I've been off the boat for a couple of days now. Winter gales are sweeping in from the North West. It is not so much an issue with the boat but it is hard to row back and forth from the quay and the mooring so I have decided to hang out at Finbarr's for a bit. Here are some of his crazy stories that keep me entertained. There is only so much fun you can have with a laptop. All these stories are believed to be true.
The Gracie Blue - a very fancy yacht for her time. The story originates from some time during the 1920's on the southwest of Ireland. She was fitted out with all the finest wears. The finest carpets, for example, were fitted in all the state rooms. The crew was sent into Cork for outfits. The young captain of the Gracie Bell also had a young fiancé with him. The wedding in Skull took place before she set sail and the priest was offered a hundred pounds for his services. Well all the cheques bounced and when the Gracie Blue set sail she was never heard from again. The town of skull did not like their miserly priest. He was a miserable bastard. Great joy was had that he had been fooled by the skipper of the Gracie Blue.
The story of the Manchester Castle, a tall ship from the 19th Century. This story is about the pilots based in Loop Head who all raced out to meet the Manchester Castle as she was sailing into the Shannon. Now this would have been a tall ship laden down with grain and all her canvas set. When the first pilot clambered on board he realised there was not a sole left on board the ship. The pilot signalled the other boats and together they managed to get the Manchester Castle back into port. They were not rewarded for the salvage of the Manchester Castle in a completely upfront way. The families who piloted from Loupe Head were given Scattery Island in stead of all the cash from the vessels cargo, not to mention the rights on the vessel. To this day pilots now work from a point much closer to the mouth of the river, new Scattery Island.
The Russian Trawler crewed only by woman. Fin and his mate motored out in a small launch to try and hail a Russian trawler. See if they could get cigarettes or some Russian Vodka perhaps. They were two young lads chancing it. Well it turns out the fishing boat was crewed with nothing but enormous Russian Women. You know the stereo type. The shot putter on steroids with legs the size of a large Christmas ham. The female crew were very keen to familiarise themselves with these two young lads. Fin and his mate were convinced that if the women got hold of them they would quite possibly screw them to death. Their state of agitation was such that Fin's mate jumped from the ship into the sea without even using the ropes down to his boat. This is how freaked out the two 21 year old men were at the prospect of being raped by a hungry group of Russian woman. It was the last boat Fin and his mate tried to meet on the high seas.
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