Here are some photos I took at this weekend’s Baltimore Wooden Boat Festival. I was out sailing on Saturday so these photos were taken on Sunday which was one of the best days so far this year here in West Cork.

An Itchen Ferry ?

First off we have a very nice little boat that the owner believes is an Itchen ferry built in Falmouth but a long time resident of West Cork. It had a cabin previous to this owner but it was converted to a very nice open boat.

Heir Island Lobster Boat and Galway Hooker

Here a Heir Island lobster boat and a Galway Hooker fight it out at the finish line.

Cormac Levis' Heir Island Lobster boat Saoirse Muireann

Cormac Levis who owns this boat has written an excellent book on the history of Heir Island lobster boats and the men who worked them.

Bantry Bay Longboat Unité under sail

The Bantry Bay longboat is the basis of the Atlantic Challenge an organisation that “every other year sponsors a friendly contest of seamanship in Bantry Bay gigs, held in a different host country.”

Baltimore Boatyard

And this finally is what remains of Ireland’s premier boat building school and builders where famous boats like Conor O’Briens Saoirse and Ilen were built. It was also the site of the Baltimore Fishery School which is more recently in the news as a result of the Ryan Report. Here is a newspaper article about it and the report can be downloaded here.