One of the buisest RNLI lifeboat Stations in the country names its new D class Lifeboat 'Realt na Mara' next Saturday, April 30th.

The Dublin Bay based Dun Laoghaire lifeboat station was in action as recently as Sunday 17 April 2011 when RNLI lifeboat volunteers saved two men and two women after their speedboat hit rocks on Killiney Bay. More on that Dun Laoghaire Lifeboat rescue here.

The new lifeboat will be named at 12 noon at the lifeboat station on Dun Laoghaire's East Pier and there will be celebrations afterwards at the National Yacht Club.

The lifeboat is to be named by Mr and Mrs Pat & Kathy Kenny. RTE presenter Pat Kenny and his wife Kathy have been long-standing supporters of the Dun Laoghaire RNLI lifeboats.

The €35,000 inshore lifeboat has been largely funded through a contribution made locally. Stephen Wynne, Dun Laoghaire RNLI Lifeboat Operations Manager will be accepting the lifeboat into the care of the lifeboat station during the ceremony says; “ The naming of our lifeboat is a very special occasion for the station. It is our way of thanking the public for their generous support and how the funds raised are used.

We are very proud to be the custodians of a brand new lifeboat and we will honour the trust and investment that has been placed in us. Our new vessel will carry our volunteer lifeboat crew out to sea to save lives and bring those in trouble safely home.”

The D class lifeboat is part of the RNLI’s inshore fleet. It measures five metres in length and can carry three crewmembers onboard. It is a fast, light weight inflatable that is small and highly manoeuvrable, making it ideal for rescue close to shore. It can also be righted by the lifeboat crew in the event of a capsize. All are welcome to attend the naming ceremony.

There will be a special service of dedication and blessing and the lifeboat will put to sea after the ceremony. Réalt na Mara will be on service along with the Dun Laoghaire All Weather lifeboat Trent class lifeboat Anna Livia. Last year Dun Laoghaire lifeboat launched fifty times and brought sixty people to safety.

Related Safety posts

RNLI Lifeboats in Ireland

Safety News

Rescue News from RNLI Lifeboats in Ireland

Coast Guard News from Ireland

Water Safety News from Ireland

Marine Casualty Investigation Board News

Marine Warnings

There are 17 definite entries and it is estimated up to another half a dozen could be sailing to the line next Saturday morning for the first race of the 2011 ISORA series. 

The impressive early entry follows a series of offshore sailing talks held at the National Yacht Club earlier this month.

Click this link for the latest ISORA news.

The 57-mile course across the Irish Sea from Dun Laoghaire on the Irish east coast to Holyhead in Wales will be decided on the morning of the race at the National Yacht Club and transmitted by VHF on 37 for the first offshore race of 2011.

Last year's overall champion, Raging Bull, a Sigma 400, from Skerries and skippered by Matt Davies is slated as a possible contender.

ISORA Chief Peter Ryan has issued sailing Instructions as follows:

2011 Sailing Instructions

Supplementary Information
Race 1 Dun Laoghaire - Holyhead
Sailed under the burgee the National Yacht Club
Saturday 30th April 2010

TIME OF START FOR ALL CLASSES
07.55 Warning signal - Class flags (Numerals 1 & 2) hoisted
07.56 Preparatory Signal - Blue Peter hoisted
07.59 Blue Peter down
08.00 Start – Class flags down
The start may be broadcast on VHF Channel 37 (M1)

STARTING LINE
The start line shall be located in Scotsman's Bay between the DBSC 'Pier' mark and an adjacent committee boat that may be using engine power to hold station. This changes RRS 62.1(a).
THE COURSE (57 miles approx)
1. STARTING LINE
2. KISH Lighthouse (S)
3. M2 Buoy (S) 53 28.8N 5 25.5W
4. FINISH LINE

FINISH LINE
The finish line shall be between the end of the Holyhead breakwater and the Clippera Buoy – 0.6
miles off pier head, bearing 067(T).
Boats approaching the finish should contact "ISORA Finisher" on VHF Channel 37 (M1) when 1 hour
from the finish and again at 10 minutes from the finish. Please note that the finisher will only have a
handheld radio and you may not receive an acknowledgment to the first contact.
The finish time and the time due North of M2 should be recorded in the log by each boat and text to
ISORA at 00353 87 2545037 as soon as possible after the race as a Declaration.

