The Pearl

 The dream of a journey bore away downstream and I could not resist its pull.

Following my adventures with Minnow on Ireland's inland waterways I hatched a plan that would take me out to sea and far horizons. My heart was set on a little daysailer, something with character that could easily be managed solo. In 2021 I became the proud owner of a 'Swallows and Amazons' style open wooden sailboat. She is a Gunter rigged sloop built in the Nordic clinker boat tradition. I called her The Pearl in honour of Jane W. Shackleton, the Irish born 19th century photographer, whose custom-built vessel was likewise named. 

Over the coming years I will use The Pearl to explore Ireland's waterways; journeying up estuaries, traversing lakes, exploring islands and dipping in and out of coves. ​

Hippocampus