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Displaying items by tag: Topaz Class Association of Ireland

Dingle Sailing Club sailors Adam Byrne and Paddy Cunnane are the Topaz Irish National Champions 2014.

The Topaz National Championships were hosted by Dingle Sailing Club for the first time on the 23-24 August 2014. The event included entries from Lough Derg Sailing Club, Dungarvan Sailing Club, Tralee Bay Sailing Club, Foynes Yacht Club, Malahide, Cork and Dingle. The Topaz sailboat is a recognised class by the Irish Sailing Association (ISA) who provided a fleet of 24 boats for the competing sailors.  Full results sheet downloadable below.

Saturday saw very little breeze which tested the sailors' with light-air conditions. The first gun was at 11.30am and sailing continued until 3.30pm with a total of 4 races completed.

Several sailors reported Fungie joining Race 3 but could not be confirmed by the Race committee. Race 4 brought a stronger breeze which saw local sailor Fionn O'Regan consolidate his strong lead of at 2, 1, 1 and 1 for the 4 races. Force 6 winds were forecast for Sunday which duly arrived providing very fresh but excellent sailing conditions. The wind was blowing from the Harbour mouth (SE) which is somewhat unusual for Dingle.

These strong conditions provided some thrilling sailing especially on the broad-reach leg of the race. Race leader Fionn O'Regan from Saturday was pipped at the post by a single point which saw the National Champion title go to Dingle sailors Adam Byrne and Paddy Cunnane.

Category winners saw Dungarvan Sailing club sailor Jack Kiely take the U16 title who also finished 4th overall. Ellie Cunnane and Stephen Cunnane (DINGLESC) won the U12 title.

The U14 title went to Tralee Bay Sailing club sailors John Kelliher and Tadgh Hurley who also had a strong 5th place overall finish.

The event was managed by Race organiser Aileen O'Carroll and Race officer Colm O'Shea. Dingle Sailing Club made preparations for the event, working with the ISA and
arranging race training the week prior to the event. The club recognise that hosting events of this calibre contribute to the skills and development of our sailors and provide an opportunity for our sailors to compete and win, at the National level. Dingle Sailing Club is a community club with an ethos to make sailing accessible to all. None of this is possible without the support and help from our volunteers and sponsors.

RESULTS

FIRST PLACE, "TOPAZ IRISH NATIONAL CHAMPIONS 2014"

ADAM BYRNE (CREW) DINGLE SAILING CLUB

PADDY CUNNANE (HELM) DINGLE SAILING CLUB

SECOND PLACE

FIONN O'REGAN, DINGLE SAILING CLUB

THIRD PLACE

LIA MCCANN (HELM) DINGLE SAILING CLUB

RUAIRI GALWEY (CREW) DINGLE SAILING CLUB

CATEGORY WINNERS:

UNDER 16

JACK KIELY, DUNGARVAN SAILING CLUB

UNDER 14

JOHN KELLIHER (HELM) TRALEE BAY SAILING CLUB

TADGH HURLEY (CREW) TRALEE BAY SAILING CLUB

UNDER 12

ELLIE CUNNANE (HELM) DINGLE SAILING CLUB

STEPHEN CUNNANE (CREW) DINGLE SAILING CLUB

Published in Racing

Below: Union Chandlery Topaz Nationals 2009, Malahide YC image_thumb.jpeg

The Topaz Class Association of Ireland has been formed to promote the Topaz Uno and Uno Plus as the one design Sailing dinghy of choice for the modern generation.

Please note: 2009 Events – New Rules This year it has been decided by the Class Association Committee that all of the Class Association events for Unos and Uno Pluses will be scored as one fleet, with NO handicap system.
Changing fleets during an event will only be allowed with the prior approval of the race committee. Boats that are allowed to change fleet during an event will be scored as a new entrant to the event.
Changing of crew during an event will only be allowed with the prior approval of the race committee. Permission will only be given to change crew during an event if they are of similar weight. 

 

Afloat's Graham Smith wrote, in the February/March 2009 issue: "One of the newcomers on the Irish sailing scene, the double-handed Topaz has certainly captured the imagination of members of six clubs. In a relatively short period of time, the class has grown to almost 100 boats, putting it into the top 10 of classes by numbers.

Getting a third of the national fleet to compete at the Irish Championships at Wexford Harbour represents a singular success for the class administrators and young Richard Arthurs from Malahide (which boasts one of the biggest club fleets) will have been happy to take the title ahead of 32 rivals.

