Displaying items by tag: trailersailer

12th June 2012

Small and Beautiful Trailer-Sailers Open up New Cruising Possibilities

#trailersailer – Ireland's coastline is one of the world's finest cruising grounds. Yet there are long lengths of the coast that rarely see a visiting cruiser. It is not that the area is inhospitable, although the weather can be challenging. Safe anchorages and sheltered harbours are numerous, the welcome on shore is legendary. The plain fact is that, for many of us the west coast of Ireland is very much the Far West.

A circumnavigation of the island is over 700 miles, roughly the same distance as the Fastnet Race, longer than the Sydney-Hobart, or the Newport-Bermuda. For the East Coast cruising sailor with a fortnight to spare Wales, Cornwall or Scotland are nearer, and, in the prevailing westerlies, easier to reach. Cork sailors can explore West Cork or South Kerry, but a trip to Galway is a serious voyage, with a long stretch of coast offering little or no shelter.

Any plan to develop cruising from Cork to Donegal must take account of the distances involved. One solution would be to develop marinas and encourage boat owners to keep their boat there for all or part of the year. However, maintaining a boat that is several hours drive from home is never easy. Those who are fortunate to keep boats in France, Portugal or elsewhere can depend on a well developed network of professionals, with workshops in the harbour area, to carry out necessary work. Unfortunately, marinas in Ireland are conceived more as a pretext to develop shore-side housing, rather than as essential industrial infrastructure. Boatyards and luxury apartments do not make good neighbours!

Basing the boat on the west coast for a month or two is no less problematic. Finding a window of opportunity, and the crew, for the delivery trip there and back, is never easy. A 300 mile cruise is, for many, already a summer holiday in itself! Furthermore, sailors can be reluctant to abandon the short but intense racing season, especially on the East Coast.

There is an alternative: the trailer-sailer, or, as well known nautical author Sam Llewelyn prefers – the "Minimum Boat". For an owner wishing to explore the nooks and crannies of the Irish coast such boats have huge advantages. The ability to tow a boat to a suitable area greatly extends the range of possible cruising grounds. The flexibility of such a mobile boat means that plans can be changed easily. You may have planned a weekend trip to the Aran Islands, but if the forecast is for squalls, rain and a huge swell it is no great problem to divert to Lough Derg, or even to "go foreign" and explore Lough Erne. How often is it set to rain in Kerry while Donegal basks in sunshine (or vice versa). Until you choose which exit to take off the motorway, the "Minimum Boat" owner is not committed to any one destination.

In addition, a ferry trip to Cherbourg or Roscoff opens up the whole of Europe. Personally I quite fancy exploring the Venice Lagoon or the Skerries of the northern Baltic.

In choosing a "Minimum Boat" compromises have to be made, between the boats nautical capacities, convenience when rigging, launching and recovering and the trappings of modern comforts. Many commonly used boats are no longer than 21-22 foot, and no more than 2 tons. Increasingly water ballast is used, reducing the towing weight, making it possible to tow and launch somewhat larger boats.

Obviously, a boat this size will not have standing headroom throughout. Farewell the power shower, the microwave and the master cabin. However, there is great pleasure in rediscovering the little luxuries – making that first tea or coffee whilst still in your sleeping bag, stepping ashore from the bow of the boat on a sheltered beach or settling down for the night in an anchorage known only to those that go to sea in kayaks or RIBs. Not forgetting that keeping the boat in the garden is a great convenience when maintenance is required.

Cruising on boats this size is more about exploring the coast and the islands, rather than passage making. In fact the whole point of the trailer-sailer is that long passages are made by road. The most difficult moments of any holiday will be launching and recovery. Many cars can cope with towing a fairly substantial boat. However, slipways are often narrow and steep. Alexander Nimmo and his fellow engineers of the 19th Century singularly failed to take account of the constraints of launching a small yacht from a road trailer when engaged in building so many harbours, piers and slips that are still the backbone of our nautical infrastructure. If a Minimum Boater has to rely on launching only at well-equipped boatyards or clubs then the range of accessible cruising areas is limited.

