Displaying items by tag: Lough Swilly Yacht Club

14th May 2011

Boats Head for 'Foyle Days' 2011

Next weekend's Foyle Days (21 and 22) is set to welcome the return of the Johanna Lucretia, a two masted wooden schooner built in 1945, along with other vessels which are to visit the north-west city, writes Jehan Ashmore.

The annual maritime festival will bring the sailing boats upriver on the River Foyle and berth at the Queen's Quay. The public are invited to come on board free of charge and explore the vessels. The largest being the 96ft Johanna Lucretia, which was built originally as a fishing boat but never used for that purpose.

Over the years she has changed hands between Dutch and UK interests for recreational use. Several years ago she starred in the RTE TV reality show 'Cabin Fever' where she replaced the show's first ship Camaret of Cornwall (branded as 'Cabin Fever') after it ran aground off Tory Island.

During the two-day festival (11am-5pm) the boating community at the event will include the Coleraine Yacht Club, Foyle Paddlers, Foyle Punts, Lough Foyle Yacht Club, Lough Swilly Yacht Club, Moville Boat Club, RNLI and the Foyle (SAR) Search and Rescue.

Visitors to Foyle Days can call to the Clipper stand and learn more about the city's entry of the Derry~Londonderry boat in the 2011-2012 Clipper Round the World Race. Learn more about the countries the crew will visit and also how to get involved in the event. For more information about the race, at 40,000 miles is the world's longest race go to www.clipperroundtheworld.com/

Running alongside the festival a continental market with 40 stalls will be open to all at the recently revamped Guildhall Square. For further details about Foyle Days click here.

Published in Maritime Festivals

Lough Swilly Yacht Club Launch 2010 Season

‘Lough Swilly Yacht Club successfully launched the 2010 boating season on Sunday. Commodore Paul McSorley welcomed members attending The Opening Day Lunch at the LSYC Clubhouse in Fahan, Co Donegal. New members along with long standing members enjoyed a splendid lunch with entertainment provided by local traditional musicians. Many of the young members were able to take the opportunity to launch the Club’s recently purchased Pico’s, which will be used for the Learn To Sail Courses to be run later in the summer.

In his welcome address, Paul McSorley, said, ‘We are delighted at the turn out today and welcome all, in particular our guests; Malcolm Houston, RNLI, Rosin McAnallen, Ocean Youth Trust and Karena Hanley, Rathmullan Sail Club. We look forward to a busy sailing season with our series of races, as well as many open events including, Tory Island, Foyle Days, and Swilly Worlds Regatta. New this season will be our WOW - ‘Women on Water’ Day, which is an initiative started by Irish Sailing Association to encourage more female participation in this sport.’

Come and Try It
Paul added,’The Club is hosting an Open Evening on Thursday, May 13, when the facilities will be available for those interested to try it for themselves. So bring friends, colleagues and give them a chance to enjoy the thrills of sailing on this spectacular lough’.

Key Events
Tory Island Race         June 5
Foyle Days                  June 12/13
WoW Day                   June 20
Melmore                      July 10
Swilly World Regatta July 31 – August 2

LSYC_Picos

Commodore of Lough Swilly Yacht Club ( ) launching the Club’s new Pico Dinghies along with some of the young members at the Open Day held in Fahan, Co Donegal

For further information, check www.loughswillyyc.com or e-mail [email protected].

Published in Boating Fixtures

Tagged under

Lough Swilly Yacht Club

Above: the crew of Cork at the beginning of the Clipper Race 2009

Lough Swilly Yacht Club

Lough Swilly Yacht Club is based in Fahan Creek on the shores of Lough Swilly, Co Donegal, three miles from Buncrana and ten miles from Derry.

Our membership consists of IRC-racing and cruising sailors as well as powerboat enthusiasts and some keen dinghy sailors. All club members enjoy spending time pottering about on the lough and many like to venture further afield; either to cruise or to represent the club in competition (see the Ships' Blog section for more).

Club History

The Lough Swilly Yacht Club was founded in February, 1955, when a meeting took place in the old City Hotel, with a view to forming a 'club' to encourage sailing and power boating in Lough Swilly by every possible means.

The first Officers of the club were: Commodore Dr. T.E. Hastings. Vice Commodore James McColgan. Rear Commodore Stephen Faller. Secretary Mayne Elliot and Treasurer Norvall Watt. A Committee was set up of men who between them had a wealth of sailing experience and whose enthusiasm and sheer hard work laid the firm foundation of today's thriving club.

