Friday, October 11, 2013

Bantry Bay Gig/Longboat

I recently had an opportunity to see the original Bantry Bay longboat after which our beloved
Vérité was copied. The Bantry is currently housed in the Collins Barracks, a branch of the National Irish Museum in Dublin, Ireland.







 
 
 

 

 


 
 
On 22 December 1796, La Resolue collided with Redoutable in Bantry Bay, dismasting her. A boat was sent to seek help from Immortalité, but it was washed up on the shore on Clough Beach and its crew taken prisoner. The boat is now a local attraction. Résolue managed to return to Brest under emergency rigging and in tow from Pégase.

In the days of sailing ships, a vessel would carry several ship's boats for various uses. One would be a longboat, an open boat to be rowed by eight or ten oarsmen, two per thwart. The longboat was double banked; its rowing benches were designed to accommodate two men each pulling an oar on opposite sides. Other boats sometimes embarked on a sailing ship included the cutter, whaleboat, gig, jolly boat, launch, dinghy, and punt.
Unlike the dinghy or the cutter, the longboat would have fairly fine lines aft to permit its use in steep waves such as surf or wind against tide where need be. Like other ships' boats, the longboat could be rigged for sailing but was primarily a pulling boat. It had the double-banked arrangement in common with the cutter. This was possible as it had a beam similar to a cutter's but broader than that of a gig, which was single banked.
The longboat was generally more seaworthy than the cutter, which had a fuller stern for such load-carrying work as laying out an anchor and cable. In a seaway or surf therefore, the cutter was more prone to broaching.

Here's a link to  additional information concerning the Bantry Bay boat. Provided by the Atlantic Challenge: http://www.atlanticchallenge.org/gigs.html

The WOWers make every effort to get out on the water every Monday regardless of the weather. Word is that Vérité will be coming out of the water before Thanksgiving. Boy, the season goes fast.


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