It's time to call it a day...... but just as we began to arrange the crew to help lift her out, the winds began behaving themselves, as if they knew too well how to tease us back in again. The boat is back on the beach ready to take advantage of every opportunity, but for the occasional blow that sends us retreating behind the wall waiting for the first chance to stick our noses back out again. They have been early morning sails on the idyllic bay, beneath the Cooley mountains. Now that the boat has begun to quicken, the leeboards used to stop it drifting have come into play and a frantic feeling has overcome the crew to dot the 'i's and cross the 't's. So finally, the last sail shape has been hoisted, the one that for me I favoured as being more inline with what perhaps nomadic mariners would have called a 'Dragon's Wing'. It is an equilateral triangle that has poles attached on two of the three sides. It allowed us reach across the water with ease this morning without the usual concerns. So its back to the workshop to add another 6 ft to its length before we can get back on the water and try it again. A quick run to Waterford was fitted in during the week to collect 10 black heavy-duty plastic pipes that are to be used as rollers for taking the boat up the beach. Thanks to the guys at ITFS!
Claidhbh Ó GibneAn artist and currach-maker whose studio and home are located among the remnants of countless monuments in the Brú na Bóinne World Heritage Park. Archives
August 2018
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