Displaying items by tag: Westerly Griffon

21st March 2016

Westerly Griffon – The Ideal Entry Boat For Sale On Afloat.ie

This 1980 Westerly Griffon is fitted with a 13.5HP Volvo diesel engine is for sale on Afloat.ie for under €10,000

After last weekend’s superb weather, there could be many dinghy sailors who might be thinking that, with new family responsibilities or whatever, it’s time they moved up a to good little all-round cruiser with a more-than-decent performance writes W M Nixon.

Or maybe you’ve taken a sailing course or two, and decided that while dinghies may not be your thing, sailing a boat with a lid most definitely is, and moreover you feel the first tugs of that peculiar series of mixed emotion, the boat-owning vocation.

Either way, the ideal entry boat in the small performance cruiser stakes is for sale on Afloat.ie down Crosshaven way. For a 26-footer, they packed an impressive amount of accommodation and headroom into the Westerly Griffon. But don’t think this makes her a floating caravan. On the contrary, she was designed in 1979 by Ed Dubois when he was very much the rising talent in yacht design, and he gave her everything he knew for good performance, while somehow complying with Westerly Marine’s need for no-nonsense robust construction and oodles of space.

In all, there were 329 built, and the version for sale at €9,950 is the fin keel type. But even with the dreaded twin keel option which Westerly usually insisted on, Dubois was on top of his form, spending hours at the test tank until he got a double configuration which performed startlingly well. So much so, in fact, that he and a crack crew took the first one out to race the 1979 Lymington Autumn Series (one of the biggest in the country back in the day) and won their class overall against some very hot stuff. The fin keel version performs even better, and she’s one of Westerly’s best.

griffon 26 photo
The first Westerly Griffon in 1979. The Ed Dubois design has stood the test of time remarkably well

Read the full Westerly Griffon advert here

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Ireland & La Solitaire du Figaro

The Solitaire du Figaro, was originally called the course de l’Aurore until 1980, was created in 1970 by Jean-Louis Guillemard and Jean-Michel Barrault.

Half a decade later, the race has created some of France's top offshore sailors, and it celebrated its 50th anniversary with a new boat equipped with foils and almost 50 skippers Including novices, aficionados and six former winners.

The solo multi-stage offshore sailing race is one of the most cherished races in French sailing and one that has had Irish interest stretching back over 20 years due to the number of Irish stopovers, usually the only foreign leg of the French race.

What Irish ports have hosted The Solitaire du Figaro?

The race has previously called to Ireland to the following ports; Dingle, Kinsale, Crosshaven, Howth and Dun Laoghaire.

What Irish sailors have raced The Solitaire du Figaro?

So far there have been seven Irish skippers to participate in La Solitaire du Figaro.

In 1997, County Kerry's Damian Foxall first tackled the Figaro from Ireland. His win in the Rookie division in DHL gave him the budget to compete again the following year with Barlo Plastics where he won the final leg of the race from Gijon to Concarneau. That same year a second Irish sailor Marcus Hutchinson sailing Bergamotte completed the course in 26th place and third Rookie.

In 2000, Hutchinson of Howth Yacht Club completed the course again with IMPACT, again finishing in the twenties.

In 2006, Paul O’Riain became the third Irish skipper to complete the course.

In 2013, Royal Cork's David Kenefick raised the bar by becoming a top rookie sailor in the race.

In 2018, for the first time, Ireland had two Irish boats in the offshore race thanks to Tom Dolan and Joan Mulloy who joined the rookie ranks and kept the Irish tricolour flying high in France. Mulloy became the first Irish female to take on the race.

Tom Dolan in Smurfit Kappa competed for his third year in 2020 after a 25th place finish in 2019. Dolan sailed a remarkably consistent series in 2020 and took fifth overall, the best finish by a non-French skipper since 1997 when Switzerland’s Dominique Wavre finished runner up. Dolan wins the VIVI Trophy.

Dolan finished 10th on the first stage, 11th on the second and seventh into Saint Nazaire at the end of the third stage. Stage four was abandoned due to lack of wind.

Also in 2020, Dun Laoghaire’s Kenneth Rumball became the eleventh Irish sailor to sail the Figaro.

At A Glance – Figaro Race

It starts in June or July from a French port.
The race is split into four stages varying from year to year, from the length of the French coast and making up a total of around 1,500 to 2,000 nautical miles (1,700 to 2,300 mi; 2,800 to 3,700 km) on average.
Over the years the race has lasted between 10 and 13 days at sea.
The competitor is alone in the boat, participation is mixed.
Since 1990, all boats are of one design.