Annual Cape Canoe Club Meeting

The club had its annual meeting on Monday 21st July at the http://www.CapeClearHostel.com/ in South Harbour.

Annual Camping Trip
Dates: The camping trip will take place on Tuesday 12th August with the proviso that if the weather is bad on Tuesday the trip will be moved to Wednesday 13th.

Destination: The destination is hoped to be the Middle Calf Island.

Cost: €12 per person, adult or junior.

Restrictions: Children must be accompanied by a parent or an adult assuming resposibility for them.

Health & Safety - Checking Health & Safety Status at Departure:
Life Jacket must be worn. Wet weather gear must be brought. Each individual is responsible for bringing their own tent, food, & water. Each individual is responsible for ensuring that they have a berth in a tent.

An Ri-chie will be checking to make sure that each person has the required equipment as they clamber aboard the Karycraft. Please note: you will not be allowed to go if you do not have the required gear. If you don't have your own lifejacket or wet weather gear or tent, then please tell us in good time because we can always help.

Training: Weekly gathering for canoe practice and training in the South Harbour, I believe on Friday.

Canoe Club Subscriptions
Prices for 2008/9 have been set at:
€10 per child
€20 per adult
€60 maximum per family.

Topaz Dinghy
An exciting new arrival which needs to be treated with care and respect. Plans are afoot to store it near the lake and, perhaps, to move some of the boulders at the margin of the lake to make it easier to land.

Booking Topaz Time: Idividual users need to communicate with each other to agree the best time to use the dinghy.

Topaz Costs: We need to create a fund specifically for the maintenance and repair of the Topaz. We have agreed that €40 per family would be fair.

Topaz Restrictions: At least one senior user, over 16 years of age, with a minimum of two weeks suitable experience, must be in control of the session.


Insurance, Health & Safety
It is important to note that, essentially, the Canoe Club is actually and simply a collection of families working together to create facilities for the individuals of the families to use. The canoe club does not assume any responsibility for any of the users of the equipment and it is agreed by all the members that children must always be in the care of their own parents or another adult who has specifically agreed to assume responsibility for those children.
The canoe club does not have insurance and it is agreed by all members that it is up to individual members to make their own minds up on this issue.

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Littering on the Beautiful Cape
On my walk back from the lake to CDM's this week I picked up a Coke can and filled a small bag with chocolate and sweet wrappers, with a similar result on the road from the South to the North Harbour.Well, one thing I know for sure, it is not any of us islanders doing the littering. How do I know? The appearance of litter coincides with the mass arrival of children to the island.The good thing here is that it was a relatively small amount of litter, which points to a startling fact - the majority of children do not litter and have a healthy respect for nature; the ones that do litter make up a very small minority; hanging on to this positive thought gives me hope for the future.

Cape Clear International Storytelling Festival September 5th -7th, 2008.

A report is not needed, instead click the link and visit the new web site for a wealth of information regarding the festival. Some superb storytellers are booked and should not be missed. This is the festival that people come back to year after year. Don't leave it too late to book - still some beds remaining - check the accommodation list on the festival web site.
http://www.capeclearstorytelling.com/

Chuck Kruger Lunches New Poetry Book.

William Wall, Irish poet, says of Chuck and his book: He brings an American sense of vastness to the tiny island of Cape Clear, and other even tinier islands of self and other, a diction that Frost would have recognised coupled with a strong feeling for the character of place and the place of character. From the fisherman whose feet know the secret steps that lead down the cliff to the lobster boat, to the young man crouching ‘in a low vaulted cellar … amongst the abandoned amphorae’ in Jerusalem, Kruger observes them all. There are meditations on animals, seals and insects, or at least on human encounters with those creatures, on nature, on man’s footprint in it, and man’s departures from it, on love friendship and community.

Tom McCarthy, another fine Irish poet, says this: A sense of the spiritual in primitive places in the manner of Laurens van der Post, an overwhelming sense of wilderness in the manner of Sigurd Olsen: these are at the very heart of everything Chuck Kruger writes and broadcasts.… His life and lifestyle is rooted in deep thought and contemplation and it is no surprise that the recurrent heroes of this collection of poems are the butterflies, the Red Admirals, Painted Ladies and Large Heaths, which survive the ferocious winter and spring storms of Cape Clear….

Richie, the newsletter editor, a slightly less-well-educated pleb, says 'it is a jolly good read.' He goes on to say, 'perhaps it is my lack of higher education which allows me to enjoy this collection so much. I have read widely and can say that, probably like many others, I can usually select two, three, maybe four poems by major/minor poets that speak to my heart, but with this collection that number is exceeded. It helps also to be grounded in the being of an island to appreciate the beauty within many of the poems.

Chuck's new book, Sourcing, may be ordered direct from: Chuck Kruger, Glen West, Cape Clear Island, County Cork, Ireland. It costs €12, plus €1.30 postage within Ireland and €2.85 for elsewhere in the world. It may also be ordered through http://www.emara.com/ or http://www.kennys.ie/

Basking Shark spotted 20 mtrs from hostel window. Thursday 24th April.

We were pleased to get an excuse to stop decorating and, flinging our paintbrushes to the floor, we dashed outside to get a closer look at the basking shark which had just glided past at around 60ft distance from the hostel. It wasn't huge and we estimate the size to be around 5mtrs.

The following day the basking shark was joined by an inquisitive seal, which seemed to be watching as we tried our hand at mackerel fishing for the first time this season.

It all looks very promising for the whale watching season this year. The video below is of a basking shark in the South Harbour from 2007.

Broadband on Cape Clear

Yes we have no bananas but we do have broadband on Cape. The introduction of broadband to Cape was important and a number of us worked hard to ensure the success of the venture. The broadband on Cape allows people with the relevant skills a great opportunity of working from home, and already at least six people on Cape make their living in this way.

Currently three people on Cape use the Internet to operate businesses offering translations; two translating French/English/French, and one person, in conjunction with two others on the mainland translating Irish/English/Irish.

Others use it in an ancillary way to manage and market their businesses but it is none the less important for this type of use.

It is, perhaps, not an overstatement to say that the Internet has helped to limit the outflow of families from Cape and we do hope that it helps to maintain the current level.

DAWN Ltd, the main supplier of broadband Internet services on Cape, is community owned business and hopes to create two full time jobs, subject to grant aid being available. See later posting for more information on this subject.

Families Wanted!

New families are invited and encouraged to enquire about moving to Cape Clear. The island is a fantastic place to rear children - no crime; nature all around helps to keep children active; kayak club; sea fishing; snorkelling; annual camp out on uninhabited island, see photo of Aiden at sunset on uninhabited Castle Island; annual adventure camp here on Cape; twice weekly football during the quieter parts of the year; chess club; table-tennis; brand new community hall; National School (see photo of school above).

Cape has a community of neighbours who are ready to help each other when the need arises. There are various volunteer groups from 'Tidy Islands,' helping to keep Cape clean and presentable, to 'Cara,' who help to keep our vintage residents active. The main broadband provider on Cape is also managed by volunteers.

Sean Rua's Restaurant - Now Open!

An Siopa Beag has been extended to include a restaurant to seat 26 people. The new restaurant has been named as Sean Rua's. The grand opening was on the 19th April and was a roaring success. Already groups of gourmet diners have travelled from afar to experience the fine and gourmet food now dished up at An Siopa Beag. The head chef is James Bell, ably assisted by his wife Julie. They moved to the island in 2007 and quickly became immersed in the life and fabric of Cape. It is always sensible to book ahead by telephoning 39099.