Whaleheart - aka: Ros Beithe

06/11/2024

As a community of creatives and spiritualists, may we find the ground to stand in hope and expression to stand strong as humans wishing good for our fellow immigrants, sisters, brothers, mothers and fathers… and our Gaia, earth mother on this dark day filled with people seduced by a truly scary individual and now leader of the not so free world.

Sending love and hope to my friends and family… May we find an inspiration somewhere in all this madness.

20/09/2022

Hi everyone... thank you for all your support over the years and keeping posted on new things going one with Whaleheart... the time has come for me to let her go, after she had a major refit in Hegarty's boatyard in Skibbereen this spring and summer. Please have a look and share:

For the past eight years I have been refitting and converting this 1964 BIM (Irish Fishing Board-Bord Iascaigh Mhara) trawler. She was built in 1964 in the Di**le BIM yard. I replanked 50% of the

19/01/2022

Lovely morning here in Kilkeel. Don’t so much mind getting stuck here 😅😂🐋🐋🐋

19/01/2022

Unfortunately our starter burned out which we discovered while tied up here in Kilkeel. Joe Douglas and I would have sailed to Dublin yesterday, but now I’m holed up here waiting on a new starter. Not a bad place to be stuck as it’s full of people capable of helping us get onward. And the kindness in the Irish spirit is always present.

We’re tied up to many working fishing vessels and the harbour has loads that are now retired. Looking for new owners. Some of these boats will sell for literally a couple quid. Yes, £1-2 as there is more work in breaking them up than in selling them on.

The last wooden working fishing vessel made in Di**le & Ireland (where Whaleheart was built as Ros Beithe) is tied up beside me.

17/01/2022

Early departure from Donaghadee, on route to Kilkeel today.

Sunrise and moon set

17/01/2022

Tied up alongside Donaghadee light house for the night

17/01/2022

Yesterday we departed Belfast Abercorn Marina for the last time while based there on Whaleheart. I’m taking her to West Cork for mine and Janey’s wedding in August, and to have some work done on her at one of Irelands last wooden boat yards, Hegarty’s outside Skibereen.

We stopped off in Donaghadee harbour to have an early departure with tides flowing in our favour.

On to Kilkeel today.

01/05/2021

It’s been ages since I posted here! So much has happened, little and big projects... I’ll take ye all on a tour soon. But for now, here I am on Whaleheart for the weekend. Planning an outing tomorrow (pics to follow). It’s a gorgeous morning here, with calm waters.

One of my projects is to complete the fridge, I lined it with 3mm epoxied play last weekend, now to epoxy and glass all corners to I can paint. But urgently, I need to get this Jabsco salt water pump working for our outing tomorrow. She’s rebuilt and looking well with a new impeller, but not pumping. Thanks to Rob Greenaway for helping me troubleshoot, I hope to have it working soon.

27/03/2021

It’s been a while since I posted here. Much has and hasn’t happened on board Whaleheart. But while I am here at the moment, doing essential maintenance of course, I managed to take the time to watch “Seaspiracy” on Netflix. As an ex Trawler, the vessel now has a new life free from the out of control fishing industry which fuels an out of control consumption & waste practice by our race. Have a look at the documentary and let me know what you think. I appreciate that some of you seeing this may be part of the UK or Irish fishing industry. How do you really feel about the practice? Do you feel the imbalance of bi-catch, do you numb to it, or is it not something you experience? I’m in favour of small fishing vessels like what Whaleheart used to be, as truly sustainable, but what do you think of the ships working the seas now? I am and have been pretty concerned about them ever since spending a few years hanging about Killybegs harbour and seeing the scale of the practice and the size and killability of the ships involved.

Passionate about ocean life, a filmmaker sets out to document the harm that humans do to marine species — and uncovers alarming global corruption.