A 95-year-old Irish sailing boat - the traditional
Galway hooker Nóra Bheag (Little Nora) will go on show in the UAE
capital’s Corniche destination village, which will this New Year host
the
Volvo Ocean Race fleet and a fortnight of celebrations to mark the historic occasion (December 31-January 14).
Nóra Bheag’s crew includes musicians Mike and Sue Fahy who will
also perform in the destination village, which will be opeb
free-of-charge to the public.
The Irish activity will promote Galway’s hosting of the end of the Volvo Ocean Race next July.
Irish hookers are similar to Arabian dhows in that both were used
for personal transport and fishing. The name ‘hooker’ refers to four
classes of traditional sailing boats from the west coast of Ireland.
They all have black hulls with distinctive dark red-brown or black
sails. Nóra Bheag is the smallest type, known as a púcán, which has a
dipping lugsail, but she can also be rigged with a traditional gaff
cutter rig and will feature both rigs during her stay.