Category: wooden boat

The Irish Raid – a challenge in three Loughs

 

The best boating is so often also the best-looking boating – particularly when the boats are glorious and the photographer is seriously good at his job.

These shots come from PR man, maritime writer and ex-Classic Boat editor Nic Compton. For more information about this and other Raids organised by Albacore-Dacmar, click here.

Thanks Nic! There’s a fuller gallery of his photos at the bottom of this post. Here’s his report:

Anyone who assumed local knowledge would be the deciding factor in the first Irish Raid on the Shannon River was proven wrong by the final results. Foreign skippers were triumphant in both indigenous classes, and it was left to local sailor Monica Schaefer to preserve Irish pride by clinching a first in the open class.

Crews came from seven countries, including Germany, Sweden, Holland, and Japan, to take part in the seven-day, 195km event. Some brought their own boats with them, others chartered boats in the local Shannon One Design and Water Wag classes. The overseas sailors included a former Olympian, a transatlantic record breaker, a Whitbread sailor, a multiple Tornado champion and a world windsurf champion.

The Lakelands and Inland Waterways Ireland Sailing Raid (to give it its full name) started, symbolically, in Northern Ireland, at the Loch Erne Sailing Club, a few miles north of Enniskillen. After an overnight stop in the deep countryside of the Crom Castle estate, the crews sailed across the border to Belturbet. There, they dismounted and trailed their boats past the locks of the 18 locks of the Shannon-Erne Waterways and resumed racing at Carrick-on-Shannon.

The third day of racing showed both the difficulty of racing in these conditions – as well as the extraordinary beauty of the Shannon. One moment crews were racing across an open lough, the next paddling through the leafy idyll of the Jamestown Canal. Weather-wise, they had to contend with sudden squalls brought by periodic thunderstorms (usually over in a matter on minutes), as well as the unpredictable effect of trees and hills. And that’s not to mention shooting bridges and negotiating locks.

‘I’ve sailed in more physically challenging conditions, but these conditions are extremely tricky,’ said former windsurf world champion Jochen Krauth. ‘It’s all about anticipation, and being prepared for anything to happen at any time!’

Although a popular tourist destination, the Shannon River retains much of its natural character and an abundance of wildlife – you really do feel as though you are well away from the madding crowd. There are nevertheless plenty of facilities for boats, with discreetly placed pontoons, well-signalled channels and smooth-running locks, making it an ideal cruising ground for the novice sailor.

After an overnight stop at Tarmonbarry with a singsong at the Purple Onion, one of the most spectacular legs of the raid was the 16km passage down Lough Ree to Athlone. Soon after the start, a 25-knot northerly picked up, pushing up a small chop and scattering the fleet across a wide area. Some boats revelled in the conditions, including local Wag sailor Ian Malcolm, who hung on to spinnaker, main and jib for most of the way.
Others weren’t so lucky. Former Whitbread round-the-world sailor Sylvie Viant lost her mast halfway down the lough. She was back on the starting line the next morning, however, the mast having been repaired overnight by boatbuilder Patrick Lobrichon – himself a regular Raider.

After a stopover at Loch Ree Yacht Club, the fleet sailed down the narrows to Banagher, narrowly avoiding losing halyards to grazing horses. A new element of this raid was the fleet of supporting cruisers, loaned by Carrick Craft, which provided accommodation for most of the crews from Carrick-on-Shannon onwards. Although a couple of hardy souls opted to camp, most of the competitors slept on the cruisers, created a veritable floating community at every stop.

After the narrows of the middle Shannon, which necessitated some towing when the boats became becalmed, the fleet shot into the open waters of Lough Derg. The gusty 15-knot breeze caught some by surprise, and the fleet suffered its first capsize. The boat was soon towed to shore, bailed out and resumed racing half an hour later.
After an exceptionally warm welcome at Lough Derg Yacht Club, the fleet set off on a final blast down the Lough in brilliant conditions and with a fresh breeze from behind.

It was a last chance for the crews to improve their standing, and the racing was predictably competitive, with all boats finishing within 25 minutes of each other after nearly three hours racing.