Another Malahide helm, Conor Costelloe, won the Easterns on home waters and Wexford’s Ronan Jones took the Western title (curiously held in Dungarvan in the South-East!), both with fleets in the high teens. The biggest event of the Topaz year in numerical terms was the Southerns in Baltimore where local helm Fionn Lyden was the best of 46 entries. National Champion 2009: Richard Arthurs, Malahide YC" 


Topaz Class Association of Ireland  c/o Peter Harrington, President, Kilnahue Lane, Gorey, Co. Wexford. Email: [email protected]

There is a space for Irish boating clubs and racing classes to use as their own bulletin board and forum for announcements and discussion. If you want to see a dedicated forum slot for your club or class, click here 

 

 

Published in Classes & Assoc

Dublin Bay

Dublin Bay on the east coast of Ireland stretches over seven kilometres, from Howth Head on its northern tip to Dalkey Island in the south. It's a place most Dubliners simply take for granted, and one of the capital's least visited places. But there's more going on out there than you'd imagine.

The biggest boating centre is at Dun Laoghaire Harbour on the Bay's south shore that is home to over 1,500 pleasure craft, four waterfront yacht clubs and Ireland's largest marina.

The bay is rather shallow with many sandbanks and rocky outcrops, and was notorious in the past for shipwrecks, especially when the wind was from the east. Until modern times, many ships and their passengers were lost along the treacherous coastline from Howth to Dun Laoghaire, less than a kilometre from shore.

The Bay is a C-shaped inlet of the Irish Sea and is about 10 kilometres wide along its north-south base, and 7 km in length to its apex at the centre of the city of Dublin; stretching from Howth Head in the north to Dalkey Point in the south. North Bull Island is situated in the northwest part of the bay, where one of two major inshore sandbanks lie, and features a 5 km long sandy beach, Dollymount Strand, fronting an internationally recognised wildfowl reserve. Many of the rivers of Dublin reach the Irish Sea at Dublin Bay: the River Liffey, with the River Dodder flow received less than 1 km inland, River Tolka, and various smaller rivers and streams.

Dublin Bay FAQs

There are approximately ten beaches and bathing spots around Dublin Bay: Dollymount Strand; Forty Foot Bathing Place; Half Moon bathing spot; Merrion Strand; Bull Wall; Sandycove Beach; Sandymount Strand; Seapoint; Shelley Banks; Sutton, Burrow Beach

There are slipways on the north side of Dublin Bay at Clontarf, Sutton and on the southside at Dun Laoghaire Harbour, and in Dalkey at Coliemore and Bulloch Harbours.

Dublin Bay is administered by a number of Government Departments, three local authorities and several statutory agencies. Dublin Port Company is in charge of navigation on the Bay.

Dublin Bay is approximately 70 sq kilometres or 7,000 hectares. The Bay is about 10 kilometres wide along its north-south base, and seven km in length east-west to its peak at the centre of the city of Dublin; stretching from Howth Head in the north to Dalkey Point in the south.

Dun Laoghaire Harbour on the southside of the Bay has an East and West Pier, each one kilometre long; this is one of the largest human-made harbours in the world. There also piers or walls at the entrance to the River Liffey at Dublin city known as the Great North and South Walls. Other harbours on the Bay include Bulloch Harbour and Coliemore Harbours both at Dalkey.

There are two marinas on Dublin Bay. Ireland's largest marina with over 800 berths is on the southern shore at Dun Laoghaire Harbour. The other is at Poolbeg Yacht and Boat Club on the River Liffey close to Dublin City.

Car and passenger Ferries operate from Dublin Port to the UK, Isle of Man and France. A passenger ferry operates from Dun Laoghaire Harbour to Howth as well as providing tourist voyages around the bay.

Dublin Bay has two Islands. Bull Island at Clontarf and Dalkey Island on the southern shore of the Bay.

The River Liffey flows through Dublin city and into the Bay. Its tributaries include the River Dodder, the River Poddle and the River Camac.

Dollymount, Burrow and Seapoint beaches

Approximately 1,500 boats from small dinghies to motorboats to ocean-going yachts. The vast majority, over 1,000, are moored at Dun Laoghaire Harbour which is Ireland's boating capital.

In 1981, UNESCO recognised the importance of Dublin Bay by designating North Bull Island as a Biosphere because of its rare and internationally important habitats and species of wildlife. To support sustainable development, UNESCO’s concept of a Biosphere has evolved to include not just areas of ecological value but also the areas around them and the communities that live and work within these areas. There have since been additional international and national designations, covering much of Dublin Bay, to ensure the protection of its water quality and biodiversity. To fulfil these broader management aims for the ecosystem, the Biosphere was expanded in 2015. The Biosphere now covers Dublin Bay, reflecting its significant environmental, economic, cultural and tourism importance, and extends to over 300km² to include the bay, the shore and nearby residential areas.

On the Southside at Dun Laoghaire, there is the National Yacht Club, Royal St. George Yacht Club, Royal Irish Yacht Club and Dun Laoghaire Motor Yacht Club as well as Dublin Bay Sailing Club. In the city centre, there is Poolbeg Yacht and Boat Club. On the Northside of Dublin, there is Clontarf Yacht and Boat Club and Sutton Dinghy Club. While not on Dublin Bay, Howth Yacht Club is the major north Dublin Sailing centre.

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