NUALA HOLLOWAY recalls the life and career of the Arklow master boat builder

 

Many of us remember that fateful morning on the 11th September, 2008 when the news came through that Asgard II was sinking in the Bay of Biscay, twenty nautical miles off the coast of France. Fortunately, all those on board were saved when they were forced to abandon ship after they discovered it was taking in water but unfortunately, Asgard II gradually sank into the deep waters where it remains today.

Asgard II was the National Sail Training vessel which allowed young people between the ages of 16 and 25 years to experience the benefits of sailing as well as seeing the world through the medium of traditional sail on a tall ship. From its launch in 1981 to its sad demise in 2008, over 10,000 people sailed on Asgard II.

However, not many people know about the amazing man who invented and successfully brought about the idea of Asgard II. He was John Tyrrell, affectionately known as ‘Jack’. His family were involved in boat building in Arklow since 1864. For over 130 years the boatyard gained an international reputation for excellence.

Jack’s fondest memories were of his schoolboy days when he had sailed as a junior crewman aboard his uncle’s Arklow trading schooner, ‘The Lady of Avenel’. From then he had remained convinced that a period of sail training was beneficial to all young people.

Jack trained as a naval architect and went on to design hundreds of boats. In 1959, he built ‘Gypsy Moth III’ in which Sir Francis Chichester crossed the Atlantic single-handedly winning the OSTAR (Original Single-handed Transatlantic Race) in 1960.

In the 1950’s he had produced sail training ship proposals but Ireland was not ready economically and the notion of sail training as a useful experience would have to wait. The more traditional concept of sail training as an integral part of the official life of a maritime nation continued to prosper in several countries.

In 1956, the first modern sail training race, from Torbay across the Bay of Biscay to Lisbon, took place and from this there emerged the Sail Training Association and finally the International Sail Training Association.
This first race was an outstanding success of sail training for professional seafarers and naval cadets as demonstrated by the great square riggers, and smaller craft representing the new movement for providing a seagoing experience.

Continue reading in this week’s Ireland’s Own

Painting of the Asgard ll by Nuala Holloway.