BOAT VOYAGE

The film documents a sea journey from a wooden sailing boat; The Peel Castle led by owner and skipper Graham Bailey. The journey from Baltimore in West Cork, passes the Stag Islands, Fastnet lighthouse and Bulls rock before looping back past Cape Clear to Baltimore again. The constancy of motion and the threshold between the sea and sky are constant themes throughout the film. This human journey of exploration crosses paths with migrating birds and sea mammals. Routes are shared also with fishing, research and private leisure boats. Detailed observation of the light, the changing landmarks and the wildlife encountered are contrasted with documentation of the boat itself and the physical act of sailing itself. The small crew steers and raises and lowers the sails according to the wind direction and force. With very little contextualising information, this boat journey seems to become a metaphor for the desire to journey, to go beyond known horizons, the depicted journey never arrives and seems to circle back on itself.