Displaying items by tag: O'Sullivan

20th October 2011

'Reconnaissance' Wins Fenit to Dingle Race

Peadar O'Loughlin's Sigma 33 Reconnaissance was the overall winner of Tralee Bay Sailing Club's race from Fenit to Dingle this October but only after a great comeback in the last two miles of this County Kerry race.

The first boat in was Galileo, with Reconnaissance hot in his tail and Jaguar not far behind either, with Rooster coming in shortly afterwards. Abandon Office, Powder Monkey and Ridire Ban (previous class winner in Dun Laoghaire - Dingle race) retired. On corrected time, first place in IRC went to the Sigma 33
-Reconnaissance, having made a great comeback to steal it from Jaguar in the last two miles.

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Lifting the O'Connell Cup, the last feature race of the Tralee Bay Sailing Club season. The Cup was Sponsored by Finbar O'Connell Jewellers, Tralee and was won by Reconnaissance, a Sigma 33, owned by Peadar O'Loughlin and crewed by Brian O'Sullivan, Frances Clifford, Fergus Kelliher, Kieran Kelliher, John O'Mahony and Eoin Nolan.

This was the last feature race in the 2011 Tralee Bay Sailing Club calendar. The October series continues 'til the end of the month, and an End of Season Party will be held on the last weekend of the month, after racing that day.

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Safari Boats Order Boosts Kerry Boat Building Firm

Kerry Boat-builder O'Sullivan's Marine (OSM) is bucking the trend in the depressed marine industry. The Tralee firm have a busy order book and report strong demand for its traditional lake boat marque but it also has interest in more exotic boats too for the emerging nature tourism market.

pionermulti

Tried and tested, the new Safari boats are ready for Lee Valley

The first of the orders processed in Tralee is the supply of four Pioner Multi boats with Motor Guide 24v Electric Outboards for the local Lee Valley Development, a new eight hectare (20 acre) eco-tourism development comprising a Nature Park. The four boats will be used for safari-style boat rides.

'We carried out water trials yesterday, all is in order and the fully fitted out boats are being delivered this week', says managing director Brian O'Sullivan.

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OSM's Brian O'Sullivan with one of the new Pioner boats

OSM, a member of the Irish Marine Federation, is also supplying two lake boats to Creeslough Angling Association in Donegal. Six Irish built boats have also been ordered by Dunfanaghy Angling Association in Donegal. Five more lake boats are also going to Waterville, Co. Kerry. All orders are for November delivery! Recession? What recession?

OSM have a selection of used craft on the boats for sale website. See them here

Published in Marine Trade

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About Conor O'Brien, Irish Circumnavigator

In 1923-25, Conor O'Brien became the first amateur skipper to circle the world south of the Great Capes. O'Brien's boat Saoirse was reputedly the first small boat (42-foot, 13 metres long) to sail around the world since Joshua Slocum completed his voyage in the 'Spray' during 1895 to 1898. It is a journey that O' Brien documented in his book Across Three Oceans. O'Brien's voyage began and ended at the Port of Foynes, County Limerick, Ireland, where he lived.

Saoirse, under O'Brien's command and with three crew, was the first yacht to circumnavigate the world by way of the three great capes: Cape Horn, Cape of Good Hope and Cape Leeuwin; and was the first boat flying the Irish tri-colour to enter many of the world's ports and harbours. He ran down his easting in the Roaring Forties and Furious Fifties between the years 1923 to 1925.

Up until O'Brien's circumnavigation, this route was the preserve of square-rigged grain ships taking part in the grain race from Australia to England via Cape Horn (also known as the clipper route).

At a Glance - Conor O'Brien's Circumnavigation

In June 1923, Limerick man Conor O’Brien set off on his yacht, the Saoirse — named after the then newly created Irish Free State — on the two-year voyage from Dun Laoghaire Harbour that was to make him the first Irish amateur to sail around the world.

June 1923 - Saoirse’s arrival in Madeira after her maiden passage out from Dublin Bay

2nd December 1924 - Saoirse crossed the longitude of Cape Horn

June 20th 1925 - O’Brien’s return to Dun Laoghaire Harbour