The 39ft Danish-built ketch Teddy is a familiar sight in the heart of the Connacht coast, snugly berthed along the tidal quayside at Clifden in Connemara. And when she’s not there, we can usually be sure that owner-skipper Nick Kats - a specialist nutritionist who voyages extensively despite being very significantly hearing-impaired - is in high latitudes, on an Arctic cruise to Iceland, Jan Mayen or Greenland.
A long way from extreme weather in the Arctic Ocean – Nick Kats’ much-travellled Teddy (centre) at Cifden Quay
He sails with a like-minded crew of multiple talents recruited through many channels, and this year they took themselves off to southwest Greenland. And then, having transitted west-east through the magnificent Prinz Kristian Sund in south Greenland, they took themselves across to Reykjavik in Iceland to facilitate crew changes and prepare for the homeward voyage
The Teddy Tracks: Nick Kats’ Arctic voyages in recent years
As usual at the conclusion of such ventures, Teddy was expected back in Clifden around September 15th. So in anticipation of this – and while waiting to see if our prediction of sea breezes finally brought life today (Saturday) to the ICRA Nats at Howth - we fired off a signal to Teddy’s skipper to hear the latest word on progress.
MIND-BLOWING RESPONSE
The mind-blowing response engendered visions of sea states and weather conditions just about as far as you can get from a calm Indian summer’s day on the Fingal coast. In fact, we’re still processing it, and we reckon it speaks very eloquently for itself if we simply re-post it in its raw form as it came from Nick, for it’s something which leaves any thoughtful sailor temporarily at a loss for words:
TWO COMPLETE KNOCKDOWNS
Teddy was in a bad storm, 61N x 30W, two complete knockdowns, plus lots of semi-knockdowns. Main mast broke halfway between spreaders & masthead. A-frame bow pulpit gone. Main boom broken. Most shrouds stretched, the majority severely.
Variety of lesser stuff. No injuries, just a nice collection of bruises. Turned to nearest harbour, Grindavik, Iceland under staysail with remainder of mast held up by running backstays, and help of engine.
Cleaning up now. Sorting out next move, may take her to Djupivogur, East Iceland, where I have a good fisherman friend - he has sailed with me from Iceland-Ireland, and Teddy
has over-wintered there before, under his care.
WINTER LAYUP IN ICELAND?
Maybe I could leave her there for the winter, do solid temporary repairs in the late spring, and sail her to Hegarty's at Oldcourt above Baltimore, where they’ve done good work for me before.
Should not be difficult - a week maybe - bulldog clamps & thimbles for the loose shrouds, a bowsprit with ring to run out the jib Galway hooker style, move masthead cap to the stump of the mast, splint the boom etc. These repairs I already know will be adequate for North Atlantic standards, so no worries there.
I'm actually looking forward to this part - repairs and the sail home maybe via Shetlands and Stornoway.
However, the other option is shipping her to Ireland. It’s early days yet – we got in to Grindavik only two days ago. I'll update the blog in the next day or two.
For the moment, any further comment from us in comfort here in Ireland would be superfluous to the point of impertinence. You can get further insight into this remarkable man in his blogspot Teddytoarctic2023.blogspot.com
In a world of his own in a league of its own – Nick Kats of the Teddy
