O'r Diwedd - Started at last

M.A.James Schooner, Porthmadog



Gweler Dai yn dechre'i flog o'r diwedd. Ar ol hir weithio ar bethau llai diddorol co ni off
At last after a lot of less interesting things here we go.

Wy'n dechre'r blog am fod cyn lleied o wybodaeth am longe a chychod hwylio traddodiadol yng Nghymru ar y we. Am y tro cyntaf a'r tro olaf wy'n ymddiheiro am safon yng Ngymraeg i, cyfarthrebu yw'r pwynt yma a ches i ddim addysg trwy'r Gymraeg felly twll dy din di Ffaro ma'r Mor Coch wedi cau - fel ma nhw'n gweud yng Nghwm Tawe.



Cariad - Bristol Channel Pilot Cutter




I'm starting this blog due to the paucity of info on traditional ships here in Wales, sometimes it will be in Welsh and sometimes in English, depending on which mode my brain is logged into and how much wine I've been forced to drink!!?? If you don't happen to speak Welsh ( granted there are less than half a million of us on the earth's surface ) then post a request and I'll provide a translation.

Wales at one time probably provided more tall ship and coastal mariners per head of the population than any other country on Earth. We are surrounded on three sides by sea and for most of our history we have relied heavily on sea lanes to provide transport around the convoluted hills and valleys of what is to me the most beautiful, contrary, argumentative and breath-taking country on GoogleEarth.



Edith Eleanor - Last Schooner from Aberystwyth




From the great industrial ports along the south, to the tiny harbours along the cliff bound west and the slate and copper ports of the north, the Welsh coast and its rock hard people always fought with and got a living from the sea. During the age of sail they were responsible for the classic beauty of the 'Western Ocean Yachts', slate schooners built in Porthmadog, some of the elegant Bristol Channel Pilot cutters, the uniquely rigged Swansea pilot schooners and the trading ketches of Cardigan Bay. Not to mention fishing smacks around Pembrokeshire and many other types large and small.



Emmeline - Mumbles Oyster Skiff




But that was what abounded in the recent past. Stretching back into pre-history the middle western penninsular of the island of Britain was an important staging area for the Atlantic sea routes from megalithic times to early medieval migrations and the continuing trade with the Mediterranean and western Europe.



Grenfell - Swansea Pilot Schooner




Another reason for this blog apart from me venting my spleen on the dire situation of the lack of opportunity for young people in wales to experience the sea first hand , instead of looking at it on a screen is that the hope is that a sail training trust for Wales can be established - this will relieve my spleen immensely.

Gobeithio i chi mwynhau'r hyn sydd i ddod, ac os nag wyt ti der a trafodaeth neu ddadl.
I hope you enjoy what is to come and if you don't start a discussion or an argument!

Da bo
Dai


p.s. The line drawings above come from a site I'm developing with the fiddling man - www.traditionalships.com THIS IS NOT A PLUG - We intend to build up a library of saiing boat and ship types not just from Wales but from all over - so if you have a favourite type or vessel let us know.

Gwd thing

Dai