The great Captain Cook may have voyaged to the Pacific in 1769 for the astronomical purpose of observing the Transit of Venus from Tahiti. But tonight (Monday) the crew of the Limerick ketch Ilen have a more modest hope - the clearance of southeast Ireland’s Solstice sky to provide a memorable sighting of the keenly-anticipated conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn.
Having been in Dublin for a couple of weeks in which Ilen provided Sailing into Wellness courses in Dublin Bay with her crew being additionally rewarded with Limerick beating Waterford in the All-Ireland Hurling Final, the 56ft 1926-vintage Conor O’Brien traditional ship is grabbing a break in adverse gales to get back to base via the South Coast. And if the stars are there to be seen, so much the better.