The Galway hooker (Irish: bád mór or húicéir) is a traditional sailing boat used in Galway Bay off the west coast of Ireland. The hooker was developed for the strong seas there. It is identified by the sail formation, which is extremely distinctive and quite beautiful. It consisted of a single mast with a main sail and two foresails. Traditionally, the boat is black (being coated in pitch) and the sails are a dark red-brown.
Recently there has be...
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The Galway hooker (Irish: bád mór or húicéir) is a traditional sailing boat used in Galway Bay off the west coast of Ireland. The hooker was developed for the strong seas there. It is identified by the sail formation, which is extremely distinctive and quite beautiful. It consisted of a single mast with a main sail and two foresails. Traditionally, the boat is black (being coated in pitch) and the sails are a dark red-brown.
Recently there has been a major revival, and renewed interest in the Galway hooker, and the boats are still being painstakingly constructed. The festival of Cruinniú na mBád is held each year, when boats race across Galway Bay from Connemara to Kinvara on the Galway/Clare county boundary.
The hooker refers to four classes of boats. All are named in Irish. The Bád Mór (big boat) ranges in length from 10.5 to 13.5 metres (35 to 44 feet). The smaller Leath Bhád (half boat) is about 10 metres (28 feet) in length. Both Bád Mór and Leath Bhád were decked forward of the...
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