0:00:15 > 0:00:17Some people have got a stressful job
0:00:17 > 0:00:19and they go out for the race to get rid of that tension
0:00:19 > 0:00:20that they might have had.
0:00:22 > 0:00:24I think when I race, I get tension!
0:00:25 > 0:00:27Lay over!
0:00:27 > 0:00:30You're not just racing against other competitors.
0:00:30 > 0:00:32You're racing against elements.
0:00:34 > 0:00:38It gives me a thrill. Bit like a fix!
0:00:44 > 0:00:49When you're sailing well, things are humming,
0:00:49 > 0:00:51it just feels like the wee boat's on wheels at times.
0:01:13 > 0:01:16My father worked on boats throughout the country
0:01:16 > 0:01:19and around the Lough in different areas of the Lough
0:01:19 > 0:01:20and, indeed, down here.
0:01:21 > 0:01:24The boatyard was founded here in the early '30s,
0:01:24 > 0:01:26and when we were born into it,
0:01:26 > 0:01:28it was a great playground for us.
0:01:31 > 0:01:34So it's still going on as a family tradition.
0:01:36 > 0:01:40Myself and my brothers grew up with the yard here and the boats.
0:01:40 > 0:01:43We all own a boat of some sort.
0:01:43 > 0:01:45I own number eight, Laragh,
0:01:45 > 0:01:48and it hadn't been sailed for a number of years.
0:01:48 > 0:01:50It was getting in bad repair.
0:01:50 > 0:01:51Been lying.
0:01:51 > 0:01:54And we got it, brought it back to the yard and restored it.
0:01:57 > 0:02:00It's working with your hands with wood.
0:02:00 > 0:02:03As a tradition here, it was wooden boats in our childhood.
0:02:03 > 0:02:08Fibreglass was coming into it in the late '60s, early '70s.
0:02:08 > 0:02:14A lot of them are considered that they're not boats at all!
0:02:17 > 0:02:19I enjoy working on it.
0:02:19 > 0:02:21I enjoy getting it really how it should look.
0:02:21 > 0:02:24It's really looking well.
0:02:24 > 0:02:26I enjoy racing it.
0:02:30 > 0:02:32I mean, you're not out there just for a wee sail about.
0:02:32 > 0:02:36You're enjoying that, the scenery, the surroundings,
0:02:36 > 0:02:37but you're there to race.
0:02:37 > 0:02:40And racing is something that you have in your blood
0:02:40 > 0:02:42and you can't shake that off.
0:02:44 > 0:02:47There's always a friendly rivalry,
0:02:47 > 0:02:50but in the water, when you're racing,
0:02:50 > 0:02:53those feelings just sometimes go out the window.
0:02:56 > 0:03:00It's more intense competition nearly, against the brothers.
0:03:00 > 0:03:03There's a thing called brotherly love.
0:03:03 > 0:03:05But I'm telling you,
0:03:05 > 0:03:08it doesn't stretch very far sometimes in the water.
0:03:10 > 0:03:13Now, obviously the competitive spirit comes out of it first,
0:03:13 > 0:03:15let me tell you!
0:03:20 > 0:03:24Quite a lot of the rivers were based in the boatyards during the winter.
0:03:24 > 0:03:28We always worked at them as we got older.
0:03:28 > 0:03:32At the time, you think, "Those are nice-looking boats, nice lines,
0:03:32 > 0:03:34"nice character about it."
0:03:34 > 0:03:37Looking at the way the rivers were built,
0:03:37 > 0:03:40I remember my father saying, "Those are well-built boats."
0:03:40 > 0:03:43When someone with his expertise says they're well-built boats,
0:03:43 > 0:03:45you take heed of that.
0:03:48 > 0:03:51You get a bond with the actual boat.
0:03:55 > 0:03:58Because of the way it's built and the pride you have in it,
0:03:58 > 0:04:00it's not something that you can replace.
0:04:02 > 0:04:05You can't go down to the shelf and buy a new one.
0:04:07 > 0:04:09These are boats that almost live and breathe.
0:04:15 > 0:04:20I love the rivers, because they talk to you.
0:04:20 > 0:04:22As a boat, they talk to you.
0:04:24 > 0:04:27When you have your sails set correctly,
0:04:27 > 0:04:32you can hear the creaks and the groans in the rigging, in the mast,
0:04:32 > 0:04:35in the very fibre of the boat
0:04:35 > 0:04:40that tells you that that is what she wants to be doing.