RETIREMENTS
Telephone National Yacht Club 00353 1 2805725 and text ISORA 00353 87 2545037
For safety it is recommended to also inform the coastguard
NOTES
1. Keep a close lookout for commercial traffic when entering or exiting Dun Laoghaire and
Holyhead. The Stena HSS in particular can be hard to spot from behind the breakwater.
2. The time of crossing the finish line should be noted in the log.
3. Dinner will be available at Holyhead Sailing Club on Saturday evening. Phone No. 0044 1407
762526
4. Berthing in Holyhead Marina can be arranged. Phone 0044 1407 764242

Irish youth sailing sensation Finn Lynch has won the Laser 4.7 prize sailing in Lake Garda in Italy this month, the win was recorded at his first international event since moving to the Laser class. Lynch from the National Yacht Club came tenth overall in a fleet of 230 competitive boats. Lynch, from Blessington, is reigning UK and Irish Topper Champion. He also finished second in the Topper worlds championships last season before moving to the Laser class.

Lynch's Dun Laoghaire club mate Tadgh Donnelly followed closely as seventh U16 sailor and 54th overall. In the Radials Rory Lynch and Philip Doran both finished in the top third of a fleet of 220 boats with some very good races during the event.

Podcast on youth sailing with Olympic team manager James O'Callaghan.

Sailing in a talented fleet of a thousand sailors from 53 nations, Annalise Murphy has scored a 1 and 2 in today's opening round of the 42nd Trofeo Princesa Sofia regatta, the third event in the Sailing World Cup circuit.

Murphy, from the National Yacht Club, won today's second race by a staggering margin of one minute and 30 seconds as the breeze freshened to 15 knots off Palma de Mallorca, on the Balearic Island of Spain.

The 21-year old sailor from Dun Laoghaire is in a tough fleet of 78, made up of all the top international trailists for next year's Olympic regatta in the Laser Radial Class. Today's opening races in 15 knots of breeze are the first of six days of racing. 

Lastest Olympic Sailing News here

Over 250 of the world's top youth sailors are expected to partake in the Irish event which will run from August 15th – 19th and promises some of the closest and most exciting youth sailing ever seen on Dublin Bay.

The Topper is one of the world's most popular youth boats with over 50,000 boats around the globe. It has grown greatly in popularity in recent years because it suits the learner sailor as well as those with ambitions of Olympic medals. Because it is exceptionally light and easy to transport, the National Yacht Club is expecting 150 competitors from other countries to partake.

"We are delighted to be hosting the Topper World Championships next August," said National Yacht Club Commodore Peter Ryan. "It will follow on from the Figaro Race stop-over and reflects that fact that Dublin Bay can cater for top class events for both ends of the spectrum. The Topper is an extremely popular boat with young sailors and a great gateway to sailing so we will be putting all the club resources into making the event an outstanding success."

The Topper was designed by Ian Proctor whose other boats include the ever-popular Wayfarer. It was originally constructed in GRP but this was changed quite early on to an injection moulding construction.

After well over 20 years of continuous production it is the outstanding build quality, durability and innovative design features that have made the Topper a very popular boat. The Topper hull is injection moulded with incredible precision, reaching a level of uniformity quite outside the scope of any other production system, either hand-built or mass-produced in GRP or roto-moulded plastic. The material is polypropylene which has proved to combine strength and flexibility with lightness and longevity.

The race is regarded as one of the world's solo sailing great events and one of the toughest on the international sailing calendar. Although the race has strong connections with Ireland, this is the first time the 42-year-old fixture will visit the island's largest sailing centre.

