Boats – COASTAL

The International Sailor of Derry – A man just getting on with his job

Published on January 20, 2020

Atlantic Ocean/Boats/Monuments/Recent/Sculptures

Most of the time I feel war memorials have little to do with the horror of war and have more to do with the expected viewership and even planning laws. The International Sailor in Derry is a great example of compromise for a modern era. A away from the centre of a divided city – unlike the first war memorial when built in the Diamond in Derry 1927 – but includes a double section plinth which has the obvious temptation of being steps for one who wishes to take a photo of oneself along with the handsomely chiselled sculpture. Are war memorials more of a middle class thing, and dying-in-war more for the working class? Keep Reading

Old Harbour – Rotterdam

Published on January 9, 2020

Boats/Fresh/Other Ports/Recent

Oude Haven, the old harbour was created around 1350 as a result of the damming of the river Rotte. As the name might suggest it is the oldest harbour in Rotterdam. Moored here are many historic ships which have been carefully renovated. There are other artefacts from the past including a train.

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The Drumlins and Vikings of Strangford Lough

Published on June 2, 2019

Boats/Fresh/Geology/Irish Sea

Though Strangford Lough is a long way from Scandinavia, it has an impressive Viking heritage. The ford from Old Norse Strangr Fjörðr. But it was also host to a battle between two groups of Viking rivals. Keep Reading

La Girona – hospitality and in-hospitality of the Irish coastline

Published on June 1, 2019

Atlantic Ocean/Boats/Fresh/Shipwrecks

Ireland wasn’t always the best place to land if you were a Spanish sailor of the 16th century. The ships of the Spanish Armada which ended up on Irish shores received different sorts of welcomes. And sometimes the local people were more pleasant than the weather conditions.

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Fish and Spaniards – Killybegs

Published on February 27, 2019

Atlantic Ocean/Boats/Fresh/Ports & Resorts

I only had a brief encounter with Killybegs which is one of the most famous ports in Ireland. Though not famous for tourism, it is still an essential part of the first 100 years of Ireland since independence – a sort of jewel in the crown of rural Ireland.

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Dunsevrick Harbour – Oh how little we know

Published on February 24, 2019

Boats/Fresh/Ports & Resorts

Dunsevrick Harbour is somewhat of a knowledge blind-spot for me. I could find little information about the harbour other than the charges for boats. It seems to have been there for a long time.

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Where did the first megaliths emerge? Ancient sea-faring might be the key

Published on February 21, 2019

Boats/Fresh/Prehistoric/Science and Geography

Thousands of megaliths, such as Newgrange and Stonehenge, are found throughout Europe. Where were the first of these built? Bettina Schulz Paulsson of the University of Gothenburg, Sweden analysed the dates from over 2000 megaliths in Europe, and has made a suggestion where these were first built.

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Poor seafarers have no borders – The Shipwrecked Mariners’ Society

Published on January 13, 2019

Fresh/Shipwrecks

Shipwrecked Mariners Society - Mine - Ballycastle

The Shipwrecked Mariners’ Society was formed in 1839 after the loss of fishing boats in a storm off the north Devon coast. I first came across them after noticing the mine along the strand in Ballycastle in Antrim. And this organisation is not only active in the United Kingdom, but also in the Republic of Ireland. Shipwrecks and poor sailors have no borders!

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LV Petrel

Published on May 17, 2018

Boats/Fresh/Lighthouses

Though now the headquarters for a cruising club on Ballydorn Bay, at Strangford Lough, the LV Petrel was commissioned by the Commissioners of Irish Lights in 1913, and built by the Dublin Drydocks Company.

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