Forty years after Sir Robin Knox-Johnston set a new Round Ireland speed record, the achievement will be celebrated at a special anniversary event at the National Yacht Club in Dún Laoghaire on Thursday evening.
The event marks the 40th anniversary of Knox-Johnston's successful 1986 record run, which began from Dublin Bay aboard the 60-foot catamaran British Airways. It is being hosted by the Spirit of Shackleton project in partnership with the National Yacht Club and will also support the Clipper Race and Atlantic Youth Trust.
Sanjula and Spirit of Shackleton moored at the National Yacht Club pontoon alongside the Carlisle Pier in Dún Laoghaire, the renowned 2005 Farr 56 Pilot House bluewater cruiser Sanjula—owned by legendary solo sailor Sir Robin Knox-Johnston and named to honor his close ties to India—is pictured alongside the former Clipper yacht Spirit of Shackleton Photo: Afloat
The iconic ocean voyager’s presence in Dublin Bay coincides with celebrations marking the 40th anniversary of Knox-Johnston’s historic 1986 Round Ireland speed record
The record attempt almost ended before it had properly begun.
Writing on Afloat at the time, WM Nixon recalled that the crew waited days in Dún Laoghaire for a favourable easterly before setting off anti-clockwise around Ireland. Shortly after leaving the Kish in heavy rain, the powerful catamaran encountered a violent squall.
"It went so fast that we caught up with a line of squalls that had been retreating northwards, and one of them as near as dammit capsized us," Nixon wrote.
The near miss proved only a temporary setback. Knox-Johnston and his crew completed the passage to establish a new benchmark for the Round Ireland record, adding another chapter to the celebrated sailor's long association with Irish waters.
Thursday's gathering will also recall another dramatic anniversary. Members of the Spirit of Shackleton expedition are expected to reflect on the rescue of Jennifer Guinness following her kidnapping in 1986, an event closely linked with the expedition's history.
Sir Robin Knox-Johnston is expected to attend the evening, which begins at 6.30pm at the National Yacht Club in Dún Laoghaire.