The fleet will moor in Dun Laoghaire harbour at the finish of the second leg, and will be hosted by the National Yacht Club. Competitors are expected to stay for a week. This year the race visited Kinsale, and in the past has also visited the Irish ports of Crosshaven, Howth and Dingle.

La Solitaire is going back to its roots. Perros-Guirec and Brittany from where the race will start on Sunday, 31st July 2011, are the most faithful of all host ports in the history of the race as Perros-Guirec has hosted a record number, this being the 16th time that the town will welcome the race.

The second French stop-over in 2011 will be Caen, where the race will go back for the third time. The harbour and the village are ideally situated in the city centre and will surely gather thousands of visitors during the week-long stay, with a full schedule of social events organised by the local municipality.

Dieppe will host the finish and close of La Solitaire du Figaro 2011 race. The Haute-Normandie region town expects to see the finish on or around August 24th.

The National Yacht Club is delighted to welcome this prestigious event and will communicate further developments in the very near future.

Preparing for La Solitaire du Figaro here

The ICRA National Championships is being staged at Royal Cork YC from Friday 17th to Sunday 19th June and the Sovereign's Cup at Kinsale YC from Wednesday 22nd to Saturday 25th June.

Dublin boats heading south for these events can race down to the event as part of the Dun Laoghaire to Dingle Race (it's the tenth anniversary race) from the National Yacht Club starting on Saturday, June 11th next.

Entry form for ICRA and Notice of Race available to download below.

Details for next year's course of the La Solitaire du Figaro race were revealed at the Paris Boat Show yesterday. The race will comprise four French towns and Dun Laoghaire will be the only foreign port of call when the boats are expected to arrive on 10 August.

In spite of Dublin airport weather delays a National YC contingent headed by Commodore Peter Ryan made it to Paris in time for the announcement.

Following several days for rest, the fleet shall once again set sail on 7 August for the second leg, of 470 nautical miles, that will take the Figaro Bénéteau 2 towards Dún Laoghaire. After leaving the Bay of Seine, a 40-mile or so run, the first obstacle will be the passage of the Barfleur point. The course remains inshore, as the single-handed sailors will sail along the Cotentin to the cape of the Hague, before heading towards the Channel Islands.

It will be compulsory to leave the islands of Aurigny, Herm and Guernsey to starboard. The skippers will then take on a long crossing of the English Channel, 120 nautical miles to Land's End. The last third of the course is a sail up almost full north over 190 nautical miles to reach Dún Laoghaire.

The Dublin Bay harbour is set to be a discovery for the visiting sailors and where the National Yacht Club are to be the host venue. After a few days rest and recuperation, the fleet then will set sail on 14 August to The Vendée and Les Sables d'Olonne. This third leg is long at 475 nautical miles with boats expected on 17 August.

Four days later and the final leg departs on 21 August with the boats setting a course for Dieppe, to arrive on 24 August. On the following day the Normandy port will also be hosting a closing regatta. For more information www.lasolitaire.com

Preparing for La Solitaire du Figaro here

The National Yacht Club's Annalise Murphy (Laser Radial) travelled to Australia last weekend for the Perth International Regatta http://www.perth2011.com/ which starts on the 16th of this month. The aim is to gain valuable experience at the venue which will host the December 2011 ISAF World Championships and which will be a vital qualifying event for the the 2012 London Olympic games.

Also heading for Perth is the Royal St. George's Ben Lynch in the high speed 49er dinghy.

After Perth, Annalise travels to Melbourne for the season's first ISAF World Cup event which will be run from Sandringham Yacht Club from 12-19th December. Annalise is currently ranked 20th Womens Laser Radial sailor and 1st under 21 in the World and is campaigning full time to represent Ireland in the 2012 London Olympic Games.

Top youth Laser Radial Sailor Ross Vaughan from the Royal North of Ireland YC has gone down as a training partner for Annalise together with her coach Rory Fitzpatrick.

Also taking part in the Perth Regatta are Irish 49er team of Ryan Seaton and Matt Mc Govern (Ballyholme YC) and Ross Hamilton from the RIYC, Dun Laoghaire.