A major contribution to the development of trailer sailing could be made at little cost:

⁃ by publishing a comprehensive list of slipways, including details such as the angle of the slip (preferably between 7° and 12°), launching conditions and information on safe parking;

⁃ identifying a local tractor owner who would, for a small charge, tow the trailer down the slip. Ideally, they would also be able to offer safe parking for for car and trailer. Trailer-sailors would be happy to pay for such a service. Obviously, there will be considerations of liability and insurance, but in a period when small farmers, building contractors and other small businesses are facing difficulties, launching and recovering could provide a small but useful revenue stream.

To conclude by an (apocryphal) example:

Sitting in the bar of a well-known yacht club club in Greater Dublin two boat owners are discussing the possibility of viewing from the comfort of their own cockpit the in-port race in Galway Bay when the VOR fleet is in town. One owns a well-found 35 ft yacht that competes in local races. His owner reckons that in order to be sure of getting to Galway in time, and get the boat back, he will take a fortnight's holiday. He already organising a delivery crew, one for each trip, there and back, with the family driving down for the weekend. It is proving difficult to find a berth in Galway and he may have to anchor off somewhere.

His friend has a French-built 21 foot trailer-sailer that has proved competitive in club racing, and did well when he towed the boat to the UK to compete in Cowes Week. His plan is to lift out on Thursday evening after racing and drive down early Friday morning. He intends to launch in Kinvara, having checked the slip on Google Earth, and sail across to Galway. When he called the organisers they told him they would have no problem finding a berth for such a tiny yacht! The in-port race is on Saturday. The plan is to party in Galway on Saturday and sail back to Kinvara on Sunday. With HW just after 2130 there will be no problem getting back to Dublin sometime (possibly late) on Sunday night.

Small is beautiful. More to the point a small trailer friendly yacht is the passport to spending more time in some of the world's most spectacular seascapes – Magheramore

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Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta

From the Baily lighthouse to Dalkey island, the bay accommodates six separate courses for 21 different classes racing every two years for the Dun Laoghaire Regatta.

In assembling its record-breaking armada, Volvo Dun Laoghaire regatta (VDLR) became, at its second staging, not only the country's biggest sailing event, with 3,500 sailors competing, but also one of Ireland's largest participant sporting events.

One of the reasons for this, ironically, is that competitors across Europe have become jaded by well-worn venue claims attempting to replicate Cowes and Cork Week.'Never mind the quality, feel the width' has been a criticism of modern-day regattas where organisers mistakenly focus on being the biggest to be the best. Dun Laoghaire, with its local fleet of 300 boats, never set out to be the biggest. Its priority focussed instead on quality racing even after it got off to a spectacularly wrong start when the event was becalmed for four days at its first attempt.

The idea to rekindle a combined Dublin bay event resurfaced after an absence of almost 40 years, mostly because of the persistence of a passionate race officer Brian Craig who believed that Dun Laoghaire could become the Cowes of the Irish Sea if the town and the local clubs worked together. Although fickle winds conspired against him in 2005, the support of all four Dun Laoghaire waterfront yacht clubs since then (made up of Dun Laoghaire Motor YC, National YC, Royal Irish YC and Royal St GYC), in association with the two racing clubs of Dublin Bay SC and Royal Alfred YC, gave him the momentum to carry on.

There is no doubt that sailors have also responded with their support from all four coasts. Running for four days, the regatta is (after the large mini-marathons) the single most significant participant sports event in the country, requiring the services of 280 volunteers on and off the water, as well as top international race officers and an international jury, to resolve racing disputes representing five countries. A flotilla of 25 boats regularly races from the Royal Dee near Liverpool to Dublin for the Lyver Trophy to coincide with the event. The race also doubles as a RORC qualifying race for the Fastnet.

Sailors from the Ribble, Mersey, the Menai Straits, Anglesey, Cardigan Bay and the Isle of Man have to travel three times the distance to the Solent as they do to Dublin Bay. This, claims Craig, is one of the major selling points of the Irish event and explains the range of entries from marinas as far away as Yorkshire's Whitby YC and the Isle of Wight.

