Heavy Metal from the Auld Sod

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crfriend
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Heavy Metal from the Auld Sod

Post by crfriend »

We saw a nice sight yesterday in Boston Harbor, and one that was entirely unexpected -- a member of the Irish Navy docked near Rowes Wharf in the Downtown area. We approached on our 35' sailboat from the stern figuring there'd be the traditional markings there, but no the stern was blank. There was no wind at all, so the flag wasn't flying properly and we were likely close to the security cordon before we could make out the colours whilst the poor flag lay limp and sad against the staff.

Eventually she revealed her secrets, we IDed the flag as a green, white, and orange tricolor -- Ireland. Nobody else uses that, and a close pass along her starboard side eventually revealed her numbers, P-62 and her name, James Joyce.

It's astonishing how well she blended into the Boston skyline in her haze-grey paint job. We missed her on the way out, and only spotted her by accident. We did our checking on the way back in as we, ourselves, headed back to our dock after the sad business of scattering the ashes of an old friend into the outer waters.

That little 2,300 tonner wound not have been a comfortable place to be in the middle of the Atlantic at the moment!
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Kirbstone
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Re: Heavy Metal from the Auld Sod

Post by Kirbstone »

Carl,
Interesting as you say. The Irish Naval service has six such vessels, four of them named after famous authors. Commissioned only in 2015, she's pretty much state-of-the-art as an offshore patrol boat, 90 meters, 2250 tonnes, max. 23 Kn. Range 6000 N/miles, so a courtesy call into Boston is well within her range.
The serving officers who drive such a ship aren't in it for the comfortable ride, that's for sure.

Tom
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crfriend
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Re: Heavy Metal from the Auld Sod

Post by crfriend »

I love the shot of her sitting on her bottom at her builder's yard due to the tides. That's an astonishing image indeed. A good sound steel hull. However, I think the crew would have been rather miserable had they been in the mid-Atlantic as there is a Cat 2 hurricane there at the moment, and 2,300 tonnes isn't that much, stabilising fins or no.

I have Irish blood running through my veins thanks to my paternal grandmother; thus I wind up 1/4 Irish, 1/4 mixed British Isles, and 1/2 German. 'Tis no wonder I burn to a crisp in the sun!

Hilariously, on the day I was wearing not my red sailing skirt, but rather a white shirt and my green pair of palazzo pants. Had I any Gaelic, I'd have hailed the lads on board to bid them welcome.
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Kirbstone
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Re: Heavy Metal from the Auld Sod

Post by Kirbstone »

Regardless of your sailing attire, a friendly hail to anyone on her deck would have been returned with interest.

I think you'll find that some of the crew could speak a sort of pidgin English, curiously enough! I also expect that tucked well into Boston Hb. was the best place to be during that Hurricane.

Tom
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