The Jeanie Johnston replica famine ship was yesterday sheltering in Valentia Harbour, off Co Kerry, having been forced to pull in because of strong winds.
Valentia Coastguard received a call from the ship at around 10 a.m. yesterday and the Valentia lifeboat was sent out to pilot it into the harbour. Conditions yesterday afternoon were gale force eight, with the outlook for midday today also for gale force south easterly winds. The winds are expected to continue until Thursday in the south and west.
The Jeanie Johnston left Fenit on Sunday for the first leg of its transatlantic voyage. However, once it turned south it faced almost immediately into strong, gale force winds. It was blowing gale force 9 west of the Blaskets, where the ship overnighted.
The ship had withstood the weather well.
The 40 people on board, including the professional crew and some 24 "sail trainees", spent a rough night on board, Captain Tom McCarthy said.
He described the sleepless conditions as "a bit of a baptism of fire" for the novices among the trainees. There had been a lot of sea-sickness, but it was all part of the experience of a sail training voyage, and by lunchtime yesterday they were all tucking into a hearty meal.
Captain McCarthy wanted the crew to gain an overnight experience on board. It was always his intention to pull in either to Valentia or to Castletown Bearhaven on the way south to the Canaries, he told Radio Kerry listeners yesterday.
He felt it more prudent to pull in to Valentia.
As soon as a window appears in the weather, the Jeanie will be off again for the Canaries. It is due in Tenerife around March 12th. From there it will exchange most of the 23 trainees - the fees of 14 trainees between the ages of 18-28 and supervisor are paid by the International Fund for Ireland as part of a cross-community, cross-cultural Wider Horizons programme - for the voyage to West Palm Beach, Florida.
The ship will visit 20 cities in the US and Canada, returning from Quebec . There have been calls from the former Tánaiste, Mr Dick Spring, one of the early supporters of the project, for the Jeanie Johnston to be used by the State as a permanent sail training ship.