Then, too, it does good work by stealth. When it was established, one of its stated objectives was to produce sailing guides to the Irish coast. In the old days, there were some big ship guides, but none for small craft. Thanks to the fact that its members sail to every corner of Ireland’s coastline, over the years an impressive body of knowledge about harbours, anchorages and coastal passages has been built up by the club, and this vital local knowledge is constantly up-dates.
Collating that information is the central task, and during 2008 the ICC set itself even higher standards, with new editions being published of both of the club’s cruising guides, which between them cover the entire coastline of Ireland. It’s a monumental amount of work, and the lion’s share was done by Editorial Director Norman Kean and Geraldine Hennigan of Courtmacsherry in West Cork, who have sailed to every nook and cranny in the Irish coast in their classic 48ft ketch Xanadu.
Thus one of the most popular awards was the J.B. Kearney Cup for services to sailing to Norman Kean. The trophy commemorates the great Ringsend boatbuilder and designer John Breslin Kearney, who lived from 1879 to 1967, and was an early ICC member. Past winners have included maritime broadcaster Tom MacSweeney of Cork (2002), and international offshore racing legend Denis Doyle (1992), so this highlighting of the massive dedication involved in keeping the Irish Cruising Club’s central role on track is very timely.
As for the mighty voyagers, they provided a vintage collection. The premier award, the Faulkner Cup which dates from 1931, went to Ed Wheeler of Belfast Lough who sailed to West Africa and several Atlantic Islands with his Contessa 35 Witchcraft. Michael Coleman of Cork, meanwhile, sailed the other way with his 53ft Oyster Cove. A fully-qualified square-rigger captain, Coleman marked his retirement with a well-planned venture to the furthest corners of the Baltic Sea.
There’s always some intrepid sailor who heads for the ice, and Maire Breathnach – originally of Dungarvan – took the 67ft Challenge 67 Arctic Tern way beyond Greenland to Baffin Island, winning the Atlantic trophy. A new challenge cup, the Marie Trophy which commemorates the 26ft cutter which first won the Faulkner Cup in 1931, is restricted to boats under 30ft, and first winner is Sean McCormack of Howth for sailing to the Mediterranean and returning via the French canals in his 29ft Marie Claire II.
Voyaging round Ireland is recognised, with the Round Ireland Cup going to Fergus Quinlan of Galway, while restrictions of time are acknowledged with the Fortnight Cup for father-and-daughter crew of Dave and Grainne FitzGerald - with the 29ft Ajay, they cruised to Scotland.
