Afloat in July?

    Spring is gradually giving way to Summer, albeit in fits and starts here in Ireland, where after a couple of radiant days we are liable to find ourselves back in chilly dampness. Dare we hope that the triumph of hope and confidence over hardship and doubt will extend beyond the turn of the seasons? There are many levels on which we may harbour possibly furtive expectations that this may be the case, and despite the lurking fear that we shall inevitably be disappointed, we struggle on in the hope that perhaps we may even live to see them all fire up together!

    We tend to become so numbed by the big boggies,- war, environmental degradation, economic

Salamanca cathedral

hardship, false narratives of all kinds - that we forget to rejoice in the little triumphs that do come our way, which is why thankfulness is so important, not to mention praise. Thankfulness to whom? Praise of whom? I do not see how life can work if we cannot find our way to some kind of faith in God; but what's more, if we are not to become caught up in some kind of phantasm exterior to our human becoming, it is necessary to settle for trying to encounter God in Jesus, crucified and risen, and to believe that he does indeed await us in the midst of all our striving and the relationships that it entails.

 

Palm Sunday in Nazaré

  So now, having got that off my chest, I am happy to report solid progress with the 'Anna M'. The epoxy/glass skin is at last finished, and it now has to be only smoothed and painted. Excellent weather and a great crew came together for the job: Arturo, a Portuguese American who grew up in New York, Anatoli from Siberia, Lulu from Belfast, and myself. It is fun to thus find ourselves transcending the stupid conflict between Russians and Americans, not to mention the little problem on our island of Ireland between north and south. The sea and sea-faring doing it again!

'Anna M's epoxy skin

    Progress is also being made below decks, and Arturo has moved aboard as mate, cook and general factotum. If only we can overcome the financial problems, and Alec can get his act together, we intend to sail north in July, with him aboard and his electric drive installed. He will be on the lookout for a partner interested in commercializing the electric drive project.

Brilliant crew, job done!

    We envisage a whole new kind of sailing sport, which will put the emphasis back on using the wind as motive power, and only using the motor when absolutely necessary. As explained in previous posts, the idea is that the propeller charges the batteries when one is sailing well. There will of course also be as many solar panels as possible. The less batteries one has, the more skill and patience will be needed; but down the road one may look to hydrogen fuel cells for 'real grunt'.

    It's been a long haul, while I have become a kind of commuter between Nazaré and West Clare. Now that the pandemic is past, it is great to see improvement in communications between the two picking up promptly. Brittany Ferries has the new ship 'Salamanca' on the run from Rosslare to Bilbao (and the motorway to Nazaré on which Salamanca is a great half-way stop), which is quicker and more stable than the old one, and leaves clean air behind instead of a big black smudge. I was kindly given a tour of the engine room, also spectacularly clean with its gas-powered engines, shoving the ship along calmly at 20 knots against a fresh SW breeze. But most of the up and down has to be done by air, and the new Ryanair flight between Shannon and Porto certainly makes the journey a lot easier. 

One of 'Salamanca's two engines

Early bird in Porto, two hours to Shannon.

    

    

    

    For all the wonders of technology, I would rather make the journey in the 'Anna M'! How I hope to be able to do so again! Still, rebuilding her has been fun in itself, and it is important because she represents the moment before modern sailing boats became completely different to the load-bearing vessels of the past. I still entertain the hope that the concepts we are playing around with in her will find commercial applications both for fishing and freight. 

    Meanwhile, talking of hope, I have to record my excitement at the candidacy of Robert Kennedy Jnr for the American presidency, my admiration for his courage and prayers for his safety and success.