimore, West Cork, Ireland. Contact Mary and Con Minihane, (0)28 20160/(0)87 273 8368. Email: info@baltimoreyachtcharters.com. Web: www.baltimoreyachtcharters.com.