Galway Bay Hookers

Many years ago we were visiting Barna and just before the Sunday lunch I found I was superfluous to the needs of the house and took it upon myself to walk down to the shore. I walked along to the harbour - 

Barna Harbour

where I saw a guy (of a similar age to myself) in oilskins attempting to get his hooker out of the harbour. Unusually, the wind was from the East and, although he had no sails up, the boat was big enough - 20 to 30 ft - that the wind could still defeat his efforts with the pole!

I trotted along the inside of the harbour wall and said "Throw me a line!" - which he immediately did and I hauled the boat very easily to the end of the harbour wall while he fended off. Just before I threw the line back he said "Come with me!" 

I said (I was dressed in very light summer clothes) 

"Have you got any spare oilskins?" 

He said he hadn't and thoughts of the imminent Sunday lunch overtook any adventurous spirit in me so I said "May Your God Go With You!" and threw him the line.

I later discovered that he owns most of Galway!! (Sigh!)

Galway Bay Hooker