Menu

Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

 

Displaying items by tag: Donnaca Kennedy

#Rowing - Not content with rowing 80km for his 80th birthday, Donnaca Kennedy took advantage of the good weather for another fundraising row to mark his 85th this summer.

The former Weaver Boats proprietor, who will be familiar to many veteran Shannon boaters, aims to raise money for the North West Cancer Hospice and the Ethiopian Cancer Squad via his latest endeavour.

Originally planned for this June Bank Holiday weekend, Kennedy seized on the perfect rowing conditions last Sunday 29 May for the five-mile run from Carrick-on-Shannon to the Boyle River.

But he's still welcoming donations for his chosen charities, both close to his heart.

After spending some time under the care of the team at the North West Hospice, Kennedy has first-hand experience of how important this service is for those in need, according to his daughter Úna who's been getting the word out about his plans.

To read more about his row and the charities involved, visit his blog at 5at85.blogspot.ie.

Published in Rowing

Dun Laoghaire to Dingle Yacht Race Information

The biennial Dun Laoghaire to Dingle race is a 320-miles race down to the east coast of Ireland, across the south coast and into Dingle harbour in County Kerry.

The race is organised by the National Yacht Club.

It never fails to offer a full range of weather, wind and tide to the intrepid entrants, ranging from a 32ft cruiser to a 79ft all-out racer.

Three divisions are available to enter: cruiser (boats equipped with furlers), racing (the bulk of the fleet) and also two-handed.

D2D Course change overruled

In 2019, the organisers considered changing the course to allow boats to select routes close to shore by removing the requirement to go outside Islands and Lighthouses en route, but following input from regular participants, the National Yacht Club decided to stick with the tried and tested course route in order to be fair to large and smaller boats and to keep race records intact.

RORC Points Calendar

The 2019 race was the first edition to form part of the Royal Ocean Racing Club “RORC” calendar for the season. This is in addition to the race continuing as part of the ISORA programme. 

D2D Course record time

Mick Cotter’s 78ft Whisper established the 1 day and 48 minutes course record for the Dun Laoghaire to Dingle Race in 2009 and that time stood until 2019 when Cotter returned to beat his own record but only just, the Dun Laoghaire helmsman crossing the line in Kerry to shave just 20 seconds off his 2009 time.