An Dreoilin

There you are. I promised you a Galway Hooker. I hope you weren't hoping for an Irish Lady-of-Negotiable-Affection because that just wouldn't do. No, No. We refer here to the traditional West Coast working sail boat. Ours is possibly the only example of such a craft currently in England, and even more certainly in Kent.

This one, "An Dreoilin" (The Wren) is 24 feet long, so is from the 3rd size class down in 'hooker' terms. a Gleóiteog (pronounced, as best we can render it from Mum's speech "Gli-choge", to rhyme with Rogue). She is not really old, having been built half way up Bray Head (a bizarre location to be a-building trad West coast vessels) in 1984 by a German boat builder for a local author, as a copy of an original 1894 boat. Our man (Ray) actually bought her from a bloke in Waterford and brought her to Kent on a trailer on the back of a big 4x4. He has since done quite a bit of re-planking and restoration, though her frames were all sound.

Ray is a well known local Sailing Barge aficionado who was good friends with the father of Dad's fellow Cambria volunteer, Dave B and also owns an Essex fishing smack (Nercissa). Dave managed to wangle an invitation last night for himself and Dad to come and clamber all over the nearly finished boat to take pictures. They report that Ray was delighted that Dave and Dad had even heard of Galway Hookers, never mind knew a bit about them and had read books on the subject. Ray also turns out to have a huge collection of trad sailing boat pics including, amazingly an old fashioned Kodak photographic-paper-box of various Hookers.

So, now you know!

Deefs