TWO local boatmen made a welcome return to Bangor’s Long Hole harbour last weekend after a 40-year hiatus.
Bangor skipper Brian Meharg and good friend Kyle Marshall last sailed into the picturesque harbour to shelter their boat from stormy weather four decades ago.
Due to the limited protection at Bangor’s exposed port, boatmen frequently brought their boats into the Long Hole or sailed on to Carrickfergus, to protect their vessels from tempestuous seas.
However, the construction of the North Pier and the marina in the early 1980s heralded a new era of safety for local boatmen, with increased shelter during gale force winds and easy entry during all tides.
As skipper of the well-known Bangor Boat, Brian invited a group of family and friends to join him and Kyle on a special sailing to mark the anniversary of the last time he ‘brought a boat in’ to the Long Hole.
Instead of embarking from the Bangor Boat’s usual pontoon in Bangor Marina, guests were able to step back in time as they climbed aboard at the Long Hole’s stone steps.
Thanks to Saturday’s perfect weather conditions, it was plain sailing as the Bangor Boat cruised along the picturesque coastline to Brompton, Crawfordsburn and on to Helen’s Bay.
Recalling the last time he brought his boat into the Long Hole for safety, Brian said: “It was really bad weather, so Kyle, who was about 13 at the time, and I brought the boat into the Long Hole.
“What we didn’t realise was this was history being made – nobody would ever have to seek shelter in the Long Hole again as the North Pier was being built and this would protect the boats from storms and gales.”
He recalled the treacherous conditions that local boatmen often faced as storms and gales whipped along the coastline saying: “Bangor was totally exposed, there were no piers, no breakwaters, we had no shelter.
“Often we would have to take the boats to Carrickfergus and then we would have to get the bus home. Other times when the weather was bad we would have had to nursed the boats all night.
“You couldn’t have went home and left your boat. If you had left your boat it would have been wrecked.”
Back in 1984 Brian was delighted to discover that eagle-eyed photographer, the late Clint Leslie snapped ‘a little piece of history’ as Brian’s boat battled its way into the picturesque harbour.
Said Brian: “Clint Leslie, who was up in his attic in Victoria Road, was able to take a photograph of us as we brought the boat in. The weather just got worse as the day progressed.
“I also found another photograph that shows how the boats had to be nursed during a gale at the old Central Pier. These two boats were badly damaged and were full of water. ”
Delighted to mark this historic anniversary, Brian said: “This is a very historic occasion for it was over 40 years since we last brought a boat into the Long Hole.
“The ‘Big Hole’ as the old Bangorians called it, was the centre of the boating world in Bangor until the Eisenhower Pier gave shelter to the bay.”
Said Brian: “As the passengers climbed down the rocks to board the boat on Saturday this was exactly how the old Bangorian boatmen and boat ladies would have done it in the past. This was the place to gain a safe mooring, there was a permanent waiting list for a prized spot.”
Much has changed in Brian’s lengthy seafaring career and some of those changes may just be for the better. “Today it is so easy to dander down the pontoons and you have no fear.”
