Young People Learning The Baltimore Waves. With a rope! Making the best of what we have on our doorstep.

Young People Learning The Baltimore Waves. With a rope! 

Making the best of what we have on our doorstep.

The boys back on the Baltimore waters

Lively in Lekeitio (2012), a little village on the Basque coast between Bilbao and Donostia.

Back in the summer of 2012, I spent a few hours in the beautiful coastal town of Lekeitio (7,500). It is on the Basque coast in Spain, between Bilbao and Donostia (San Sebastian). It has a lovely harbour and a beach alongside, with an island, San Nicolas, that may be walked to when the tide is out. 

We were "entertained" here for a while by a group of children being taught how to handle canoes in the harbour. They had two adults in charge and showed great confidence on and in the water as they went through their exercises. On that trip, we saw quite a lot of watersports training on both sides of the border, to an extent not then seen in Ireland.

Two ferries leave Baltimore at the same time, the red one for Sherkin, the other making the longer trip to Oileán Chléire.

While in the Basque country and musing about Ireland being behind in imparting the skills of water sports to our children, I was aware that Baltimore in West Cork was doing its part. And delighted to see the current crop of energetic youngers in action in the harbour in late June with quite a lot of instructors at hand. You may read all about the Baltimore Sailing Club's programme and courses here.

And they had their hands full. Kids will be kids and it took quite a while to set up the exercise and the lead instructor must have been quite hoarse by the end of it. Eventually, they got the four boats of trainees (four per boat) lined up in a row, each boat attached to the one in front by rope with the rope secured to the adults' boat.

And off they went, out of the comparative safety of the harbour and into the sea between the little town and Sherkin island with Schull's Mount Gabriel away to the right. As they stretched out in a line, at least one other boatload of instructors kept watch on the left.

All in a row! The instructors' patience is rewarded.

See also on this trip:

Light Lunch at Mary Ann's in Castletownsend

One Day in West Cork

Mizen Head Fascinates, even on a grey and windy day.

Reen Pier Magic. Day and Night.

Baltimore Young People Learning The Waves.

Dining Well In Celtic Ross. Summer of '23.

Lekeitio 2012