Web Design

Art of Sailing

Maritime Heritage Art Contemporary art with a traditional theme.

Old Quay, Bowmore1
the forefoot net

The age of sail was already in steep decline 100 years ago with the advent of the internal combustion engine, and as engines went in, the skills of handling a boat under sail were lost. The boats and the rigging on these pages all belong to the era when everything was done the hard way.

Deadeyes Linkpage

The work was dangerous, hard, smelly and dirty - so it’s easy to be nostalgic about it from the comfort of an armchair.  But once you have felt a boat quietly get underway from a harbour; felt her heel to the wind and begin to surge toward the harbour entrance; heard a little shake from the sails as they wake up to their days work; and heard the tinkling of the water as the stem pushes on her way - you wonder if the crew were not compensated for their work in more ways than simply earning their pay.

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.

froe creek 2 net
reefing pennant for Nick Morgan

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.

Justin Ropes and Pulley

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 The best was Manila rope which was so good that it has only recently been superseded, others included Sisal, Hemp, Coir and Cotton.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.

Lay up mooring lnet
mainmast lower web
[Art Of Sailing] [Wrecks, Ropes and Rigging] [Maritime Heritage] [On the Water] [Islay Whisky] [WIN a limited edition Print!] [Contact]