0:04:44 > 0:04:46The boat has a character,
0:04:46 > 0:04:48and that character, that interaction,
0:04:48 > 0:04:51is two people having a conversation together.
0:04:55 > 0:04:56A very good start.
0:04:56 > 0:04:59There's some very, very nice prizes to be won.
0:04:59 > 0:05:03I think that's one of the things that people again race for.
0:05:03 > 0:05:06A really nice one is the cigar box.
0:05:07 > 0:05:09It dates back to the '20s.
0:05:09 > 0:05:11It was raced for by a class before the rivers.
0:05:11 > 0:05:14But they died away, soled away, whatever.
0:05:14 > 0:05:17It's a really treasured prize for anybody winning it.
0:05:19 > 0:05:23Each time you win the trophy, the owner and the boat,
0:05:23 > 0:05:24their names are on it,
0:05:24 > 0:05:30so you look back years and see how well each one has done.
0:05:33 > 0:05:35There's pride in that as well,
0:05:35 > 0:05:38because you know if you win a race at the regatta,
0:05:38 > 0:05:40your name's gonna be on that for ever.
0:05:40 > 0:05:44And it's nice to look back. There's a real sense of history in that.
0:05:47 > 0:05:49Two minutes.
0:05:51 > 0:05:53Righto!
0:05:53 > 0:05:55Yacht racing is a very competitive sport.
0:05:55 > 0:05:58There's a lot of cut and thrust in it.
0:05:58 > 0:06:00Oh, my God! They're late.
0:06:00 > 0:06:04I enjoy it because of the skill involved,
0:06:04 > 0:06:09the concentration, the unpredictability of it.
0:06:09 > 0:06:10One of the most important things
0:06:10 > 0:06:14in the kind of racing which we do in Strangford is making a good start.
0:06:14 > 0:06:20Once a boat is in the lead, it generally speaking has an advantage.
0:06:22 > 0:06:24In a race, you're trying to gain every advantage you can
0:06:24 > 0:06:26from the starting line,
0:06:26 > 0:06:29position your boat at the start.
0:06:29 > 0:06:33The boats are all moving, there's no stop,
0:06:33 > 0:06:36and then suddenly, bang, the gun goes and everybody moves off.
0:06:36 > 0:06:37Look up!
0:06:40 > 0:06:42Jib. Fly the jib. Fly the sails.
0:06:57 > 0:07:00Nice one.
0:07:04 > 0:07:07I'm very competitive, I'm afraid, I am.
0:07:07 > 0:07:08Not in a bullish way.
0:07:08 > 0:07:12Everybody has to sail within the rules.
0:07:12 > 0:07:15But you have to have a sort of controlled aggression,
0:07:15 > 0:07:17you have to have a will to want to win.
0:07:17 > 0:07:19Very important they don't get an overlap on us at the mark.
0:07:19 > 0:07:21Right, folks.
0:07:21 > 0:07:22Spinnaker down.
0:07:29 > 0:07:32OK, guys.
0:07:32 > 0:07:35- He has got an overlap on us. - Whoa!
0:07:35 > 0:07:38Whoa! Whoa!
0:07:38 > 0:07:39Did they touch?
0:07:39 > 0:07:42- Did they?- I don't know.
0:07:42 > 0:07:45Sailing's very polite. Racing's a different story.
0:07:45 > 0:07:47Everybody says it's cut-throat out on the water.
0:07:47 > 0:07:49It really is cut-throat.
0:07:51 > 0:07:53- ..We might have to! - Ease! Ease! Ease!
0:07:56 > 0:07:59A few near experiences!
0:07:59 > 0:08:02OK, it's going to be a close race.
0:08:04 > 0:08:07There is a very strong rivalry in the racing,
0:08:07 > 0:08:09but there has to be a fellowship as well.
0:08:09 > 0:08:12You have to trust the other competitors.
0:08:14 > 0:08:19Because there's a lot of weight and power behind those boats.
0:08:26 > 0:08:28It's like a chess game in the water.
0:08:28 > 0:08:32You're trying to position your boat into certain areas
0:08:32 > 0:08:34where there's more wind, a bit less tide maybe,
0:08:34 > 0:08:37a bit more tide if it's to your advantage.
0:08:39 > 0:08:43The wind's gone up a bit and there's a nasty rain squall
0:08:43 > 0:08:45coming in over Killyleagh.
