An Irishwoman's Diary

Jarlath Cunnane is far more at ease in a pair of oilskins than in a tuxedo, but he has had to brush down the black jacket several times in recent months. "Awards," he sighs. Even after receiving three very prestigious plaudits, one can sense he is wincing a little at the continued spotlight over him.

He is in good company. The late Sir Francis Chichester, French yachtsman Eric Tabarly, Bernard Moitessier, Eric and Susan Hiscock have all been fellow recipients of the Blue Water Medal, conferred on Cunnane in New York last month by the Cruising Club of America. Three compatriots have also been given the distinction - Cunnane's expedition leader, Paddy Barry, for his exploits in his Galway hooker, St Patrick; Arctic mariner and solicitor John Gore Grimes; and Commander Bill King, wartime submarine commander and skipper of the Galway Blazer.

Designed by a Cruising Club member, Arthur Hildebrand, before he was lost in the Arctic with all of his crew in September, 1924, the medal has been awarded annually since 1923 to "reward meritorious seamanship and adventure upon the sea displayed by amateur sailors of all nationalities". Cunnane was selected late last year for his role as skipper of the first westward circumnavigation of the North Pole by a small boat. Not only did the Mayo man sail the boat - he also built the ice-strengthened, 15-metre, aluminium Northabout, which undertook the voyage with a crew of 18 in all.

As colleague Paddy Barry notes on the expedition's website, the technical reliability of the vessel was fundamental to the crew's success. "Isolated areas of the world have no breakdown service. The Arctic is demanding on equipment and unforgiving of weakness." In constructing the vessel, Cunnane had "conceded nothing" to the vital engineering and sailing functions, Barry notes - which was why those of us who waved the vessel off Rosmoney pier near Westport back in late June, 2001, were slightly taken aback at the sparse environment "down below".

The aim initially was to complete the first Irish navigation of the treacherous North-West Passage - the tantalising Atlantic-Pacific sea link which has claimed many lives, including that of Sir John Franklin and crew. Risking ice and more ice, polar bears and fickle weather in unfamiliar waters, the Irish sailors completed the route in just one season. It wasn't meant to be like this, for, as Barry has said, "to travel in the Arctic is to wait".

The plan then was to sail the yacht back to Mayo through the Panama Canal, but during the autumn of 2002 there was some discussion about "completing the circle" through the North-East Passage, or Russia's "Northern Sea route". After many attempts by English, Dutch, Russians and Germans, it was first traversed successfully in 1878-79 by Swedish geologist and Arctic explorer, Adolf Erik Nordenskjold, and he was followed by the Norwegian, Fridtjof Nansen, in the famous Fram.

The challenging two-year voyage undertaken by Cunnane, Barry, comrades Dr Mick Brogan, his brother, the Russian-speaking Colm, Dublin accountant Kevin Cronin, IT specialist Rory Casey, film-maker Gary Finnegan, and their fellow crew at various stages has already been recorded for this newspaper. Finnegan and John Murray of Crossing the Line films are working on the documentary. One can also relive the experience on the website www.northabout.com, where photographs of a harsh and forbidding Arctic coastline have been mounted.

For a clearer viewing, the framed images are also currently on exhibit at the Linenhall arts centre in Castlebar, Co Mayo, until March 3rd. Last weekend, Cunnane received a very special distinction, when he was named as national maritime person of the year - an honour bestowed by Galway Lifeboat in honour of the lifeboat station's co-founder, the late Capt Frank Sheridan.

Another on-line "log" with Mayo connections can be found at www.military.ie, where the captain of the Naval Service flagship, Cdr Mark Mellett of the LE Eithne, has been filing reports on the ship's passage to Argentina.

The LE Eithne left the Naval base in Haulbowline, Co Cork, on February 6th to represent Ireland at celebrations to commemorate the founder of the Argentinian Navy, Mayo man Admiral William Brown.

The itinerary has both trade and diplomatic components. The ship's crew will work with a number of non-governmental organisations and Irish missionaries on the south Atlantic/American rim, and distribute gifts to children's hospitals in Mar del Plata and Buenos Aires, Argentina, Montevideo in Uruguay, Rio de Janeiro and Fortalessa in Brazil. This latter initiative was organised through Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin.

One entry several days ago relayed some small drama, when the ship encountered a "navigational hazard", or floating cylinder, off the coast of Brazil. The 50-tonne object could have holed the craft - or any other vessel - if it had struck it at night, according to Cdr Mellett.

The LE Eithne consulted the Brazilian search and rescue authorities, and was given approval to attempt a detonation. However, several rounds from the ship's 20mm cannon failed to do the business, and divers and engineering staff were dispatched to open the cylinder's vent holes. "Everything was going smoothly, until there was a call of "shark, shark". The fins of up to four hammerheads were breaking the surface, and so "any plans for going to swimming stations after the operation were shelved", Cdr Mellett said. Unlike most sharks, hammerheads tend to cruise in shoals of up to 100 fish.