Brest 2008, Around the world in a week!
'Brest Maritime Festival 2008'
Brest Maritime Festival
A melting pot of boats, cultures and maritime heritage from all around the world, the quaysides and the numerous craft open to the public are absolutely heaving with people at Brest 2008. The maritime event of the year in France today welcomes Norway as its guest of honour, whose eye-catching village and fleet of Faerings, Geit Bats (Goat boats), Powling boats, cutters, trawlers, lifeboats and coastal steamers, were officially inaugurated by the Norwegian ambassador this afternoon.
Also in the spotlight today is the scientific polar yacht Tara, recently returned from a voyage of discovery in the Arctic Ocean in the interests of environmental studies. Over three and a half thousand visitors had the privilege of being taken out on the water to see the action in the bay, while the quaysides were alive with 19th century sea rescue methods, the launching of a Le Havre cutter, demonstrations, acrobatics, musicians and dancers.
Whether you're on the water or on shore at Brest 2008, not only do you step back through the history of maritime heritage, but you also take a trip around the world as you visit the different guest villages of Norway, Croatia, Galicia, Madagascar and Vietnam and witness boats from just about every country around the globe. From Jangadas of Brazil, round Skiffs of Martinique, Coutas of Sydney harbour, Looe luggers of Cornwall, there is something to appeal to one and all. 
Today's guest of honour is Norway and the boats in the Norwegian village at Brest 2008 are a vision of sleek, seemingly delicate lines dating back some 2000 years with echoes of Viking craft. The country's proximity to the sea and its long coastline are the distinguishing characteristics of the country's geography and people.
The future of Norway's traditional craft lies, more so than in most areas, in the hands of its younger generations. As a result an organisation known as Association Forbundet Kysten was set up back in 1979 to encourage the survival of these beautiful old craft, which very sadly would otherwise be lost. Some of these, such as the Sognefjord faering, are partly fashioned from trees which have rotated in a particular direction towards the sun to give the planking strength and a natural curve to suit a given section of the boat. An incredible amount goes into every part of the boat, which conforms to very precise measurements that have been tried and tested by generations dating back to the 14th century. Interestingly, not only is the craft deceptively simple but also breathtakingly beautiful and faster than in any modern day material.
Aside the various craft the Norwegian village is buzzing with activities performed for centuries along the edges of the fjords from knitting, to cleaning wool over a harp style device, to removing the knots, to weaving, to making rope from bark. Some of the fjords surrounding them in their work are huge, the Sognefjord for example, extending some 204 kilometres into the countryside and surrounded by the highest mountains and the largest glacier in Norway. Little wonder then that water craft were and remain so important here.
From the glacier environment of Norway to the ice floes of the Arctic, another project dear to people's hearts is also present at Brest 2008. After leaving Lorient on 11th July 2006 the scientific polar yacht Tara, formally skippered by the late Sir Peter Blake, left its home port of Lorient in Brittany, France, on a mission to discover the impact of global warming on the planet and in particular the Arctic Ocean. Tara and her 20 crew became embedded in ice on 3rd September 2006 which averaged 1.5 m thick around the hull, and were then released on 21st January 2008 after drifting a total of 5,200 km. The most northerly position reached was 88?32N on the 28th of May 2007 (160 km from the geographic North Pole). It took Tara 507 days to complete the trip and they spent a total of a month and a half embedded in the ice, rather than the anticipated two months. They returned to their home port at the end of February and are now in Brest throughout the event. Tonight a 90 minute film all about the expedition is being shown on the quayside. 
Quotes of the Day
Marny Tonnessen (Kystled Naeroyfjord - Norway)'Brest is a wonderful event and I'm really enjoying it. We have come here to make our cause public because it's such a rich, popular festival. We have links with the Forbundet Association - Kysten which was created to strengthen the Norwegian's identity as a coastal people and develop and hand down traditional knowledge.
Some of the boats in Norway have almost been forgotten so we're trying to learn how to rebuild the old boats that remain so we don't lose them completely. I am closely linked to the traditions of the longest Fjord in the world and the continuation of the traditional faering there. The boats cost a lot of money to build but they are invaluable as there is nothing like them anywhere else in the world.'
Jon Jacobs (Sognefjord, the sole remaining builder of the Sogne faering - Norway)'At first glance the faering of the Sognefjord is an incredibly aerodynamic boat with very fine lines but there is an incredible amount of detail that goes into making them that you can't necessarily see with the eye. For a start the lower sole planking is built from a single tree and you have to find one which has rotated in a certain direction according to the sun. In days gone by my father was involved with growing special forests for faering construction, which meant there was a very close bond between the farmers and boat builders. Today though you have to go out and find the trees.
Furthermore, all the measurements within the boat are very specific and have remained the same since the craft was first built which effectively dates back to before the 14th century and is very similar to Viking craft. The bow of the Sognefjord faering is known as the throat in Norwegian as the lower planking is fashioned in such a way that as it moves through the water the bow swallows up the water and then quickly spits it out of the back of the craft. Despite being 2000 years old they are much faster than modern boats, though there is no way that you could compare the two as it would be impossible to create the same shape with modern materials such as fibreglass. I am now the only person left who builds these boats so it is imperative that we can teach others the craft and continue the tradition.'
by Kate Jennings 
Click on thumbnails to enlarge and find more photos:
Turners Beach, TAS
