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Historic Boats
The size and variety of the Morbihan Festival fleet continued to amaze at todays picnic, but the style of the boats wasn’t quite matched by the style of the crews on the beach
When you’ve an inland sea well filled with islands, the tides running between them are bound to be quite strong from time to time writes W M Nixon. After the second day of the Morbihan Festival of Sail, the veteran…
A quiet evening at the Claddagh, with a classic Galway hooker gliding along on a calm sea. But the peacefulness is going to be rudely shattered with a Viking invasion in the days ahead, just as the many traditional Galway Bay boats are gathering for their annual festival
When the Vikings were busy at the day job raiding along the Irish coast, they relied on a considerable element of surprise to achieve success writes W M Nixon. So much so, in fact, that they occasionally worked overtime, and…
“Don’t look now, but I think we’re being followed.......” The Howth 17 Aura of 1898 vintage in company with a French sail training ship of a much more ancient design, but probably much newer vintage
When you’ve 1400 sailing boats gently milling about, all in seemingly amiable confusion but with lots of warm sunshine, it’s an achievement to avoid a collision, and it’s a real breakthrough when you can recognise another participant writes W M…
A traditional boat festival deserves a traditional programme. Forget about fancy modern, glossy and over-designed minimalist brochures. This retro-style fact-filled programme for the weekend’s Baltimore Woodenboat Festival is entirely appropriate. Scroll down for the full programme below
The annual Baltimore Wooden boat Festival this weekend (full dates are Friday 26th to Sunday 28th May) provides the perfect setting for a remarkable range of craft of all shapes, sizes and rigs writes W M Nixon. It brings with…
Up, up and away....Roddy Cooper’s Carrickfergus-built Howth 17 Leila of 1898 vintage takes to the skies at the Morbihan
Howth 17 sailors are nothing if not optimists writes W M Nixon. They need to be, sailing a fleet in which the five oldest boats date back to 1898. Yet as reported on Saturday, everything was going fine with all…
Now you see them, now you don’t – spot the newly-arrived Howth 17s at the boatyard in Vannes at lunchtime today
The 1898-vintage Howth Yacht Club Howth Seventeens haven’t survived and thrived for 119 years without being crazy like foxes now and again writes W M Nixon. So when six of them set off for Rosslare yesterday on their way to…
Local West Cork yacht Cuilaun of Kinsale, a 54 ft McGruer Ketch, is heading for the Glandore Classic Boat Festival on July 23rd
As a fleet of Irish historic yachts depart for Morbhian Traditional Yachting Regatta and Dun Laoghaire Regatta announces up to 70 classic boat entries will compete in its inaugural Kingstown 200 Cup, classic boats continue to register for Glandore's Classic…
The mystery burgee on display in Galway Bay Sailing Club
In the Committee Room of Galway Bay Sailing Cub there hangs a neatly-framed flag writes W M Nixon. But the flag itself is no longer neat – it has been battered by the winds. This flag has been about, and…
The restored Periwinkle reveals her classic style
The last time the Alfred Mylne-designed Dublin Bay 24s raced together in their home waters was Saturday, September 25th 2004 writes W M Nixon. Since then, the class has been through various traumas as projects for a group rebuild/restoration in…
When Pierce Power of Passage West on Cork Harbour was commissioned to build the original punt for John Valentine Sisk in 1926, the specification was for an easily-rowed stable 10ft dinghy which could comfortably carry four adults. This is the modern version, providing much lighter weight through edge-glued construction
The Baltimore Wooden Boat Festival 2017 from Friday 26th to Sunday 28th May will feature a remarkable selection of old, restored and new craft - traditional and classic alike - all reflecting the many aspects of the arts and crafts…
A currach on the shore on Inishbofin, which sees the launch of its latest community-build traditional boat this May Bank Holiday weekend
#Currach - The first of four new community-built currachs launches from Inishbofin this afternoon (Sunday 30 April), as Galway Bay FM reports. Young people from the Connemara island have been heavily involved in the traditional boat-building project, funded via the…
It takes a bit of effort to work out that somewhere in there is an Etchells 22
Some boats are Classics from birth, others acquire Classic status over time, and there are others beyond that again which have had imaginative things done to them in order to confer a new Classic status writes W M Nixon. Back…
#SaveShip! - Time is running out to save iconic Naomh Eanna, a former Aran Islands ferry and freight ship, writes Galway Independent. A voluntary group which hoped to return the ship to Galway into a maritime attraction at the Long…
#Laurentic - History lovers on Thursday 6 April will get a closer view of some of the fascinating artefacts recovered from the tragic sinking of SS Laurentic in Lough Swilly as part of a unique workshop. The artefacts from the…
The former CIE operated Aran Islands passenger/freight ferry Naomh Eanna languishes in Dublin (Grand Canal Dock Basin). A campaign is underway to return the veteran vessel to her original homeport of Galway.
#NaomhEanna - The Minister for Transport is being urged to back a campaign to bring Naomh Eanna back to Galway, writes The Connacht Tribune. The ship once carried passengers (and freight) between the city and Aran Islands, before being withdrawn…
The newly-restored 1937-vintage Arklow-built Maybird racing in the Fastnet in 2011
The 43ft 1937 Tyrrell of Arklow-built gaff ketch Maybird has become a familiar sight in Irish waters in recent years writes W M Nixon. Bought in New Zealand in 2002 by Darryl Hughes (who hailed originally from Wales, but carved…