Tuesday 24th August, 2021, Inishboffin to Inishmore
After the embarrassment of keeling over in Inishboffin harbour (read about it in the previous post!) we made a quick exit from the anchorage at 0600 that morning, with a long sail planned down to Inishmore, one of the Aran Islands at the end of Galway Bay.
It was a glorious sunrise, with light winds from the South East that meant we were able to sail the entire way on a close hold and tacking down the coast. We were of course both completely exhausted, having been up most of the night, but the sun was shining, and the views were inviting.
As we got close to Inishmore, we heard the rush of air as a whale surfaced about 100m from the boat, the second whale siting of the trip. And we were once again joined on the journey by a pod of dolphins, which was to become a daily occurrence on the rest of the trip
We anchored in a pretty bay off a white sand beach called Portmurvy on the North East side of the Island, 50NM from Inishboffin.
Looking back at the lighthouse on Slyne Head 
Looking South towards Inishmore
Wednesday 25th August, 2021, Portmurvy to Shannon River
We woke to a reasonable size swell entering Portmurvy which meant meant we didnt want to chance rowing the dinghy in to shore on to the beach. Unfortunately that meant we couldn’t visit the iron age fort on Inishmore, so we weighed anchor and headed South again for Loop Head 36NM from the end of the Aran Islands.
We had fair winds for a couple of hours which got us away from the Aran Islands.
Eventually the wind died and we had to motor for a bit until we got closer to Loop head where the wind picked up again and blew us around in to the Shannon Estuary. The cliffs around Loop Head were imposing with very interesting geology with layers twisted and contorted, and the cliffs peppered with caves.
Once in the Shannon Estuary, we stuck our nose in to the first Anchorage option of Kilbaha Bay, but we didnt like the look of it as it felt very exposed and swelly. We were glad we carried on and rode the fast tide further up the estuary to the anchorage at Cariggaholt and anchored just off the end of the pier in the front of a tall castle tower. This was a much nicer and secure bay, especially as the wind started to pick up from the North East.
We took the dinghy to shore and visited the little village. Couldn’t get in the restaurant, so settled for a takeaway from “Max Bites” and then an illicit visit to the the castle for a closer look.
Thursday 26th August, 2021, Carrigaholt to the Margharees and Brandon Bay
We left Carrigaholt Bay at 1130 when the tide turned to leave the Shannon Estuary and motored out of the Bay. The tide at the narrowing entrance gave us an SOG of 11 knots!
With the strong tide and the light winds, there was scope to sail, and we downwind sailed all the way to the Kerry head at the end of the estuary until the wind died.
Dolphin Fin in the Shannon Estuary 
Approaching Kerry Head
On with the motor again and we transited the last 7 miles to the Margharee Islands and dropped the anchor next to Illauntannig. This tiny island hosts 6th century monastic remains with beehive huts made of stone, so we took the dinghy in to shore to go and visit.
Its an exposed spot, and when the wind picked up and the swell started to roll in, we decided it was not the best spot to anchor for the night. So we weighed anchor and headed a 6 miles further west down the coast to Brandon Bay protected by Sheveglass mountain and had a comfortable night.