The Brendan Voyage

Out on the stormy sea, near Ireland, was a small leather boat, tossed by the waves.  Five men were its only crew, desperately trying to keep their tiny craft from sinking below the waves.  A Celtic cross was painted on the tattered flax sail.

Is this the craft of the Irish Saint Brendan, who, according to legend, sailed across the Atlantic Ocean to the New World long before the Vikings?  No, it is not, but instead is a modern attempt to prove the story true.

These men are setting out in a tiny leather boat simply to see if it could be done.

Not far from the rocky shores of the Emerald Isle, the frame of the boat bends as the waves toss it high, and then drop it.  It is almost destroyed by a near collusion with a huge ship.

Will these adventurers reach their goal, or will they die in the ocean?  Only time will tell.

This narration was written by Benjamin Bruce as a school assignment, after reading the first chapter of The Brendan Voyage, by Tim Severin.