The club was fortunate to have as a founder member Mr. James Whyte, Manager of the Lough Swilly Railway Co. and when the railway line from Derry to Buncrana closed in 1953 the club was able to purchase for a very nominal sum the old station waiting room and ticket office, as well as a considerable amount of ground where the old railway line ran beside the water's edge. This formed the nucleus of the present club and in subsequent years the slipway was built and extended, the caravan site erected and the clubhouse itself took in the old station house.

The first racing took place at 3.30pm (Swilly time) on Opening Day, Saturday 2nd July 1955, and there was a fine turnout of miscellaneous craft. After the day's racing all members and friends were invited to afternoon tea at the temporary club premises on the Railway Station Platform in Fanad, durning which prizes were awarded.

(The above information and image courtesy of Lough Swilly Yacht Club.

Lough Swilly Yacht Club, c/o Karen Sleat, Fahan, Lifford, Co Donegal. Email: [email protected]

Published in Clubs

Tagged under

How many entries are there in the 2020 Vendée Globe Race?

33 participants.

How many women are in the 2020 Vendée Globe Race?

Six women (Alexia Barrier, Clarisse Cremer, Isabelle Joschke, Sam Davies, Miranda Merron, Pip Hare).

How many countries are racing in the 2020 Vendée Globe Race?

Nine nations (France, Germany, Japan, Finland, Spain, Switzerland, Australia, and Great Britain)

Is Ireland racing in the 2020 Vendée Globe Race?

After much speculation following Galway man Enda O’Coineen’s 2016 race debut for Ireland, there were as many as four campaigns proposed at one point, but unfortunately, none have reached the start line.

What is the Vendee Globe Race?

The Vendée Globe is a sailing race round the world, solo, non-stop and without assistance. It takes place every four years and it is regarded as the Everest of sailing. The event followed in the wake of the Golden Globe which had initiated the first circumnavigation of this type via the three capes (Good Hope, Leeuwin and Horn) in 1968.

What is the Vendée Globe Race record time to beat?

The record to beat is Armel Le Cléac’h 74 days 3h 35 minutes 46s set in 2017. Some pundits are saying the boats could beat a sub-60 day time.

How many miles is the Vendée Globe Race?

The number of theoretical miles to cover is 24,296 miles (45,000 km).

How many sails does each IMOCA boat carry?

A maximum of eight sails.

What is an IMOCA 60?

The IMOCA 60 ("Open 60"), is a development class monohull sailing yacht run by the International Monohull Open Class Association (IMOCA). The class pinnacle events are single or two-person ocean races, such as the Route du Rhum and the Vendée Globe.

How many previous winners are competing in the 2020 Vendée Globe Race?

Zero past winners are competing but two podiums 2017: Alex Thomson second, Jérémie Beyou third. It is also the fifth participation for Jean Le Cam and Alex Thomson, fourth for Arnaud Boissières and Jérémie Beyou.

Who is the youngest competitor in the 2020 Vendée Globe Race?

The youngest on this ninth edition of the race is Alan Roura, 27 years old.

Who is the oldest competitor in the 2020 Vendée Globe Race?

The oldest on this ninth edition is Jean Le Cam, 61 years old.

How many of the 33-boat Vendée Globe fleet are first-timers?

Over half the fleet are debutantes, totalling 18 first-timers.

How does the Vendée Globe 2020 race start?

The start procedure begins 8 minutes before the gun fires with the warning signal. At 4 minutes before, for the preparatory signal, the skipper must be alone on board, follow the countdown and take the line at the start signal at 13:02hrs local time. If an IMOCA crosses the line too early, it incurs a penalty of 5 hours which they will have to complete on the course before the latitude 38 ° 40 N (just north of Lisbon latitude). For safety reasons, there is no opportunity to turn back and recross the line. A competitor who has not crossed the starting line 60 minutes after the signal will be considered as not starting. They will have to wait until a time indicated by the race committee to start again. No departure will be given after November 18, 2020, at 1:02 p.m when the line closes.

When will the Vendée Globe 2020/2021 race finish?

The first boat could be home in sixty days. Expect the leaders from January 7th 2021 but to beat the 2017 race record they need to finish by January 19 2021.

What is the cost of an IMOCA 60?

Today, building a brand new IMOCA generally costs between 4.2 and €4.7million, without the sails but second-hand boats that are in short supply can be got for around €1m.

©Afloat 2020

Vendee Globe 2024 Key Figures