Last updated: May 17, 2012
Hooks and Crookes
Hooks and Crookes are a sea shanty group of men based in Waterford in the southeast of Ireland. Our name comes from a light-hearted view of the old Cromwellian saying, 'of getting there by Hook or by Crooke'. Hook and Crooke are the name of the two headlands on either side of Waterford Harbour.
You can now buy our CDs using paypal. Click here to begin shopping.
If you want to hear one of our songs, click on the icon:
Haul on the Bowline The Mermaid Tomorrow
Maritime Matters
Baltimore (West Cork) Wooden Boats Festival, 25-27th May 2012
17 May: The Baltimore Wooden Boat Festival takes place in West Cork from the 25th-27th May. Now in its 10th year, it is a celebration of the traditional timber sailing boats of Ireland. There is rowing, racing, boat building and a Parade of Sail takes place on Sunday. Tim Severin is giving a talk on the Saturday night on Building the St Brendan (a traditional boat he used to cross the Atlantic). It is part of the Baltimore Seafood Weekend so as well as boats and sailing, there will also be a celebration of local food (and drink too!). Look out for cheese makers, fish smokers and organic gardeners. Looks like it could be a great weekend of fun and frolics. A great place too is Baltimore. See Wooden Boats Festival for further details.
14 May: If you have an interest in the sea and spend any time around harbours, piers, out on the ocean or even just looking at it from land, then you are sure at some stage to see many of the animals that live in the sea. None are more impressive that the whales and dolphins that are now regularly recorded off our coasts. Harbour porpoises are probably the most abundant of the sea mammals that occur here in Ireland but the dolphins are probably the best known of all, as they regularly come close inshore and they love to bow-ride around boats and ferries. The nine dolphin species recorded in Irish waters are common, bottlenose, Risso's, Atlantic white-sided, white beaked, striped, killer whale, false killer whale & long-finned pilot whales but some of these are quite rare. The commonest species is the bottlenose dolphin, the best known of which is Fungi, that lovable creature that many thousands of people come to watch down in Dingle Bay in Kerry. Bottlenose dolphins are very playful, acrobatic and they love to be near people (but they can be aggressive and are best admired from a distance). They can grow to almost four metres and are quite an impressive mammal and very graceful in the water. So the next time you are looking out to sea, keep a careful look out for them and you’d never know too but that they might closer than you think!
8 May: William Hobson, the son of the eminent barrister Samuel, was born in William Street in Waterford in 1793. Before he was 10 he was dispatched to sea on the frigate La Virginie as a volunteer, second class. He became a midshipman, then he gained the rank of master’s mate and when he was promoted to acting lieutenant he had spent 13 hard years at sea, without any shore leave. Apparently he had the ability to combine discretion with sound judgement and was to become a distinguished seaman, having survived crushing piracy in the Carribean and then the Napoleonic wars. He eventually rose to the rank of Commander (in 1824) and was commissioned to HMS Rattlesake to serve in the East Indies. His was posted to Australia where he was instrumental in surveying the harbour around Victoria (Hobsons Bay was named after him there). He responded to a request for help from nearby New Zealand, which was in turmoil from wars between Maori tribes. He was instrumental in drafting the Treaty of Waitangi and he was eventually to become Governor of New Zealand. He died at a relatively young age (49) in 1842 after a stroke (yellow fever had also take a toll on him). He is buried in Symonds Street Cemetery, Central Auckland and he is remembered in Waterford by the nameplate on the wall of the house he was born in over 200 years ago.
Seascapes
Seascapes is a radio programme broadcast every Friday night on RTE Radio 1, from 10.30-11.00 pm, which deals with all maritime issues. It is produced and presented by Marcus Connaughton (a lovely man and great supporter of Hooks and Crookes). You can find more information on this wonderful programme by clicking the link Seascapes. Podcasts of previous programmes can also be listened to there.
Our Tall Ships CD can be bought online, along with all our other cds. Click here to purchase.
