The Voyage of The Aegre book is almost ready for the printer. And more on one of the origins of the voyage idea, the passage of a cloth-covered curragh from Ireland to Iona off NW Scotland in 1963.
Publishing progress
This week, the page maker, Dr Digby, is finalising the details with Gutenberg Press in Malta, who will print the book. Little by little, it’s coming together.
More background to the voyage
An adventure like The Aegre voyage doesn’t just happen. In the early part of the book, I write about some of the people and stories that led me to think such a voyage was not just possible but a practical way to go sailing far on a small budget, a sort of cycle camping alternative to a big expensive camper van. It’s in the hope of inspiring others to take an adventurous course that I’ve written the book. One of my inspirations to go sailing was the story of my uncle who went to sea in a traditional Irish curragh, dressed as a monk.
This was a 1963 reconstruction of the voyage of St Columba in 563 AD from Northern Ireland to the island of Iona off the coast of NW Scotland, in a time when voyage reconstructions were rare. I was 13 and could only look on with envy. But it got me thinking. Maybe you too. I’ve gathered together information about the voyage and the curragh here. It’s quite a tale.
