Day 112, Thurs 20 May
A shorter cycle today, just the 40 miles around the western end of the Ring of Kerry. I’ve run out of superlatives to describe the awesome beauty of the South West of Ireland.
Valentina Island has one of the earliest Severn Class All-weather Lifeboats. Being moored on the Atlantic Ocean 24/7 means that the 22 year old is beginning to mature a little, with fading orange paint on her superstructure. Nevertheless, on closer inspection she still looks the business, clearly very well maintained by full time mechanic Leo. Today, for maintenance reasons the boat is secured alongside the more accessible Knight’s Town harbour floating pontoon, making her easier to photograph on this glorious, calm spring evening.
Many thanks to Richard (Cox’n), Leo (Mechanic), and Liam (LPO and Paramedic) for the kind welcome, tea & biscuits and stabling for Fondo overnight. The immaculate boathouse is as clean as my spotless hotel room at the Royal Valentia, who have kindly put me up for a greatly reduced fee in support of my RNLI fundraising efforts. Which, incidentally, reminds me – if any one you know is looking for a most worthy cause to support, please pass on this link:
rnli coastal cycle ride 