Three score and ten
This post has the words and a recording by ‘The Longest Johns’ for a sea shanty about a storm off the east coast of England,… Read More »Three score and ten
Workboats
Posts relating to the work and subsequent leisure use of traditional workboats powered by sail, steam or diesel
Ordering a herring boat, Voe, Shetland, 1881
East Coast Gaffer, Sarah Adie shares some fascinating insights into her family’s involvement in the Shetland herring industry. Her great grandfather set up T M… Read More »Ordering a herring boat, Voe, Shetland, 1881
Demise of the ‘sgoth Niseach’
Ideally suited to fishing in Scottish coastal waters, working in the North Atlantic can be unpredictable, with danger never far away for fishermen seeking whitefish… Read More »Demise of the ‘sgoth Niseach’
Campbeltown to Belfast without any charts, 1923
In this extract from ‘Cruises of the Joan’ by W E Sinclair we hear about the skipper and mate’s passage from Campbeltown to Belfast 100… Read More »Campbeltown to Belfast without any charts, 1923
Galway hooker: Dutch & Irish connections
In 2023, the OGA60 Diamond Jubilee celebrations took place in Dublin Bay. 14 boats competed for the prestigious Asgard Trophy on 27 May. The winning… Read More »Galway hooker: Dutch & Irish connections
Pilots in the Bristol Channel: 1930s
The tidal range of the Bristol Channel has always been a challenge to shipping approaching from the Atlantic, and conditions were hard for the pilots… Read More »Pilots in the Bristol Channel: 1930s
Through Jack Sound with ‘Vivian’, 1886
After a detailed description of the sail plan for the Swansea Bay pilot boats, Eden Northmore-Jones tells the tale of a spring cruise in ‘Vivian’,… Read More »Through Jack Sound with ‘Vivian’, 1886
Last of the Severn sailing coasters
This is an extract from a fascinating memoir of the days of the sailing coasters in and around the Severn Estuary. Edmund Eglinton, born in… Read More »Last of the Severn sailing coasters
‘Out punt!’: the Bristol pilot’s call
Captain George Buck recollects two night watches, five miles southwest of the Wolf Rock, waiting for an expected ship from Gibraltar. Despite the regulations over… Read More »‘Out punt!’: the Bristol pilot’s call