Brendan Voyage Chapter 2 First Half

There was just one major problem: Leather rots in water, so it is not possible to make a leather boat. But it was tested, and the scientist found that leather tanned in oak bark would float! All the other kinds absorbed water and sank, but this leather was two to three times more resistant. So it was true that the boat was leather! But the problem was, how did you get a boat that would be sturdy enough? Tim Severin went out on a walk one day, and found four curraghs, small canvas boats with a wooden frame and tarred to make them water-resistant. He was able to get some men to take him for a sail in this remarkable boat, and found that it was just the same as a skin boat but with canvas instead of leather. It was very maneuverable. He went to see the curragh maker, and learned all he could about this type of boat. He was told that once, when a steamer was in danger on the coast. The lifeboat was not able to do anything because of the heavy sea, and then two of the curragh men took their boat out and helped. That frail-looking little boat made it where the lifeboat could not! Some of the legends sounded impossible, but when you looked at them carefully, they made sense. The monks landed on a whale's back, thinking it was a rock, and lit a fire. That woke the whale, and it dove back into the sea, giving the monks just enough time to get in the boat! They saw a floating pillar of crystal, and at one island, were pelted with burning rocks! These are just a few of their adventures. More soon! Bell