The captain and crew of the State's sail-training ship, Asgard II, are celebrating a third placing in the 50th anniversary tall ships race from England to Portugal, writes Lorna Siggins, Marine Correspondent
The gaff-rigged ketch, under the command of Capt Colm Newport, beat larger vessels in its class, such as the Russian ship Mir, to come in behind the Norwegian Christian Radich in first place and the Danish Georg Stage.
Among the 25 crew and trainees on the Irish vessel was 70-year-old English sailor Jane Long, who was cook on board one of the vessels entered in the first race 50 years ago.
"I feel 10 years younger," Mrs Long, who lives near Cheltenham in Gloucestershire, told The Irish Times from Portugal, where the ship was berthed last night among a fleet of over 50 vessels.
The Asgard II has come first and second in its class in previous tall ships events, but the significance of this placing in the first leg is that it is in a larger, combined class, Capt Newport explained yesterday.
The revised Class A involves every square-rig ship over 40 metres in length. "It is a very good result when one considers the competition we had," he said.
The 50th anniversary race took the same route as the first - planned at a time when there were fears for the future of such traditional wooden craft.
Morse code was the main means of communication at sea back then, navigation was by sextant and stars, and crews were almost completely cut off from the outside world until they reached port.
"This time, with modern communications, we were in touch with other vessels a lot more, and it was more intimate in that way. However, as with that first race, we set out in fog, and I was also on board a ship with people younger than me," Mrs Long said.
Although only 20 at the time, her first tall ships experience was with a British vessel called Theodora, crewed by teachers and boys from Radley College.
"Most of the food we served up was from tins, because we had no fridges or that kind of thing. There were also very few women on any of the ships."
Capt Newport said that he was delighted to have Mrs Long on board.
The passage was marked by light winds initially and then by violent thunderstorms off the Iberian coastline, he said.
The vessel will now cruise in company from Lisbon to Cadiz in Spain. The final part of the race, from La Coruna in Spain to Antwerp in Belgium, takes place next month.
Named after the Norse word for the home of the gods, Asgard II is run by Coiste an Asgard and has places every sailing season for young trainees. Its progress in the tall ships race can be followed on www.sailtraininginternational.com.