I like big boats and I cannot lie

When I first arrived in Kinsale I couldn’t take my eyes off a boat that was moored in the Bandon river. Duck egg blue and white paintwork, her two tall masts were creamy yellow and she elegantly lolled in the river tidal streams . The most beautiful vessel I had ever seen. Each day I’d potter with the dog up along Compass Hill and gaze down on her. Having a crush on a boat is ridiculous but delightful. I would wander along and wonder who could possibly own such a magnificent boat. Did they live on board? Where could a boat like this adventure to? Knowing nothing about boats other than some random quips about burning twenty euro notes at a time, dampness and general disgruntled tales of terror I was nevertheless intrigued.

I can also blame a strong sense of the aesthetic for my love of wooden things that sometimes float on water. It turned out that the real pointy finger blame needs to be aimed squarely at a deceased man called Conor O’Brien. O’Brien (1880-1952) was an epic sailor from Limerick who not only was a prolific writer but designed and commissioned a 42ft ketch called the Saoirse and circumnavigated the world including the Southern oceans departing Ireland in 1923. It was a rare and freakish thing to be doing…it’s still terrifying and fairly rare and not to be done without years of dedication to sailing, every precaution taken and then some. After getting much admiration for the Saoirse’s stalwart lines and sturdy sea-going abilities Connor got a commission to build a bigger version of her and with two stalwart Munster men he sailed her from Ireland to the Falkland islands in 1926. The vessel then ferried human, cargo and sheep between the islands in all weathers for the next 7 decades being a hardworking cargo ship in some of the most challenging seas in the world. Thanks to the relentlessness and passion of Gary McMahon she came back to Ireland in the 90’s and was rebuilt painstakingly at Hegarty’s boatyard.

This was she. the ‘AK Ilen’. Floating on the river like some maritime muse. Now she is the small tall ship and home to the ‘Sailing into Wellness’ programme. After some snooping, a Facebook message and a some back and forth’s I ended up being kindly invited down to the boat and clambered enthusiastically on board whilst she was tied up on a berth. A slightly intimidating group of men with lots of facial hair were slagging each other and doing various tasks around the boat. On being asked if I was a sailor I had to confess that I didn’t know a bowline from a fender and there was a bemused but perplexed look upon their faces. However after a quick show and tell around her lovely innards (Them ‘This is the engine room…it’s a Gardner engine’, Me ‘Oooo that’s great….I think…isn’t it?’ ) I was invited to do a little sanding and helping out and I became like a neighbours overly friendly cat every time the Ilen was berthed in Kinsale.

Since that day I have been lucky enough to be invited on other boats and became a slow but ever keen and somewhat annoying maritime anorak. I have been lucky enough to sail to Scotland and back and done stints up the west coast of Ireland. It’s magic and sometimes frightening and it’s always challenging whether it’s my own lack of capabilities or the intensity of being on board a boat with other humans and all our foibles. It has made me damp, cranky and bitchy and has given me magnificent and immense experiences and superb learnings about leadership and teamwork. I am always grateful to be invited on board and have meet the most delightful (and let me be honest here, completely bonkers) people on the water. So this is a little salute to Conor O’Brien and the classic lines of the duckegg delight the Ilen who turned me into a salty eager galley slave.

To learn more about Sailing into Wellness or visit the Ilen