Events – Page 43 – intheboatshed.net

The Baltimore Wooden Boat Festival

Boatbuilder Tiernan Roe of Ballydehob in the South-Western corner of Eire sent in these photos of the Baltimore Wooden Boat Festival, which took place last weekend.

Here’s what he says about the photos:

‘The grey rowing boat is a gandelow from the Shannon estuary region of Ireland, and was built by the AK Ilen Boat Building School.

‘The pretty little lug-sailed boat is a François Vivier-designed Ilur built by Tim Cooke at the fishing village of Union Hall. Well worth having a look at his tumblr he’s really putting in a lot of work into a very nice boat. [And also some more photos of the Baltimore Festival – ed.]

‘I had one of the boats I built for the Game of Thrones TV series on display, which was a bit of fun. The two boats are back in the workshop for a bit of work before they are sent off to exotic locations for filming, now if I can only swing that I have to go too. Ideas on a postcard please… The photos of the Game of Thrones boat were taken by Helen Sloan/HBO.

‘I’m also building another two faerings at the moment and the micro cruiser I have been working on for the last few months is nearing completion – or at least the list of things to do is getting longer so I guess it must be close to a launch.

‘Hope all is well with you and keep up the good work with intheboatshed.

‘Tiernan’

Thanks Tiernan!

Click on the thumbnails below for larger photographs.

Tiernan Roe boat built for the Game of Thrones series

Gandelow built by AK Ilen Wooden Boatbuilding School

Francois Vivier Ilur built by Tim Cooke

A currach – just where it should be on the West Coast of Ireland

Faversham Nautical Festival 2013 – a sunny affair with more boats and a good crowd

The boats turned out, the sun shone, the tide rose (until it lapped over the top of the sound engineer’s feet – terrifying!) folks played in the water. There was a good crowd and there were more boats than last year. Well done the Kentish Sail Association.

The event was only marred by the sense of struggle people are having with the aims of local developers and planners I heard someone say there are folks who wish to replace one of the black sheds near the spot where these photos were taken with an eight-storey block of flats. The fight to save the Creek will have to go on and on – and yet in any reasonable world it should be regarded as so precious, it should not require this block-by-block protection.

All in all, the festival was probably exactly as you might expect. Or it was until a chap who sailed up the creek in a little standing-lug rigged flat-bottomed homebuilt dink with lapped ply sides.

‘What is it,’ I asked him.

‘It’s my own,’ he said. ‘I designed it and made it.’

‘Is it based on anything?’

‘No. It just came out of my mind. You should see what it happens when I put out the bowsprit and fly the spinnaker,’ he said.

‘How does it go?’ I asked. ’18 knots, easy,’ he said…

So it’s a flat-bottomed boat of 13-14 feet with a standing lug that sounds like it could outrun a Laser (or a Torch, now Bruce Kirby has renamed his famous design). In a country where few people even consider making their own boat let alone designing it for themselves, and an even tinier number would consider a standing lug, still fewer combining that an asymmetric spinnaker, I think that boat was today’s big surprise. And a challenge to home designers and builders everywhere…

Faversham Nautical Festival 2013

Does anyone you know deserve an award for their contribution to conserving and operating historic vessels?

Previous winners hard at work

National Historic Ships is calling for nominations for a volunteer or group of volunteers for the Marsh Volunteer Awards, which recognise and thank those who have made a significant contribution to the conservation or operation of historic vessels in the UK.

There is an overall prize of £1,000 to be won for the Marsh Volunteer Award and £500 for the Young Volunteer of the Year Award, which is available to nominees who are aged 25 or under. Both prizes are donated by the Marsh Christian Trust, and will be presented at the National Historic Ships UK awards ceremony held in October on HMS Belfast.

Nominations can now be made on line using the application form by the 31st August.

For full details, including judging criteria, visit the website.

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