0:08:52 > 0:08:55- Main OK?- Yeah.
0:09:01 > 0:09:04It's pretty dire at the moment. There's no wind.
0:09:04 > 0:09:08These guys have a breeze up here. We're in nothing.
0:09:08 > 0:09:09This rain is killing everything.
0:09:09 > 0:09:12We just have to wait and see what happens.
0:09:12 > 0:09:16Any breeze coming in, I hope those guys don't make too much on us.
0:09:16 > 0:09:19There's nothing we can do but sit and wait.
0:09:19 > 0:09:21Kenny is completely becalmed.
0:09:28 > 0:09:31- It's not over yet. - It's not over yet!
0:09:33 > 0:09:36Going up. You'll have to come in.
0:09:38 > 0:09:41Why are you trying to devil me?!
0:09:41 > 0:09:43SHOUTS INDISTINCTLY
0:09:43 > 0:09:44Stop sitting in my wind!
0:09:48 > 0:09:50You've no claim or I'd have married you.
0:09:50 > 0:09:52Kenny's coming up.
0:09:54 > 0:09:56This is hyper!
0:09:56 > 0:10:01No, I was complaining to the Blue Glen that he was taking my wind.
0:10:01 > 0:10:03No-one was challenging him
0:10:03 > 0:10:06and I was trying to get the lead in the river class.
0:10:06 > 0:10:08I suppose I really should have kept my mouth shut.
0:10:10 > 0:10:13- Poke her up. - BANG!
0:10:13 > 0:10:14Well sailed.
0:10:14 > 0:10:15Well done, man.
0:10:16 > 0:10:21At the end of each race, all the boats cheer the winner.
0:10:21 > 0:10:24Hip hooray! Hip hooray !Hip hooray!
0:10:24 > 0:10:26On the water there, it's a battle,
0:10:26 > 0:10:31but once it's over, anything that happened is forgotten about.
0:10:39 > 0:10:42You can't force kids to do something.
0:10:42 > 0:10:46If they take it nice and easy out for a wee evening sail
0:10:46 > 0:10:50and they get the feel of the boat, and if they want to pick it up,
0:10:50 > 0:10:52they'll adapt to that very well.
0:10:53 > 0:10:57For a child, helming a river, I'm sure, is some feat
0:10:57 > 0:10:59and something for them to remember.
0:11:04 > 0:11:08The river I have means a lot to me, I must say.
0:11:08 > 0:11:11It would be hard to part with it.
0:11:11 > 0:11:14I enjoy racing it,
0:11:14 > 0:11:19and hopefully I'll pass it on to my family, my kids.
0:11:23 > 0:11:26You can imagine the pride my father had
0:11:26 > 0:11:29when Kenny and I did well in racing.
0:11:29 > 0:11:33Some day, we might be blessed with the same thing, you know,
0:11:33 > 0:11:35with our kids coming in and saying, "That's good.
0:11:35 > 0:11:38"You got a win tonight."
0:11:45 > 0:11:49Owning a river is, to me, quite important.
0:11:50 > 0:11:55I'm an owner of a bit of wood and lead and canvas.
0:11:55 > 0:11:57But I'm only an owner for a while.
0:11:57 > 0:12:02And when you own a yacht that's 84 years old,
0:12:02 > 0:12:07you have a feeling sometimes you're just a steward there for a time,
0:12:07 > 0:12:10looking after a lovely bit of property.
0:12:13 > 0:12:19As time goes on, you realise that these boats are lent to us.
0:12:20 > 0:12:23If the kids come up afterwards when we're long gone,
0:12:23 > 0:12:26if these boats are still sailing about,
0:12:26 > 0:12:29that would be an achievement and something to give you pride,
0:12:29 > 0:12:32thinking that that will happen in the future,
0:12:32 > 0:12:35they're gonna be sailed by people who still care for them.
0:12:40 > 0:12:43The owners are now custodians.
0:12:43 > 0:12:47And I think that when you look at a river,
0:12:47 > 0:12:49you have to look at your time in the river
0:12:49 > 0:12:53and then your time to part with a river
0:12:53 > 0:12:55and someone else's time in a river.
0:13:00 > 0:13:04I would like to think that the rivers will see their 100 years.
0:13:04 > 0:13:08I don't think I'll be there, but I still would love to see them
0:13:08 > 0:13:14or love to be able to attend the dinner on their 100th anniversary.
0:13:52 > 0:13:56Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
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