Joe Phelan is one of Ireland’s great sailors. With his wife and equal partner Trish he has been quietly standing out from the crowd for over 50 years, with dinghy trophies, Fastnet silverware and many a wild cruise under their belts. He has held flag office at commodore level in several high-ranking yacht clubs and managed all this alongside a distinguished career in medical science.
In 2004/05 Joe signed on as right-hand man to owner-skipper Peter Killen of Malahide, bound for Antarctica in Pure Magic, a 54ft Amel Super Maramu ketch. The book of this voyage with fellow rovers from the Dublin/Malahide region forms a big part of what is, in a sense, an autobiography of Joe Phelan. It is called Sailing To Antarctica because to Joe, now 81, this voyage has been the highlight of his time on the water.
Descriptions in the Antarctica part of the book take the form of emails sent at sea, interspersed with text written later. This gives it a unique, immediate feeling which, coupled with a quintessentially Irish humour, makes for a great read. We join the shipmates in heavy going seas approaching Deception Island in search of respite from the gale. Unusual adventures await…
“Thursday 23 December 2004 at
