Baltimore
August 18, 2023
Storm Betty, boat shows and the brown stuff!
When you interview someone called Diarmuid Minihane you just know he will be an interesting person... and he was. More of an entrepreneur than a typical HM. With a background as a professional welder he took over as an unpaid HM in 1996 and it seems he just can't stop himself starting up businesses.
He started out hiring out Orkney day fishing boats, and in 2002 with the help of his French wife he moved to selling boats, soon becoming the main agent for Zeppelin RIBs. It just happened to be his annual "boat show" in the harbour the very next day to which we were immediately invited to ... well the after party at least. Like all boat businesses he has had serious downturns and did not sell one single boat from 2009 to 2013. Now business is booming, importing the boats direct from France. He says that Brexit has been a huge help.
In 2012 the harbour came under the ownership of Cork Council along with Crookhaven, Schull and Roaring Water Bay harbours. He, and the council have tried to put in a marina and breakwater but there were too many objections, the Baltimore bay being a Special Area of Conservation (SAC). In a SW storm the swell makes light work of disturbing Diarmuid's 80 tonne WW2 concrete pontoon and more than once his gangway has fallen into the water. Fishing boats have to find refuge in adjacent ports during the winter.
As if to illustrate Diarmuid's frustrations, we endured Storm Betty while we were on one of his (very secure) mooring buoys. We watched the barometer drop below 990 mb, similar to a tropical cyclone. Apart from being woken up by a howling wind at 1am, we were fine.
Diarmuid seems to absolutely love his job and admits to working seven days a week. What does he enjoy most? Meeting people and the busy times of the season. Baltimore is the stepping off point for the nearby and touristy Sherkin, Hare and Cape Clear islands and is also a popular centre for tuna fishing.
When I asked him what was the most unexpected thing he had had to deal with, Diarmuid laughed and recounted a story about a man who rented one of his Orkney fishing boats and attempted to cross to America. When the boat had not returned at 6pm the coastguard was alerted and the life boat launched. Eventually a fishing boat spotted the escapee 12 miles off the Fastnet Lighthouse and the man was apprehended and brought home. The only problem for Diarmuid was that the lifeboat would not tow back the Orkney and his brother had to be dispatched to collect it. Wisely he has now stopped renting out his powerful RIBs or any boat to punters, not surprisingly the insurance got too expensive.
He has reverted to selling things and in 2022 was the top Suzuki selling agent in the whole of Ireland. I am not surprised, he is a very charming man! Thank you for a fun interview and good luck with getting the breakwater built. At this point Storm Betty was brewing and crew were keen to retire to Bushe's bar for some liquid brown stuff!
When you interview someone called Diarmuid Minihane you just know he will be an interesting person... and he was. More of an entrepreneur than a typical HM. With a background as a professional welder he took over as an unpaid HM in 1996 and it seems he just can't stop himself starting up businesses.
He started out hiring out Orkney day fishing boats, and in 2002 with the help of his French wife he moved to selling boats, soon becoming the main agent for Zeppelin RIBs. It just happened to be his annual "boat show" in the harbour the very next day to which we were immediately invited to ... well the after party at least. Like all boat businesses he has had serious downturns and did not sell one single boat from 2009 to 2013. Now business is booming, importing the boats direct from France. He says that Brexit has been a huge help.
In 2012 the harbour came under the ownership of Cork Council along with Crookhaven, Schull and Roaring Water Bay harbours. He, and the council have tried to put in a marina and breakwater but there were too many objections, the Baltimore bay being a Special Area of Conservation (SAC). In a SW storm the swell makes light work of disturbing Diarmuid's 80 tonne WW2 concrete pontoon and more than once his gangway has fallen into the water. Fishing boats have to find refuge in adjacent ports during the winter.
As if to illustrate Diarmuid's frustrations, we endured Storm Betty while we were on one of his (very secure) mooring buoys. We watched the barometer drop below 990 mb, similar to a tropical cyclone. Apart from being woken up by a howling wind at 1am, we were fine.
Diarmuid seems to absolutely love his job and admits to working seven days a week. What does he enjoy most? Meeting people and the busy times of the season. Baltimore is the stepping off point for the nearby and touristy Sherkin, Hare and Cape Clear islands and is also a popular centre for tuna fishing.
When I asked him what was the most unexpected thing he had had to deal with, Diarmuid laughed and recounted a story about a man who rented one of his Orkney fishing boats and attempted to cross to America. When the boat had not returned at 6pm the coastguard was alerted and the life boat launched. Eventually a fishing boat spotted the escapee 12 miles off the Fastnet Lighthouse and the man was apprehended and brought home. The only problem for Diarmuid was that the lifeboat would not tow back the Orkney and his brother had to be dispatched to collect it. Wisely he has now stopped renting out his powerful RIBs or any boat to punters, not surprisingly the insurance got too expensive.
He has reverted to selling things and in 2022 was the top Suzuki selling agent in the whole of Ireland. I am not surprised, he is a very charming man! Thank you for a fun interview and good luck with getting the breakwater built. At this point Storm Betty was brewing and crew were keen to retire to Bushe's bar for some liquid brown stuff!