BENEATH SAND AND SEA
INTRODUCTION The proposed project is set within the physical and social context of Portobello Beach and intends to bring an aspect of the area’s hidden history back out into the light. It focuses on the historic Portobello Harbour, whose rudimentary walls now lie obscured by sea, sand and time. With little visible evidence and now outside the community’s living memory, the only evidence of the once prosperous harbour are street names, historic references and contemporary maps. For the beholder: locals and visitors alike, this temporary installation will make visible connections between this important element of Portobello’s past and its present street names and topography.
CONTEXT: PORTOBELLO HARBOUR AND EAST COAST BOATS Around 1765 William Jameson founded a brick making enterprise in Portobello to supply the new building developments in Edinburgh’s New Town. In the early 1780s, Jameson built a harbour close to the mouth of the Figgate Burn [1]. Although this harbour is not shown on a 1780 map it is clearly identifiable on the 1824 John Wood map (right) [2]. The harbour was conveniently placed in the Firth of Forth providing easy (albeit tidal) access to enable the supply of bricks to the city. When the harbour fell into disuse is unclear – the brickworks closed for certain as late as 1936. After the 1848 Moray Firth disaster many similar small Scottish harbours were altered or abandoned. Nowadays only the lower courses of some of the walls are visible in the sand of Portobello Beach at low tide after stormy seas. The site was recorded by GUARD in 1996 [3]:
“Two stone built walls are visible on Portobello Beach 20m east of the Figgate Burn. Both walls are 1.20m wide and have a rubble interior and dressed facing stones. One wall is approximately 10m long, running NW-SE. Only one course is visible, the rest, if any, is obscured by sand. The other wall lies 6m to the east. It is 6m long and is curvilinear in plan. Again only one course is visible.”
There is little evidence of the types of boat which would have been used in Portobello Harbour during its hey-day, but they would likely have followed the common regional characteristics of boats at that period. Up to the 19th century, the Scottish fishing boat tradition was greatly influenced by Scandinavian and earlier Viking boat designs using clinker planking and iconic sharp stems and sterns. Characteristically Scottish fishing boats of the late 18th and early 19th centuries - when Portobello Harbour was established - were small sail boats with open hulls. From the beginning of the 19th century a new class of boat called the Skaffie appeared. These were favoured mainly in the East coast region. The early Skaffies were small with rounded stems and raked sterns. They were two-masted with a tall dipping lugsail and a smaller mizzen sail. A short keel gave them excellent manoeuvrability in good weather but rendered them unstable in bad weather. The boats were un-decked and provided no shelter for the usual crew of six. Because of the vulnerability of the boats they were only used in costal waters in full view of the land (top right [5]). Later, Skaffies were built up to 42 feet long and were partially decked. This came about because the harbours that were constructed from the mid to late19th century (after the Moray Firth disaster) meant that the boats no longer needed to be beached. Skaffies were not built in any great numbers after 1900.
"Two distinct types of boats were to be found in Scottish waters. The typical herring lugger was the Buckie boat, variously called a scaffie, scaffa, or scaith. Length of keel was 32ft to 33ft, but a curved stem and a sternpost raking at 45deg increased the overall length to 41ft, beam was 13ft, and depth 4ft 9in. The clinker-built hull was lightly constructed of 1 1/2in larch planking with oak ribs, keel, stem and sternpost, and the boat was coated with a crude varnish. As the hull only weighed three tons, it could easily be hauled up a beach. Draught light was, for'ard 2ft 6in, aft 2ft 9in, but with a loaded displacement of 16 tons, the boat drew 4ft 3in for'ard, and 4ft 9in aft, a ton of ballast being carried." [4]
PROPOSAL: HOISTING SAILS IN PORTOBELLO HARBOUR GENERAL DESCRIPTION. The masts and sails of traditional Skaffies will re-emerge from under the sand, placed within the area which was once enclosed by the harbour walls. The project will place eight masts into fittings in the sand and equip them with the traditional standing rigging gear. On suitable days traditional tanned canvas lugsails and mizzen sails will be hoisted giving a spectacular impression of a small 19th century harbour (see image to the right).
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION. Six masts of 18’-24’ and 12’-14’ height and 3” diameter will be acquired/manufactured and will be stepped in 3’ deep tubes buried in the sand. Standing rigging will be run to temporary mooring blocks which are buried in the sand. This masts and rigging will stay permanent for the agreed duration of the project while the sails are to be hoisted weather permitting. The larger sails will be approx. 20’ x 15’ square. These will be predominantly second-hand sails, natural/oak-bark tanned and even repaired to give an authentic image. In the case of limited availability of old sails, new sails will be manufactured from cotton canvas using traditional sail-making methods, bolt-roping, serving and rope cringles.
DURATION OF WORK. The suggested duration of the work is 10 days including rigging and de-rig on site. However, the presence of the work could be extended to up to six weeks if volunteers could be engaged in the operation of the work (occasional hoisting and lowering of sails) and the de-rig (removing sails and masts). The artists will be present for the 10 day duration to install and maintain the work, demonstrate techniques and give talks and workshops.
