It is with deep sadness that we heard of Johnny Robinson's passing on Thursday at the age of 87. He had been involved with Clontarf Yacht and Boat Club for over 70 years and was its longest-serving member.

Johnny was known as John to his family and in business but Johnny in his sporting activities.

He was born into a Clontarf family who lived on Clontarf Road at Castle Avenue. Not surprisingly, John and his siblings were attracted by the proximity of the sea, and all were to be involved in CY&BC.

The first recorded mention of him in the Club is as the winner of a cup as a 15-year-old in a Cadet Class dinghy “Jimin” in 1952. “Jimin” had been built for Johnny by his elder brother Aidan – who owned a Mermaid “Cliona”. He was attracted to the IDRA 14s, and after crewing for two years, he heard of one for sale in Wicklow and went to see it. He found it in a shed – full of hay and being used as a trough to feed cattle. She was 14/65 “Ainleog”- which he renamed “Cheetah”. He was to sail her until he switched to the Mermaid Class in the mid-1960s. He won the Mermaid Championship in Howth in 1967 in “Cliona Two”.

John went to boarding school at Clongowes Wood College, where he loved sport and showed his talent as an all-rounder, playing Rugby, Cricket, tennis, and Table Tennis.

With no winter sailing in those days, he joined Suttonians RFC, where he was a very enthusiastic rugby player. He was appointed Team Secretary and tried to field two or three teams every weekend—no mean feat in Suttonians, given the small numbers playing in the Club at that time.

After leaving school, he joined the London Assurance Company, which was based in Dublin. He was to be smitten by a young lady secretary in the office called Veronica Sharkey from Dolphins Barn. They were later married and set up home in Clontarf where their first three children – Stephen, Cliona and Susan were born.

By now the London Assurance had been amalgamated with Sun Alliance. Johnny was posted to Cork where he promptly joined the Royal Cork Yacht Club in Crosshaven. He was quickly inducted into the Cork sailing scene and crewed with many of Ireland’s top sailors at the time.

The National 18s were then the premier sailing Class in Cork, and Johnny purchased one—which he enjoyed until it was wrecked after breaking her moorings in a storm. Johnny told the story that he was subsequently contacted and informed the boat had been found. When he excitedly visited the site, he was devastated at what he found—just bits of the lovely clinker-built boat spread all along a rocky shore. Luckily, it was insured….

Their youngest two children – Aoife and John were born while they lived in Cork.

Arriving back in Dublin, John and Veronica purchased their beautiful Victorian house on Seafield Road. John recommenced sailing in CY&BC, this time in the Mermaids.
He continued to sail in Mermaids until the Class folded in Clontarf some years ago.

Ashore, he was an active member of the Club – a great organizer and diligent Committee member. He served on both the sailing and general committees for many years and was Vice President in 1994/1995. His organizational skills were put to good use – particularly in large sailing events such as the Mermaid Championship weeks. His easygoing and affable character was appreciated by the Committee, and he was, for many years, the person delegated to greet all guests arriving at the Annual Sailing Supper and other functions.

He was the perfect person to fill the vacancy as Santa Claus for the Christmas children’s party. He so charmed the children that as a result he was to be the Club Santa for decades - until the interruption of Covid – This will be a very hard act for anyone to follow.

In addition to the sailing, he was a leading member of Howth Golf Club. For many years he organized the “Monday Nighters” – a large group who played competitions every Monday. It became a most successful event and Howth Golf Club gave him a special award for his work.

His work colleagues tell me he himself was no mean golfer and lost no opportunity to show his prowess whilst playing in tournaments or entertaining clients. He also found time for Rugby coaching in St Paul’s School.

His wonderful ability to captivate an audience made him a very popular after-dinner speaker –both in his work environment and his leisure activities.

In retirement John and Veronica loved their holidays abroad - both ashore in the heat of the sun and on the many cruises they enjoyed afloat. And of course, they took great interest in their. children and grandchildren and in all their many activities…

He visited New Zealand in 2000 with an IDRA 14 group and sailed 12ft Dinghies in a team racing series against Taikata Sailing Club in Auckland. In 2002 and 2003 he travelled as Shore Manager to Cape Town in South Africa with a group from CY&BC competing in a 24-hour endurance sailing race.

On those visits, Johnny was a big hit with the locals, and they are very saddened to hear that he has passed on.

His friends everywhere always stress “what an absolute gentleman he was” and so this is how he will be remembered…

Our sincere condolences to Veronica and all the extended family.

Bon Voyage Johnny, CY&BC will miss you…

IS

Funeral details are here

When you see the projects which have been featuring on the Big DIY Challenge sponsored by Ronseal and hosted by comedian and Dun Laoghaire lifeboat crewman P J Gallagher on RTE 1 every Thursday at 8.30 pm, you'll have marvelled at how much the competitors can achieve within the pressures imposed by the crazy contest's ten days time limit. But it's unlikely you'll have thought that anything but the smallest boat modification could have been fitted into the Challenge's strict time restrictions and other rules.

Erisky up against it. Though she looked relatively unscathed after breaking her moorings and coming ashore at Contarf Baths in the Autumn of 2019, Erisky had broken off one of her twin keels, and she was a complete mess inside.

The Sailing Family Smyth – Trevor and Krissi Smyth and their kids with his mother Bridget and the vintage IDRA 14 Chloe

Yet the Smyth sailing family of Clontarf – well known for their successes in dinghies and cruiser-racers – thought otherwise. For they'd already brought the very tired IDRA 14, Chloe of 1969 vintage, back to life as a lockdown project, which taught them how much could be achieved with a focused approach. And now Trevor and Krissi Smyth and their friend Orla Doogue were looking thoughtfully at the 50-year-old 26ft Westerly Centaur Erisky (named for the Scottish Hebridean island which had inspired the film Whisky Galore), for Erisky was a formidable yet fascinating restoration project.

Before the saloon could be restored, it had to be completely cleared and cleaned, and the smell of diesel eliminated  

It's getting late, it's getting dark, and it's getting cold, but the core team of Trev, Orla and Krissi have just completed a massive evening's work.   

The classic twin-keeler had come ashore at Clontarf Baths after breaking her moorings in a late season south-easterly storm, and though she looked superficially okay with her hull largely intact, one of her twin keels had been broken off, and the mess within the hull was everywhere, with the suffocating smell of diesel in every nook and cranny.

When they started, the forecabin was a smelly hellhole, but this is how it was after the ten day DIY Challenge  

Before the project, Erisky's 50-year-old cockpit was looking distinctly tired, but it too was brought back to life

It was a job that could have gone on for an entire winter, but who wants to spend every winter weekend reeking of diesel and dirt? It was then that the Ronseal Challenge was publicized, and this was both the spur to action and the framework for some very concentrated pre-planning and definition of daily objectives, not least of the problems being that everyone was so keen on getting it completed that "labour optimisation" – preventing people getting in each other's way as the work rapidly progressed – was a continuous necessity.

The dream fulfilled - Erisky on her first sail in 2021

Well, they did it – Erisky is looking better than ever, and this past sunny weekend, she was out and about family cruising. But if you still wonder at just how it could all be done in only ten days flat, the Ronseal Big DIY Challenge will show you on RTE 1 this Thursday (June 3rd at 8.30 pm).