A little bit of Leitrim

So we were going to take a little trip on the boat to Carrick then down to Drumsna but it was lashing with rain when we got up to Leitrim so we went to the Barge Inn and had a steak instead. A very good one, but pricey enough. I don't eat steak very often, but miserable weather sometimes brings out the desire for strong meat.

There's an interesting business with the jetties at Leitrim. There were new ones built a few years ago by Waterways Ireland, and another strip of sideways-on floating pontoons by the chap who built the (largely empty) apartments and new marina just beyond.

The sideways pontoons were supposed to be taken over by Waterways Ireland, but there were delays and difficulties of the kind that happened at the end of the Tiger Years. The barrier to the private marina was broken and is now tied open. There are few boats in there, in spite of the obvious temptation for people to 'borrow' an empty berth.

The new hotel has closed up, in spite of all the hard work put in by the previous owners. There's another marina attached to that too. I wonder what will happen regarding the upkeep of all these private marinas in which people have paid good money for berths.

The public jetties, the ones that were to become Waterways Ireland's responsibility have, like the apartments, become Nama property. Winter Solstice is there briefly - the weekend after next we'll take her to her winter berth in the marina at Albert Lock. In the meantime Joe tucked her up in her covers.

We'd left the coachhouse roof cover on while we were on board - we had windows put into it, but not enough for true brightness. But there was a very satisfying feeling of being safe from the rain. No leaks guaranteed! We might have more windows put in for those winter cruises. It would be useful to be able to see in the galley and the heads.