I have never sailed a Laser. The 13ft. dinghy’s closeness to the surface of the water exposes the occupant without much protection to the elements. But I admire those who sail the boat. They are a hardy bunch to whom I have information to impart this week which may be useful to Laser sailors - a garden mat is a vital piece of equipment if you are sailing the boat for long periods!

That piece of advice was given to me by a Dublin sailor who is on the North/West coast of Ireland around Mayo/Donegal this week – on a Laser circumnavigation which he has been sailing for long hours each day since the middle of May. Scroll down the page to listen to the podcast.

Gary Sargent, who tells me that he is also known in the sailing world as ‘Ted,’ is  from Clontarf Yacht and Boat Club on the capital’s seafront, a club where I have had the pleasure of meeting members a few times. Being on a Laser this is a solo circumnavigation of Ireland, which he started from Schull in West Cork and to where he hopes to get back by the end of this month.

I have admiration for those who undertake amazing, challenging tasks. I’m not sure I could do the same and definitely not on a Laser dinghy, being an open boat with a single sail, low on the water with little freeboard and so not a lot of comfort, which is where the garden mat comes in!

You can hear Gary explain why he has already used three of them on this week’s THIS ISLAND NATION Podcast below.

“One wild ride” around Ireland is how he, rather fittingly, describes his voyage which he says, shows that there is “more to the sport of sailing than just racing.” He is hoping to raise the profile of the sport to newcomers and that is appropriate as the ISA’s ‘Try Sailing Project’ and ICRA’S ‘Crew Point’ initiative gets rolling at clubs around the coast this Summer.

“I have taught adult sailing for the last twelve-to-fourteen years. There is a wonderful satisfaction in encouraging people who have not previously been involved in the sport, watching their faces light up with the enjoyment of being on the water when they realise that sailing is easy and enjoyable. Literally, their lives change when they get close to the water. This trip is highlighting sailing as a sport. There is a world of sailing out there, more than just racing. If we put fun back into sailing it will go a long, long way towards widening its appeal.”

I talked to Gary when he arrived in Belmullet, Co. Mayo. “I started in Schull to get the toughest part of the voyage, along the West Coast, over first. I have a lot of experience on the East Coast and appreciate that the North and South coasts can be difficult, but the vast expanse of the West Coast has been daunting,” he said.

Gary is accompanied by friends on a 9-metre rigid inflatable as safety boat and they spend each night ashore. The support he has received from coastal communities on his voyage has, he says, been “a revelation and a lesson in what community spirit means.”

“They have been wonderful. It is an indication of how special Ireland’s coastal communities are, how they have welcomed and supported us. It is something I will never forget.”

He is also fundraising on his voyage for ChildVision, the organisation which supports and teaches children suffering from sight loss and other profound disabilities to reach their full potential in life.

• Listen to Gary below

There is more to sailing than racing, such as enjoyment, fun, cruising and bringing people together to enjoy each other’s company and the boats they sail. When those boats are dinghies that have a proud history and which a dedicated group of enthusiasts is determined to protect and develop, there is something special about the boats, the people and their interest in sailing.

Next Sunday facets will be brought together when the Rankin dinghies gather at Whitepoint, a promontory near the Cork Harbour town of Cobh where the town’s sailing club has been active for many years.

The boats that will be the focal point at half-past ten on Sunday morning will be Rankins, a dinghy which was built in Cobh, of which it’s believed there were 80 and of which The Rankin Dinghy Group has traced nearly half, one with a unique name linking a historic gun boat that unusually fought both for and against the Irish and a man who crewed on it, on both sides! It’s an intriguing story.

Enthusiasts who preserve boats are special people as far as I am concerned and I admire them. They are single-minded and dedicated. That dedication can come from admiration of a particular type of boat, of the man or men who built it, how it performs and often because they have been involved with the class of boat themselves and are seeking to avoid its decline and restore it to appreciation by more people.

The name of the Rankin dinghies is revered in Cork Harbour and particularly in the harbourside town of Cobh. And the name of one of those boats links the gunboat which fought against the Irish Volunteers during the 1916 Easter Rising and later for the emergent Irish Free State Government against anti-Treaty Forces during the Irish Civil War. It also links the renowned boat-building Rankin family in Cobh, one of whose members crewed on the gunboat.
Listen to the Podcast below in which I talk to two dedicated sailing enthusiasts, Maurice Kidney and Conor English, who are driving the restoration of the Rankin dinghies in Cork Harbour. They have discovered that Rankins were bought and sailed in several parts of the country.

You will hear how the name of the gunboat which shelled Liberty Hall during the Easter Rising of 1916, Helga, is maintained on a dinghy in Cork Harbour. How that gunboat, having fought against the Irish Volunteers, later fought for the emergent Irish Free State and became the first Irish fisheries protection vessel, Muirchu.

It’s a fascinating story about a special type of boat that The Rankin Dinghy Group is reviving. Having traced half the 80 boats which were built, the Group is asking anybody with information on the whereabouts of Rankin boats in any condition to contact Maurice Kidney on phone 086 3225424 or Conor English on phone 086 3531122.

• Listen to Podcast below. An article on the Rankins by Tom MacSweeney will also appear in Summer Afloat magazine

See a slideshow on the Rankin dinghy here

Cork Harbour's Cobh Trad Sail Maritime Lecture Series 2016 will be its most diverse, celebrating the harbour's great maritime tradition.

11th Feb: Escaping to Europe by Sea Humanitarian Operations in the Mediterranean 2015 by the Irish Naval Serice. Presented by Commander Ken Minihane and Lt Joe Daly.

18th Feb: Parking a City Berthing a Large Liner at the Deep Water Quay Cobh. Presented by Tony Mulcathy, Cork Harbour Pilot.

2nd March: Our Rankin Boats. History of Rankin Boat Building in Cobh Presented by Eddie English, Sailing Instructor

All lectures held in the Sirius Art Centre, Cobh at 20.00 hrs.

Entrance fee €5.

#tradsail – Now in its fourth year, Cobh Traditional Sail Regatta will be held from 27th to the 29th June 2014, on the waters adjacent to the amphitheatre of the town of Cobh. The event is organised in association with The Cove Sailing Club and the Naval Service Yacht Squadron. It is an opportunity to enjoy both sea and shore activities with traditional sailing trips, traditional music, sea shanties and an eventful prize giving ceremony.
The opening ceremony takes place in the Sirus Centre on Friday 27th at 19.30 hours, with entertainment provided by local sea shanties group the Mollgoggers and local musicians
On Saturday and Sunday a full programme of events is planned with the Rankin, Cork harbour One Design and White Sail Fleet racing in the beautiful setting of Cork Harbour. There will also be an opportunity to tour the traditional wooden vessels the Ruth, the Irene and the Soteria. Tours are also available to Spike Island .
In keeping with the ethos of the festival of promoting sailing amongst young people the festival is sponsoring eight young people to participate in a week's sail training on the Spirit of Oysterhaven in June. These teenagers are drawn from various schools and organisations in Cobh.
For more information click for the tradsail website