Baltimore festival to honour heritage vessels

THE Baltimore Wooden Boat Festival will be held this weekend, starting today and continuing until Sunday.

“This area has a long history of engagement with trans-Atlantic sailing ships, with Eastern-bound ships picking up a pilot off Oileán Chléire to guide them into European waters.

“Generations of Chléire pilots had detailed knowledge of ports from the Mediterranean to the North Sea,” said Mary Jordan of the organising committee.

“The festival will re-enact the rowing out of a ‘pilot’ from the harbour to a vessel under sail by Sherkin, the ‘pilot’ has to jump on board and be sailed back to the harbour.

“While this is a fun event, it can get very competitive.”

The iconic Saoirse will be the committee boat.

The original Saoirse was built in Baltimore in 1923, and was the first yacht to sail around the world, with the new Irish flag, skippered by Conor O’Brien.

This year’s festival will celebrate the locally famous 39ft ketch, the Richard, the first boat built by Paddy Hegarty in Old Court in 1948, whose sons and grandson continue this tradition of building heritage vessels.

The maritime historian, Cormac Levis of Ballydehob, will deliver a talk on the Richard at the opening, tonight at 8pm, in Baltimore Sailing Club.

The rowing race from Skibbereen to Baltimore cannot be held this year as the tide is not suited for rowing down the River Ilen.

Instead, a new event for small boats will be orienteering on the water, with boats hunting for designated rocks, headlands, and landmarks.

The festival gives an glimpse of the richness of maritime heritage and the wealth of traditional sailing and construction skills thriving in West Cork.

Among the many visiting vessels including the Shannon and Bristol Pilot Cutters, the festival will welcome two Bantry long boats who will be sailing/rowing together, the Unité from Bantry, and Fionnbarra from Cork. Both are replicas of the French Long Boats that came into Bantry Bay in 1798 to assist Wolfe Tone.

It has one of the widest variety of traditional vessels in Ireland, from rowing currachs and punts to sailing Heir Island and Long Island fishing boats to large ocean-going vessels.

A seafood festival will also take place in the village, which will also host live music and food stalls.

For more details, visit baltimorewoodenboatfestival.com/.