Ballycastle at play

A very chilled time here. As we arrived, the harbour master told us that the Lammas Fair would take place on Bank holiday Monday and Tuesday. The oldest event in Northern Ireland, dating back to the 17th century and quite a huge event too. The population of around 6,000 folks is swamped by the visitors - 60,000 are not unusual.

So, we had to stay and see what the craic was going to be like (for the non UK folks, see Craic information). We took a bus into Coleraine for the captain's birthday. Remember that N Ireland drivers are either Joey Dunlop or rally / hill climb devotees. This bus driver was no exception and the stunning scenery (Giants Causeway, Antrim coastline) whizzed past. He even managed to intimidate a Range Rover to pull in and let him pass by driving inches from the car on back roads at silly speeds. Despite all this, the views were great and we lived to tell the tale.

The town hall area is nicely preserved:

and the captain was very surprised to see that the BMW Dealership (JKC) was on the same site that he used to visit many many years ago

On Friday evening, Brian the Redbay RIB owner and his friend Kieran invited us for an impromptu trip across to Rathlin Island. It was blowy and there were some nice waves to test out the RIB. AWESOME piece of kit. No slamming, gentle landings even from big waves and a very stable ride. 20 knot cruise in conditions that would keep most people in harbour and a nice 34 knot run across the smaller waves as we approached Rathlin. Great evening and great fun. Here is a picture of her taken by the boat builders on a much quieter day:

The enclosed Redbay would be an excellent boat to have on the pontoon outside the house when we are forced to "go ashore" again in x years time.

One drawback of Ballycastle (or at least our berth at the head of the marina area) is that we are right next to the fish quay where some sizeable trawlers come in to unload. The skill of the skippers in threading their relatively unwieldy craft through the narrow entrance and onto the quay avoiding us is impressive - luckily! For a couple of evenings, they were rafted three abreast and we could just about reach over and touch the bow of the outer craft. At night, they look impressive too, if a little close:

Yes, the pictures were taken from the boat and without any zoom lens use....

The Lammas fair was a very busy event. Very. It felt like all the market stalls, fast food vans and fortune tellers from Ireland (both parts of it) had congregated in the small town. There was even a horse sale, with the associated gipsy types hanging around, chaperoned by lots of police. The most surprising - a stall run by a funeral director. Looking at the burgers, sweets and junk being consumed by some rather portly folks, we understood why a funeral director might be touting for business.