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT. For the required community engagement programme of the commission: - One collaborative artists’ talk about our own artistic practice - One talk about Irish and Scottish maritime traditions - One four-hour workshop introducing rigging, traditional sail-making techniques and tanning - Community volunteers engaged in the rigging and running (rising and lowering sails)
BENEATH SAND AND SEA
INTRODUCTION The proposed project is set within the physical and social context of Portobello Beach and intends to bring an aspect of the area’s hidden history back out into the light. It focuses on the historic Portobello Harbour, whose rudimentary walls now lie obscured by sea, sand and time. With little visible evidence and now outside the community’s living memory, the only evidence of the once prosperous harbour are street names, historic references and contemporary maps. For the beholder: locals and visitors alike, this temporary installation will make visible connections between this important element of Portobello’s past and its present street names and topography.
CONTEXT: PORTOBELLO HARBOUR AND EAST COAST BOATS Around 1765 William Jameson founded a brick making enterprise in Portobello to supply the new building developments in Edinburgh’s New Town. In the early 1780s, Jameson built a harbour close to the mouth of the Figgate Burn [1]. Although this harbour is not shown on a 1780 map it is clearly identifiable on the 1824 John Wood map (right) [2]. The harbour was conveniently placed in the Firth of Forth providing easy (albeit tidal) access to enable the supply of bricks to the city. When the harbour fell into disuse is unclear – the brickworks closed for certain as late as 1936. After the 1848 Moray Firth disaster many similar small Scottish harbours were altered or abandoned. Nowadays only the lower courses of some of the walls are visible in the sand of Portobello Beach at low tide after stormy seas. The site was recorded by GUARD in 1996 [3]:
“Two stone built walls are visible on Portobello Beach 20m east of the Figgate Burn. Both walls are 1.20m wide and have a rubble interior and dressed facing stones. One wall is approximately 10m long, running NW-SE. Only one course is visible, the rest, if any, is obscured by sand. The other wall lies 6m to the east. It is 6m long and is curvilinear in plan. Again only one course is visible.”
There is little evidence of the types of boat which would have been used in Portobello Harbour during its hey-day, but they would likely have followed the common regional characteristics of boats at that period. Up to the 19th century, the Scottish fishing boat tradition was greatly influenced by Scandinavian and earlier Viking boat designs using clinker planking and iconic sharp stems and sterns. Characteristically Scottish fishing boats of the late 18th and early 19th centuries - when Portobello Harbour was established - were small sail boats with open hulls. From the beginning of the 19th century a new class of boat called the Skaffie appeared. These were favoured mainly in the East coast region. The early Skaffies were small with rounded stems and raked sterns. They were two-masted with a tall dipping lugsail and a smaller mizzen sail. A short keel gave them excellent manoeuvrability in good weather but rendered them unstable in bad weather. The boats were un-decked and provided no shelter for the usual crew of six. Because of the vulnerability of the boats they were only used in costal waters in full view of the land (top right [5]). Later, Skaffies were built up to 42 feet long and were partially decked. This came about because the harbours that were constructed from the mid to late19th century (after the Moray Firth disaster) meant that the boats no longer needed to be beached. Skaffies were not built in any great numbers after 1900.
"Two distinct types of boats were to be found in Scottish waters. The typical herring lugger was the Buckie boat, variously called a scaffie, scaffa, or scaith. Length of keel was 32ft to 33ft, but a curved stem and a sternpost raking at 45deg increased the overall length to 41ft, beam was 13ft, and depth 4ft 9in. The clinker-built hull was lightly constructed of 1 1/2in larch planking with oak ribs, keel, stem and sternpost, and the boat was coated with a crude varnish. As the hull only weighed three tons, it could easily be hauled up a beach. Draught light was, for'ard 2ft 6in, aft 2ft 9in, but with a loaded displacement of 16 tons, the boat drew 4ft 3in for'ard, and 4ft 9in aft, a ton of ballast being carried." [4]
PROPOSAL: HOISTING SAILS IN PORTOBELLO HARBOUR GENERAL DESCRIPTION. The masts and sails of traditional Skaffies will re-emerge from under the sand, placed within the area which was once enclosed by the harbour walls. The project will place eight masts into fittings in the sand and equip them with the traditional standing rigging gear. On suitable days traditional tanned canvas lugsails and mizzen sails will be hoisted giving a spectacular impression of a small 19th century harbour (see image to the right).
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION. Six masts of 18’-24’ and 12’-14’ height and 3” diameter will be acquired/manufactured and will be stepped in 3’ deep tubes buried in the sand. Standing rigging will be run to temporary mooring blocks which are buried in the sand. This masts and rigging will stay permanent for the agreed duration of the project while the sails are to be hoisted weather permitting. The larger sails will be approx. 20’ x 15’ square. These will be predominantly second-hand sails, natural/oak-bark tanned and even repaired to give an authentic image. In the case of limited availability of old sails, new sails will be manufactured from cotton canvas using traditional sail-making methods, bolt-roping, serving and rope cringles.
DURATION OF WORK. The suggested duration of the work is 10 days including rigging and de-rig on site. However, the presence of the work could be extended to up to six weeks if volunteers could be engaged in the operation of the work (occasional hoisting and lowering of sails) and the de-rig (removing sails and masts). The artists will be present for the 10 day duration to install and maintain the work, demonstrate techniques and give talks and workshops.
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT. For the required community engagement programme of the commission: - One collaborative artists’ talk about our own artistic practice - One talk about Irish and Scottish maritime traditions - One four-hour workshop introducing rigging, traditional sail-making techniques and tanning - Community volunteers engaged in the rigging and running (rising and lowering sails)