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Donald Attig | |
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| Born | February 2, 1936 |
| Other names | Donnacha Attig |
| Alma mater | Eureka College |
| Occupations |
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Donald Attig (born February 2, 1936) is an American inventor, naval architect, entrepreneur, and yachtsman. He has been credited with long-distance, engine-free voyages on Irish inland waterways and with setting boating benchmark records.
Attig was born on February 2, 1936, in Pontiac, Illinois. [1] [ circular reference ] He was educated at St. Mary's Grade School, Pontiac Township High School, and Eureka College. [2] [ circular reference ] By his twenties, he was cruising in a self-built powerboat. [3] [ circular reference ] He was among the first to make a journey on the Illinois River from Seneca to New Orleans.[ citation needed ] After reaching New Orleans, he voyaged around the Gulf Coast, eventually crossing the Gulf of Mexico to St. Petersburg, Florida.[ citation needed ]
Attig established three world-class benchmark records in adventure, endurance, and challenge categories.[ citation needed ] In the late 1960s, he developed a system for the assembly-line production of panelized, all-molded homes. [4]
In 1968, Attig became the first to build a three-masted, Irish-flagged sailboat from the keel up in the United States. [5] For ten years, Attig and his family lived and voyaged aboard the schooner, covering more than 5,000 miles on rivers and inland waterways before taking it to sea. [6] [7] [8] [9] During that period, he refined seamanship skills later applied to his benchmark record efforts. [10] [11] He sailed with his wife and newborn son to Ireland in 1977, among other passages. [12] [13] Two of his five children, Omar Brendan and John Paul, were born aboard the vessel. [14] For years, Attig and his son Omar offered free sailing excursions on the schooner for at‑risk youth from Northern Ireland. [15] After Omar’s death in a car crash, Attig donated the boat to the VEC Youthreach programme. [16]
Between the ages of 71 and 73, Attig undertook endurance and adventure “benchmark” voyages on Irish inland waterways in an engineless liveaboard boat.[ citation needed ]
During these efforts, the most distance was covered by rowing.[ citation needed ]
Attig started his journey at the Inishmagrath end‑of‑navigation marker on Lough Allen in County Leitrim and continued via Killaloe to the seaport of Tarbert on the Shannon Estuary. Along this route, he reportedly passed 33 bridges, 6 locks, and 9 lakes without mechanical power.[ citation needed ] Strong flows at several bridges created difficulties for both powered and engineless craft; conditions at and around Killaloe Bridge are noted for high discharge rates (average ≈ 180 tonnes per second; maximum ≈ 600–700 tonnes per second). [18] In addition to bridges and flow, the Ardnacrusha power‑station reach and prevailing south‑westerly winds added to the challenge.[ citation needed ] For current hydrometric context on the Lower Shannon (Killaloe/Parteen/Ardnacrusha), see the operator’s published flow/level charts. [19] [20] [21]
During the 2007 record‑establishing effort, Jack Donovan of Ballincollig, County Cork (who was aged 60 at the time and had been living with multiple sclerosis)[ citation needed ] and Attig rowed well over 90% of the time. They rowed mostly in a zigzag pattern due to the wind resistance on the large topside area and the almost flat box‑type bow of the liveaboard boat and gear. When they reached Tarbert, their satellite navigation device indicated that the pair had traveled more than 268 miles (431 km). [22] [ citation needed ]
Attig and Donovan started their benchmark‑establishing effort on 2007-06-29 at Cormongan Beach on Lough Allen at 10:00 a.m. They rowed from there to the Inishmagrath end of navigation marker at the top of Lough Allen. They began the first‑ever attempt to make an engineless transit of the Shannon in a boat equipped with liveaboard accommodations. Stephan Haeni, a Swiss national living at Cleighran More, witnessed their arrival and departure at the Inishmagrath marker. They completed the Shannon Navigation on 2007-07-28, entering the Killaloe Canal at 4:20 p.m., marking the moment when official Shannon Navigation had been transited in an engineless liveaboard boat.[ citation needed ]
The Irish Coast Guard attempted to dissuade the pair from continuing on past the end of the navigation marker at Killaloe Bridge.[ citation needed ] Attig and Donovan left the Killaloe Canal at 4:20 p.m. on 2007-07-28. They dropped anchor in the bay of the seaport of Tarbert at 8:00 p.m. on 2007-08-08, establishing the final benchmark records of their effort. Contemporary coverage presented the attempt as an engineless transit of the Shannon Navigation and beyond in a liveaboard boat. [23] [24] [25] [26] [27] Their record‑setting efforts were carried out during the wettest summer on the Shannon since 1948.[ citation needed ]
Attig undertook further endurance and adventure “benchmark” voyages, repeating the route single‑handed in the same vessel, Omar’s River Bird. RTÉ’s Nationwide aired a segment about “Shannon Challenge 2008.”[ citation needed ]
At 1:30 a.m. on June 26, 2008, Attig departed Cormongan Beach on Lough Allen in County Leitrim but was driven back by wind and anchored about 30 metres (98 ft) from the beach; after more than two days he proceeded toward the Inishmagrath marker. He reached the seaport of Foynes at 12:05 a.m. on August 16, 2008. [28] [29] [30] [31] [32] [33] [34] [35]
Attig is reported to have completed the River Erne Navigation single‑handed in an engineless liveaboard boat[ citation needed ] on the same boat that was used in 2007 and 2008. Travel guidance notes that Upper Lough Erne can be shallow and complex to navigate, while Lower Lough Erne is wider and deep, with open‑sea‑scale conditions in wind. [36]
This attempt began at Belturbet, County Cavan, on 2009-08-06 at 6:30 p.m.[ citation needed ] The effort concluded on 2009-08-30 at 7:45 p.m. at the public dock in Belleek, County Fermanagh. [37] [38]
Water flow under Killaloe Bridge: avg. = 180 tonnes per second; max. = 600 to 700 tonnes per second.
