TRIP TO WICKLOW 2-4 AUGUST 2008 Cruiser class captain Alan Jackson had organised a race to Wicklow and warmly recommended the trip for those of the cruising persuasion.  It was great advice and meant that a total of seven Skerries boats shared the Wicklow night-life for the week end. The cruising boats, Rockabill, San Royke and Blue Air left the perch mark about 15 minutes ahead of  the three racers, Premier Cru, Tully Two (the race winner) and Moonraker.  Brand new boat Rihanna joined the crew in Wicklow. On our way south just as we drew level with Lambay the racers shot by and  laid the trail for us all the way past Howth Head, across Dublin Bay and along the beautiful Wicklow coast to Wicklow harbour. Part of the pleasure of cruising is watching the landscape but it's also very enjoyable to observe the other boats in full sail as they cut through the water.  Just off the Burford Bank we saw the tall ship Jeannie Johnson head into Dublin port.   In spite of such a bad summer we struck it lucky with the weather on this trip as we all headed south on a close reach with the wind coming from the SW most of the time.  Leaving Skerries just before 11:00 on Saturday morning  we found the wind dropped at 16:30 and we had to motor the final 30 minutes of the trip. The racing members were well settled in by the time we got there. Wicklow harbour is always accessible though rafting three or four boats deep was necessary on this busy Bank Holiday weekend.             The Wicklow Port Company now collects €14/night per vessel of any size.  There are no facilities in the harbour but the Wicklow Sailing Club graciously lets visitors avail of its services.   The hospitality of this club is well-known and was up to its usual high standard for our visit. It was also great to see the international mix of cruising boats moored alongside with two boats  from Sweden, several from the UK and one in the German colours. As well as  the beauty of Wicklow and a fine selection of restaurants to choose from, the RNLI were on display and it was possible to have life-jackets checked. We also watched with some degree of envy the ease with which they winced the lifeboat back into its shed after about six RNLI crew washed the boat from top to bottom. On the way back to Skerries on Bank Holiday Monday, we enjoyed a beam reach for part of the way. By leaving Wicklow at 07:30 we had the advantage of about seven hours of favourable tide all the way to Skerries. Crossing Dublin Bay we had a close view of the HSS ferry as it made its into Dun Laoire. Beyond Ireland's Eye the wind veered and we ended the journey with the wind on the nose. There had been some rain this week-end but, compared with the summer so far we were counting our blessings. FIREWORKS On Sunday night, the 3rd of August, a wonderful fireworks display took place at the end of the pier in Wicklow. The deck of the Sailing Club provided an excellent viewing platform for the show that started at 23:00. Those of us moored at the end of the harbour were asked to move to safer waters but before we pushed off we had a very good  close-up view of the preparations for the fireworks. .