Displaying items by tag: sail loft

22nd October 2013

Sails Should By Washed & Checked Over - Dun Laoghaire Loft Offers Sail Care Advice

#sailcare – It's the time of year when you need to think about your equipment and Downer Sails in Dun Laoghaire are offering this annual advice to customers prior to storing their sails this Winter.

· Sails should be washed and checked over.

· Sailcovers and sprayhoods should also be washed and checked over.

· Standing & running rigging to be examined for wear and tear.

Washing is highly recommended by all sailcloth manufacturers as it helps prolong the life of sails by removing salt crystals which are abrasive to threads and if left to dry they will attract moisture and allow damp growth.

Green algae and mildew caused by our ever changing weather conditions are another reason to wash all sails at the end of every season.

Downers can arrange to collect sails/covers/rigging from our sail repair box in Dun Laoghaire marina and all of the local yacht clubs.

The loft is also offering free storage for winter month and a 10% discount off cost of washing if left by the end of this month.

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.

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.