Every raid has its distinctive character, but this raid seemed like several races rolled into one: beautiful scenery, challenging sailing, international crews, local hospitality and a spirit of freedom and adventure. With the supporting flotilla of cruisers adding an extra waterbound element, it seems as if a new style of raid has been born.

Lakelands and Inland Waterways Ireland Sailing Raid results:

Shannon One Design class:
1. Koji Ikeda & Jochen Krauth, Japan/Germany (25.2 points)
2. Alan Algeo, Ireland (26.8 points)
3. Carthy Mac Aleavy, Ireland (30.4 points)
4. Lars Palm, Sweden (50 points)

Water Wag class:
1. Albert Schiess, Switzerland (14.9 points)
2. Ian Malcolm, Ireland (25.4 points)
3 Sylvie Viant, France (34.4 points)

Open class:

1. Monica Schaefer, Ireland (10.4 points)
2. Jean Sourisseau, France (36 points)
3. Patrick Morvan, France (37.7 points)
4. John Cronin & Patrick Lobrichon, Ireland/France (62 points)
5. John Keogh, Ireland (69 points)
6. Arthur Kortenoever, Netherlands (79 points)
7. Denis Boyer (DNS)
8. Jens Kerski (DNS)

Charles Dickens the younger goes off on one

One of Whistler’s ‘nocturne’ series paintings dated 1872-5, including showing a lighter or dumb barge on the Thames in London. The image is from the Wikipedia

I’ve been greatly enjoying Dickens’s Dictionary of the Thames from its Source to the Nore published in 1885, and compiled by the famous Charles Dickens’ first son, also called Charles. It’s available free online here and here, as well as several other sources.

Writing is often about making an argument, and an argument well made can provide fine entertainment, particularly if they’re extended, draw in evidence from many sources and finally achieve the status of a good rant.

Charles Dickens’s Dictionary provides several of these and the following quotations about the geezers who manage dumb barges on the River Thames is one of the best.

‘Barges. – Although the extension of the railway facilities in the country through which runs the Upper Thames has has very considerably reduced the number of up-river barges, there are still many engaged in the carrying trade. That they are useful may be taken for granted; that they are possibly ornamental, may be a matter of opinion; that they are a decided nuisance when a string of them, under the convoy of a vicious steam-tug, monopolises a lock for an hour or so, admits of no doubt. And the steam tugs themselves are an abomination. They are driven along with a sublime disregard of the interests of persons in punts and small boats – in this respect resembling their more distinguished cousins, the steam launches – and raise a wash which, one would suppose, can be as little beneficial to the banks of the river as it is to the peace of mind of anglers and oarsmen. Nor are the manners and customs of their crews, or of their associates the bargees, such as to conduce to the comfort of riparian proprieters or pleasure seekers. Practically, they seem to have things all their own way, and to do and say just what they like. All that can be done is to give them as wide a berth as possible, and to be thankful, at all events, that there are not more of them.

