Sligo
John Carlton
July 3, 2023
HM 233. Sligo - stampeding cattle and French hospitality.
HM John Carton is a sociable person and pleased to see any yachtie who makes the 80 mile diversion deep into Donegal Bay to visit his small harbour. I immediately regretted arriving by hire car! I soon found out why John was so friendly - he is a sailor too. From 1976 until 2106 John had been a professional yacht skipper although his roots were firmly in Sligo.
Born just 50 yards from the HM's office, John's father had been "Dredger Master" indicating one of the main challenges facing all previous HMs. John told me his biggest success has been increasing the number of ships visiting his small commercial port, receiving inbound cargos including, of all things, olive stones which are processed locally into a high calorific biomass fuel. Maybe not such a surprise when I learnt that in the 12th C, Portuguese wine was imported into the very same harbour, with the ships returning home full of butter. The heyday of the port came in the 1970s when three ships a week exported cattle, one each to Glasgow, Liverpool and ... Tripoli. Today the most valuable export is fishmeal with a typical 2,000t coaster carrying over two million euros of cargo.
Reminiscing about his childhood and with a big grin on his face, John told me how he and his brother would play a game trying to get the cattle to stampede from the quayside to the town centre, half a mile away. Maybe that is why he was sent off to sea!
As we chatted, a single handed French sailor called up on the VHF saying he was approaching the harbour. We both went down to welcome him onto the pontoon and immediately were invited on board to have a glass of wine. It was only 10am and we politely declined!
When I asked to take my photo with John, he insisted the beautiful Benbulbin Mountain was in the background. The mountain has become a bit of a trade mark for Sligo. A couple of weeks later, when I was sailing across a choppy Donegal Bay on the way south, I saluted Benbulbin and resolved to visit Sligo by water another year. He had after all just built a very smart shower block for visitors.
Thank you John for your hospitality.
HM John Carton is a sociable person and pleased to see any yachtie who makes the 80 mile diversion deep into Donegal Bay to visit his small harbour. I immediately regretted arriving by hire car! I soon found out why John was so friendly - he is a sailor too. From 1976 until 2106 John had been a professional yacht skipper although his roots were firmly in Sligo.
Born just 50 yards from the HM's office, John's father had been "Dredger Master" indicating one of the main challenges facing all previous HMs. John told me his biggest success has been increasing the number of ships visiting his small commercial port, receiving inbound cargos including, of all things, olive stones which are processed locally into a high calorific biomass fuel. Maybe not such a surprise when I learnt that in the 12th C, Portuguese wine was imported into the very same harbour, with the ships returning home full of butter. The heyday of the port came in the 1970s when three ships a week exported cattle, one each to Glasgow, Liverpool and ... Tripoli. Today the most valuable export is fishmeal with a typical 2,000t coaster carrying over two million euros of cargo.
Reminiscing about his childhood and with a big grin on his face, John told me how he and his brother would play a game trying to get the cattle to stampede from the quayside to the town centre, half a mile away. Maybe that is why he was sent off to sea!
As we chatted, a single handed French sailor called up on the VHF saying he was approaching the harbour. We both went down to welcome him onto the pontoon and immediately were invited on board to have a glass of wine. It was only 10am and we politely declined!
When I asked to take my photo with John, he insisted the beautiful Benbulbin Mountain was in the background. The mountain has become a bit of a trade mark for Sligo. A couple of weeks later, when I was sailing across a choppy Donegal Bay on the way south, I saluted Benbulbin and resolved to visit Sligo by water another year. He had after all just built a very smart shower block for visitors.
Thank you John for your hospitality.