An inland waterways hire cruiser that struck Killaloe bridge in Co. Clare at the weekend was beached by the local volunteer Coast Guard Unit. Six people and a dog were evacuated from the hire boat.

The Cruiser was holed and was taking on water.

Killaloe Coast Guard Mobile unit was tasked to Derg Marina with salvage pumps while the Coast Guard Rescue Boat also responded according to a Coast Guard blog report here.

It was decided that in order to save the vessel from sinking that the Coast Guard would run the cruiser aground in the shallow water at nearby Ballyvalley.

The well attended ICRA meeting of March 10th held at Kilkenny covered many interesting sailing topics not least the forthcoming ICRA Championships June 17th to 19th at Crosshaven writes Claire Bateman.

Simon McGibney of WIORA confirmed there are already at least 15 boats interested in travelling to the event to join with the Cork, Kinsale and East coast boats. There is also the tantalising prospect of the fleet being joined by no less than ten quarter tonners from the UK who also plan to sail in the Sovereign's Cup at Kinsale the following week. Most of these British boats are crewed by professionals and will race with the Irish Class three fleet. They will, however, be scored separately and will receive a separate trophy.

Sailing with the Quarter Ton fleet will be Anchor Challenge, beautifully restored and modified by former owner Peter Morton, and now in the ownership of Eamon Rohan. At the weekend our spy spotted an all white gleaming boat wending its way up the Kinsale Road and wondered could this possibly have been Anchor Challenge and, if so, will we see a battle between the all black Tiger and the all white newcomer??

For the duration of the ICRA National Championships there will be subsidised launching at Ringaskiddy for all trailerable boats. In addition a very attractive accommodation package has been arranged for all ICRA competitors at the Carrigaline Court Hotel. They are offering three nights B/B plus one evening dinner from Thursday to Saturday and free B/B for Sunday night at €129 per person sharing.

A crew list has been set up by RCYC for skippers wishing to acquire crews with local knowledge and Race Officers for the event will be the hugely experienced Peter Crowley and Richard Leonard.

ICRA Commodore Barry Rose was delighted to inform the meeting that Yacht Designer Mark Mills has joined the ICRA committee where his expertise and wide knowledge will be greatly appreciated. Mark gave a most interesting report on recent developments re racing matters. One item referred to the fact that boats with bulb keels will now be more severely rated and another item of interest is discussion going on with regard to changing the rating bands for the 2012 Commodores Cup. It is believed there is a move afoot to lower the bands i.e. the current middle rated boat may be the big boat for the 2012 event.

The first Dublin Bay Sailing Club race of the Viking Marine Spring Chicken series got away to a nice start, although a bit light for most last Sunday. This weekend's race looks like there could be a little bit more in the way of breeze!

Attached below are the sailing results from the first race, handicaps and Starts for next Sunday.

 

The Irish Cruiser Racing Association is getting behind Kinsale's Sovereign's Cup to promote the fact that for Cruiser sailing racer fans there will be two great regattas in a 10 day period on the South coast in June.

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.

An extra effort to encourage boats that 'do not normally race' is being made this week by Dublin Bay Sailing Club (DBSC) to boost entries in Sunday's first race of the Spring Chicken Series sailing. 

The event – sponsored by Viking Marine – is open to cruisers, cruising boats, one-designs and boats that do not normally race.

The event follows on from a successful Turkey Shoot series on the bay that regularly attracted over 90 entries for the light hearted series. Last year the Spring Chicken had 60 entries.

The early season opener is a series of six races is to be held on Sunday mornings startting this weekend. Racing will be held under modified ECHO handicap. The first gun is 10.10 hrs. An entry fee €60.00 of includes temporary membership of DBSC and National Y.C.

An entry form is downloadable below. Sailing instructions will be available on Sunday 30th January and will be emailed to entrants beforehand.

After sailing, food will be available to competitors in National Y.C.

With just 24 hours to go to the announcement of sailing's boat of the year award at tomorrow's Cork harbour ICRA conference the consistent poll topper from Afloat's online survey shows ISORA offshore champion Raging Bull as a clear favourite with 1175 votes. Second is Marinerscove on 873 and Errislannan third on 256 votes. Polling began just over a month ago and 2,600 votes have been cast. See the poll on the left hand column of the home page. There's still time to cast your vote to try and influence ICRA judges!

 

 

The Quarter ton fleet is sailing back to the Sovereigns Cup in 2011. The event runs in Kinsale from June 22-25th.

The Quarter ton fleet made its debut at the 2009 event where a total of seventeen boats competed for the 'Keane's Jewellers perpetual Quarter Ton trophy'. Boats travelled from all over Ireland for the event with seven boats making the journey from the UK.

The four-day regatta was sailed on windward leeward courses, with one coastal race along the beautiful West Cork coastline. The coastal race proved memorable as the fleet short tacked their way along the shore to gain tidal relief in twenty knots of breeze and blazing sunshine with the race culminating in a long planning run back towards the mouth of the harbour.

After eight races the Cowes based yachtsman Peter Morton on 'Anchor Challenge' won the event on count back from Rob Gray's beautifully presented 'Aquilla' which was testimony to the close racing experienced within the fleet. The Ron Holland prize for best production boat was awarded to Kinsales' Ian Travers on his Bolero 'Bandit'.

The inclusion of the class in the 2009 regatta developed a lot of interest both during and after the event. Since then the Irish Quarter ton fleet has developed with the addition of some new boats with others currently undergoing refit for next season. With the recent announcement by the Quarter ton class in the UK to yet again include this event on their calendar for next year, it is highly likely that even in these recessionary times, the class numbers will grow for this truly enjoyable event. (See www.quartertonclass.org )

If you are interested in bringing your quarter tonner to Sovereigns Cup 2011 please contact Ian Travers @ +35387 9481576 or [email protected] or see HERE for further details.

Commodore Barry Rose is urging Cruiser Racers fans to support this weekend's eighth annual ICRA conference at the Carrigaline Court hotel in Carragaline, County Cork.

There's a big line up for the one day event that includes a presentation on an innovative concept to develop a 30 Footer one design concept that can also sail under IRC handicap. The idea is that it will be trailerable to attend ICRA Nationals and other events around Ireland. Rory Staunton travels from the UK to make the 30 footer presentation.

Rose says Saturday's event gives an opportunity to exchange 'constructive opinions to promote and develop the cruiser/racing', the biggest sector of Irish Sailing.

The event includes a celebration dinner for the Commodores Cup team at the Royal Cork Yacht Club.

Designers John Corby and Mark Mills will be present to update us on IRC developments and boat design and their thoughts on where boat design is heading. More HERE

A sailor who got into difficulty cruising from Wales to the Canary Islands was rescued and brought to safety in Cork Harbour yesterday.

The 10-metre yacht hit poor weather conditions near the Pollock Rock east of Power Head and lost the use of its VHF radio. The skipper was heading for Cork Harbour when he also encountered steering problems.

A passing fishing boat lent assistance and contacted the Coastguard. The vessel was towed to Crosshaven by Ballycotton lifeboat.

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