A junk rig that arrived this weekend at Sherkin Island may be one of the smallest vessels to make an Atlantic crossing.
Alan Mulholland’s 21-footer Wave Rover II has just completed a transatlantic route via Horta in the Azores — about three weeks in total — sailing with a rig that echoes the classic Chinese junk style of sail.
While the style is unusual in the modern age, it has advantages for long-distance solo cruisers like Mulholland, as it’s easy to handle and repair, quick to adapt to changing wind conditions, and can usually be managed without having to go out on deck in rough conditions, as Junk Rig Association chair Kevin Cardiff tells Afloat.ie.
Mulholland documented the design and build of Wave Rover II on his popular YouTube channel, where he had also been documenting his current voyage around the world.
The Canadian — who was born in Dublin and emigrated with his family in the late 1970s - will take some time to cruise around Ireland before resuming his global circumnavigation, aiming to join the Cruising Association of Ireland’s Three Bridges rally in the capital this September.
Cardiff tells Afloat.ie that Mulholland is one of two intrepid self-build junk-rig soloist on an Atlantic crossing this summer, as while in the Azores he was within a few miles of Anna Lucija II and its owner/builder/sailor Kris Matuszewski.
