Art of Sailing

Maritime Heritage Art Contemporary art with a traditional theme.

You will still find reminders of those days in the headwaters of the rivers around harbours.  Of course, many boats were lost by shipwreck but most were not, at the end of their life they were taken up to the navigable limit of rivers and creeks on high spring tides, and left there. The remains of many are still there today.

The rope and later the steel rigging wire smelt of Stockholm Tar - a heady preparation made from pine resin -  and the wood smelt of Linseed Oil.

Cotton or more usually Canvas sail cloth was dyed by the tanning which prevented it from rotting when it was rolled away wet.  And the natural fibre rope was full of character.  The best was  Manila rope which was so good that it has only recently been superseded, others included Sisal, Hemp, Coir and Cotton.  You will remember if you’ve ever handled a coir (coconut fibre) rope - because it is hard and scratchy - like a doormat..

All these natural materials - together with the smell of fish! - must have made the traditional fishing village in the age of sail a fascinating almost alien place to visit - when Victorians began to travel from the industrial cities to the coast for a ‘change of air’, they must certainly have got it.  To us today, it would be like walking onto a film set. 

For me, the images on these pages invoke visions of a past during which I would have liked to live, a hard, rude life of work, earning a living by the sea.