‘Down the river – from about Brentford downwards, that is – the barges occupy a very different position; an immense amount of the enormous goods traffic of the Port of London being transported by their medium, and their numbers appearing to be steadily on the increase. They are of two kinds, sailing and dumb barges. These latter are propelled by oars alone, and drift up and down apparently at the mercy of the tide. The only use of the long sweeps with which they are provided is, in fact, to keep the barge straight and even this is difficult if not impossible in a high wind. They are quite incapable of getting out of the way, or of keeping any definite course, and as they bump about among the shipping and get across the bows of steamers, they are the very type of blundering obstructiveness, and an excellent example of how time is allowed to be wasted in this country. Crowds of them hang about the entrances of the docks and piers where steamers are unloaded, and the traffic of the river, always excessive, is becoming absolutely congested with them. The books of the Watermen’s Company, in which all barges solely engaged in the London Traffic are registered, showed in a879 a total of 7,000, and about 1,000 additions are made to the list every year. The number of barges leaving the London and St. Katherine’s Docks, on an average, in 24 hours is 100. In the same time 165 leave the East and West India Docks, 100 the Victoria Docks, and 150 the Surrey Docks. To these must be added the great crowd of dumb barges which go from wharf to wharf, and from ship to ship, without entering the docks at all. The consideration of these facts; a trip down the river in a steamboat; and contemplation of the miles and miles of wharves along the both banks, almost all of which are incessantly receiving and sending out goods by dumb barges; will satisfy any one that these barges are a very large factor in the difficult problem of satisfactorily regulating the traffic on the river. And it is not only that their numbers are enormous, and their mode of progress slow, uncertain and even dangerous to other vessels. It is provided in the [Thames] Conservancy byelawsthat every dumb barge shall have one competent man on board, and that when they exceed 50 tons they shall carry at least two men. The competent men, as has been said, are in fact incapable of navigating their clumsy charges to any satisfactory result; but that is not all. The evidence of all sorts of river experts given before the the Traffic Committee is exceedingly unfavourable to the men. Mr C. A. Howard, district superintendent of the metropolitan police, gives them a singularly bad character. “In navigating they are the most indifferent class of men on the river,” he thinks. Mr Spicer, Trinity House pilot, is decidedly of opinion that dumb barges are the greatest cause of obstruction, and that they will very seldom get out ot the way or even put themselves straight, when hailed to do so. A great number of witnesses are of even a more decided way of thinking. “I invariably find the men in dumb barges neither obliging nor civil… “

And so on and so forth for some pages. To his allegations of churlishness and incompetence, Dickens adds the accusation of dishonesty, says that gross neglect of duty is rarely punished by suspension and argues that the Watermen’s Company’s monopoly position should be abolished in favour of open competition.

But notice what he says about the men working sailing barges:

It is a singular fact, not unnoticed by the [Traffic] committee, that whereas the men who work the dumb barges are very ill spoken of in almost every quarter, and excellent character is given to the men who navigate the sailing barges further down the river. These men have no monopoly, and are exposed to free and open competition. They are, according to the almost unanimous evidence of skilled witnesses, pilots and so forth, skilled and careful navigators, and have gradually got into a custom of “give and take” with the steamers, which greatly facilitates the working of navigation rules.

Sometime, I’ll follow this up with his equally determined rant against the selfish and stupid operators of steam launches, which are clearly the Chelsea tractor and jetski drivers of his time.

The boats of The Gambia

 

Our friend Vic Smith has sent us this striking set of photos of boats – dugouts and pirogues with built-up sides – in use along the coast of The Gambia in Western Africa, and along the country’s major river, also called The Gambia.

Vic and his wife Tina live in Sussex, but have strong links with the small African country; they’re involved in supporting a local school and have friends among local musicians, some of whom play in the UK from time to time.

For those of us with a particular interest in the evolution of water craft, these photos of ancient boat types illustrate one of the key ways in which boats have evolved around the world. In this case the ancient dugout leading to the pirogue, which here is the name given to a dugout hull with built-up sides providing improved carrying capacity and improved seaworthiness.

One could almost draw a parallel between the turf boats of Somerset used on the Levels, and the possibly related but more sophisticated and high-sided flatners developed for fishing in the bays along the Bristol Channel – which by chance also sport spritsails not unlike the one shown in the gallery of Vic’s photos below.

It’s also interesting to me that some of the larger pirogues seem to have been motorised without having requiring much adaptation that I can see. And again, notice how the boats are pulled up the beaches on rollers and skids in much the same way that people still haul craft up on the English South Coast, for example at Hastings and Beer. However, in The Gambia this operation involves a great many more people.

Thinking about this operation, it’s wonderful to see whole communities cheerfully working together in this way, but the other side of this coin is very low per capita incomes that must result from so many people having to be involved.

From the Wikipedia I learn that about a third of the population in the country lives below the international poverty line of US$1.25 a day, despite the country’s undoubted advantages of fertile soil for farming, and busy fishing and tourism trades. It makes you think…

Thanks for the photos Vic!