Sailing the High Seas

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Ciaran “Irish” Corrigan is one of the most beloved sailors in Southeast Asia, and not just for his famed vocal cords as he is highly sought after to work the foredeck in most regional regattas. Scott Murray recently sat down with him to learn more about his life.

Please tell us a little about yourself (where you were born, where you were raised, early life, etc.)
I was born in the Crumblin a suburb of Dublin, raised there and I spent summers in Portmarnock a sea side village north of Dublin, where I spent my time in rock pools chasing crabs and mucking about.

My father opened a hardware store and I started working there when I was ten. School holidays were spent on delivery trucks, hauling gas, as well as garden materials, blocks and timber. Then in 1980 he bought a camping and outdoor store in Dublin city centre which I ran from ’85 to ’99.

Did the Troubles affect you at all growing up?
Not really, but we did have some displaced families moving into Port Marnock from Belfast and Derry, so I did make new friends with strange accents. I was on the train home from school when the Talbot Street bomb went off in May’74. I heard it and felt it but luckily, I wasn’t on the street.

How did you get into mountaineering?
I started rock-climbing in Dalkey Quarry just outside Dublin (where the stone was quarried for Dun Laoghaire Harbour) and then while I was on business selling camping equipment in southwestern Ireland, I met some climbers who invited me to climb with them in Kerry. I was working six days a week at the time so on Saturday after work I’d take a train down to Killarney and go climbing in West Cork and Kerry on Sunday and took a train back to Dublin on Monday morning. I’d also spend three evenings a week climbing in Dalkey Quarry as well. This eventually led to climbing in the Alps in winter and summer, trips to Scotland, the Verdon and the Himalayas. I loved the challenge of figuring out problems while climbing. Unfortunately, I suffered pulmonary edema on a climb up Ama Dablam (22,349ft) in 1991 and had a harrowing ten-hour descent.

It was when I came back from the Himalayas that I took up sailing at Howth Yacht Club, I was unable to climb for a couple of years (no lung capacity), so sailing filled the gap.

How did the mountaineering lead to the film work & what is it you do exactly in the motion picture business?
My fellow climbers had worked on War of the Buttons, a film about the Irish Civil War and they asked me to join them on some upcoming film projects.

Please tell us some of the films you’ve work on and some of the stars you’ve met & chatted with – what were they like?
The first film I worked on was Your Highness with Natalie Portman. They needed to get equipment down to the bottom of a cliff in a hurry, so we set up a zip line for them and ran the gear down and back up. Other films, I’ve also worked on Star Wars VII and VIII, 007’s No Time to Die and Dune II.

What do you & your fellow climbers do exactly on the films?

We are climbers and work as “Rope Access Technicians” in industry and rescue. We provide logistical solutions for getting personnel and equipment into difficult to access terrain, keeping them safe while they are there working and providing rescue cover if needed.

We also install and test rock anchors for the stunt crews and camera men to hang off. We clean and inspect sets and do stabilization work on cliff faces. Provide handrails and safety lines. We also build scaffolds for access and stunts and hump gear up and down steep ground. Basically, we hump a lot of gear.

Who are some of the movie stars you’ve met?
I’ve chatted briefly with Mark Hamill and Daisy Ridley in Star Wars and Josh Brolin and Timothy Chalamet on Dune II. Then I met Javier Bardem on DuneII and worked with Daniel Craig on No Time to Die.

Favourite non-nautical author? John B Kane, Irish playwright, novelist & essayist.

What brought you to Thailand originally?
A friend convinced me to go to Koh Lanta in 2002 and I spent six weeks there. I was also in Lanta for the tsunami in 2004 and discovered Koh Lipe in 2006, where I like to spend time.

Thoughts on Thai People? They are very welcoming and always up for a laugh.

Sailing stuff

When did you start racing in the local regatta circuit?
Starting in 2008, I did three Langkawi Regattas on Mike Van Zyl’s Jandi.

When did you first start being called “Irish”?
I sailed on Baby Tonga with Peter Sorenson and Gordon Kettleby in 2012. The crew couldn’t get their head around the pronunciation of my name, so they just called me “Irish” and the following year the film Captain Phillips cemented it because the Somali pirate called Captain Phillips, played by Tom Hanks, “Irish.”

Favourite Sailing Film? Master & Commander.

Favourite Author? Patrick O’Brien.

Favourite Sailing Book & Fictional Hero? Patrick O’Brien series (20 novels) with English naval captain Jack Aubrey & Irish-Catalan physician Stephen Maturin.

Favourite Marina? Puerto Galero in Lanzarote in the Canary Islands (the weather, crystal clear water, Spanish ambiance).

Favourite Regatta? The Bay Regatta because of the spectacular scenery, I like traveling regattas, and you get to sail around with all your mates.

Favourite Anchorage? Between Koh Lipe and Koh Adang, or Koh Mook.

Favourite Sailing Bar? Gibneys in Malahide, back in Ireland when I was younger. Nowadays, Mick Kealy’s Corner Bar in Ao Chalong.

Favourite type of sailboat? A 50ft plus monohull or the Stealths are hard to beat for what they give you in speed and weight.

Boat you’d most like to design/build? A catamaran for beach hopping and camping that can be sculled when the wind dies out. The oars would need to be pretty long I’m thinking.

Sailing race, you’d most like to compete in? The Rolex Middle Sea Race around Malta and Sicily.

Sailing destination, you’d most want to get to? Komodo Island

What are some of the toughest things you’ve experienced while sailing? Well, I was almost decapitated on Emagine during the Phuket King’s Cup when I was caught on the wrong side of a runner during a gybe. I survived no drama compared to my crewmate and bowman Steve Lonie losing his life on Lady Bubbly. While we were getting ready for a hoist in the harbour race in Penang on the Raja Muda Regatta 2018, he collapsed between the forestay and the pulpit. It was a rough sea state, blowing 25 knots and he had had a massive heart attack. Johnny Pool and myself gave him constant CPR until we got him into the Straits Quay Marina and handed him over to the ambulance but unfortunately, he didn’t make it. That was a tough day for all of us. R.I.P. Steve.

What are the similarities between climbing & sailing?
It’s you and nature whether you are in harness with two climbing ropes and a rack of gear or you are enclosed on a sailboat, you take what you are given: the degree of difficulty, setbacks, breakages, the weather, and you are relying on teamwork to get the job done.