We Won't

The news is just in that Shamrock's trip to the Saltash Regatta has been cancelled. Too much wind and rain forecasted.

Will We, Won't We?

Saltash Regatta

Shamrock is due to depart, from Cotehele Quay, for Saltash between 9 and 10 a.m. on Friday 14th. Due to the weekend's deteriorating weather forecast and that the pontoon, where we are due to moor is in an exposed position, this could be cancelled at the last minute. We have to remember that Shamrock is a unique craft.  

Sailing Canoe

Thanks to George Hogg, Boat Shed visitor and coordinator of the National Small Boat Register which is based at the National Maritime Museum Falmouth, we now have some more information on the Sailing Canoe that is in the process of being restored.

It is of the Rob Roy type which was introduced in the late Victorian period. Canoes of this kind were very popular and were built to this basic design for many years until superseded by lighter canvas covered canoes in the 1930’s.

We still need to find when and where it was built.

Weekends Photos

After a very pleasant river trip Shamrock is now safely back in her dock at Cotehele Quay. Due to the neap tide the job of getting her in the dock required a lot more pulling and pushing than normal, but we made it.

Just a few photos from the weekend.

Nancy Belle on towing duty. 

Taking in the sights.

Getting a push.

Ready for visitors, Royal William Yard .

Shamrock's shadow.

Discussing the docking plan.

Back home.

Shamrock 1 - 1 Weather

Don't you just love it when thing's go to plan.
After a not too early start Shamrock left Cotehele Quay and with a steady tail wind proceeded down the Tamar towards Plymouth. The trip was notable for being on one of the best days of the year so far weather wise, glorious sunshine all the way. No problems were encountered during the trip and even the river at Weir Quay seemed remarkably clear of moored yachts.
Shamrock arrived at Royal William Yard at about 2 p.m. and is now alongside the central pontoon and will be open for visitors over the weekend.
She is due to depart Royal William Yard, for Cotehele, on Monday 3rd June about midday.

Departure Times

This weekend's weather forecast is looking good and Shamrock should cast off from Cotehele Quay, for it's planned trip to Royal William Yard, on Friday 31st at around 10:30 a.m. The time is not exact as Shamrock will be leaving as soon as she floats on the late morning tide.

The return trip is scheduled to leave Royal William Yard at about 11:30 a.m. on Monday 3rd June, allowing plenty of time to arrive back at Cotehele Quay on the afternoon tide.

Message for Frank

Don't forget to remove Shamrock's cargo winch cable so you can paint the drum!

A question answered!

One question that visitors to Shamrock often ask is, "how could a crew of two manage to sail Shamrock"? We know that then ships were made of wood and men were made of iron but they weren't that good. It has always been suspected that the sails used then were a lot lighter than her existing heavy canvas sails. Peter has always said that her existing sails are strong enough to take Shamrock around Cape Horn, (no thanks.) Now with the arrival of a 1939 vintage photo of Shamrock beached and unloading we have some proof that this is true. Also, after careful comparison we now know that the original gaffs and booms were also a lot lighter than her present ones. Other differences have been noted and discussed.

Thanks to James Hunter for supplying the photo and his grandfather for taking it.

What shall we do with a drunken sailor?

Put him in the Shamrock and make him bale her.

In the last week Shamrock has take on a lot of water mainly due to the fact that the summer monsoon seems to have arrived, coupled with a leaky deck and leaky cargo hold hatch cover. No problem we thought as Shamrock was fitted with an electric bilge pump, about four years ago. (We know it's not authentic but saves a lot of sweat and time).  So the electric hook-up lead was connected to the dockside and nothing. Checks revealed that 240v to 12vdc power unit had blown and not as we had hoped just a blow fuse. In the days before the electric pump, Shamrock was pumped out by hand using a small hand pump to fill buckets and then these were emptied over the side, so it was out with the pump and buckets. We did manage to cheat a bit though by disconnecting the pumps discharge hose and temporarily connecting it to the hand pump (lots of tape). This saved the problem of lifting the buckets out of the hold and worked a lot better than expected.