No other regatta in the Irish Sea area can claim to have such a reach. Dublin Bay Weeks such as this petered out in the 1960s, and it has taken almost four decades for the waterfront clubs to come together to produce a spectacle on and off the water to rival Cowes."The fact that we are getting such numbers means it is inevitable that it is compared with Cowes," said Craig. However, there the comparison ends."We're doing our own thing here. Dun Laoghaire is unique, and we are making an extraordinary effort to welcome visitors from abroad," he added. The busiest shipping lane in the country – across the bay to Dublin port – closes temporarily to facilitate the regatta and the placing of six separate courses each day.

A fleet total of this size represents something of an unknown quantity on the bay as it is more than double the size of any other regatta ever held there.

Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta FAQs

What is Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

Dun Laoghaire Regatta is Ireland's biggest sailing event. It is held every second Summer at Dun Laoghaire Harbour on Dublin Bay.

When is Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

Dun Laoghaire Regatta is held every two years, typically in the first weekend of July.

Where is Dun Laoghaire Regatta held?

As its name suggests, the event is based at Dun Laoghaire Harbour. Racing is held on Dublin Bay over as many as six different courses with a coastal route that extends out into the Irish Sea. Ashore, the festivities are held across the town but mostly in the four organising yacht clubs.

How big is Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

Dun Laoghaire Regatta is the largest sailing regatta in Ireland and on the Irish Sea and the second largest in the British Isles. It has a fleet of 500 competing boats and up to 3,000 sailors. Scotland's biggest regatta on the Clyde is less than half the size of the Dun Laoghaire event. After the Dublin city marathon, the regatta is one of the most significant single participant sporting events in the country in terms of Irish sporting events.

How old is Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

The modern Dublin Bay Regatta began in 2005, but it owes its roots to earlier combined Dublin Bay Regattas of the 1960s.

How many boats compete at Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

Up to 500 boats regularly compete.

How many yacht clubs are represented at Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

Up to 70 different yacht clubs are represented.

Where do the yachts come from to compete at Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

The Channel Islands, Isle of Man, England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, Ireland countrywide, and Dublin clubs.

How many boats are visiting boats at Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

Nearly half the sailors, over 1,000, travel to participate from outside of Dun Laoghaire and from overseas to race and socialise in Dun Laoghaire.

What type of yachts race in Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

21 different classes are competing at Dun Laoghaire Regatta. As well as four IRC Divisions from 50-footers down to 20-foot day boats and White Sails, there are also extensive one-design keelboat and dinghy fleets to include all the fleets that regularly race on the Bay such as Beneteau 31.7s, Ruffian 23s, Sigma 33s as well as Flying Fifteens, Laser SB20s plus some visiting fleets such as the RS Elites from Belfast Lough to name by one.

What famous sailors race in Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

Some sailing household names are regular competitors at the biennial Dun Laoghaire event including Dun Laoghaire Olympic silver medalist, Annalise Murphy. International sailing stars are competing too such as Mike McIntyre, a British Olympic Gold medalist and a raft of World and European class champions.

How much does it cost to enter Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

There are different entry fees for different size boats. A 40-foot yacht will pay up to €550, but a 14-foot dinghy such as Laser will pay €95. Full entry fee details are contained in the Regatta Notice of Race document.

Where can spectators view Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

Spectators can see the boats racing on six courses from any vantage point on the southern shore of Dublin Bay. As well as from the Harbour walls itself, it is also possible to see the boats from Sandycove, Dalkey and Killiney, especially when the boats compete over inshore coastal courses or have in-harbour finishes.

How does Dun Laoghaire regatta compare to international regattas?

Very favourably. It is often compared to Cowes, Britain's biggest regatta on the Isle of Wight that has 1,000 entries. However, sailors based in the north of England have to travel three times the distance to get to Cowes as they do to Dun Laoghaire.

Why is Dun Laoghaire Regatta so unique?

Dun Laoghaire Regatta is unique because of its compact site offering four different yacht clubs within the harbour and the race tracks' proximity, just a five-minute sail from shore. International sailors also speak of its international travel connections and being so close to Dublin city. The regatta also prides itself on balancing excellent competition with good fun ashore.

Who organises Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

The Organising Authority (OA) of Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta is Dublin Bay Regattas Ltd, a not-for-profit company, beneficially owned by Dun Laoghaire Motor Yacht Club (DMYC), National Yacht Club (NYC), Royal Irish Yacht Club (RIYC) and Royal St George Yacht Club (RSGYC).

What does Dun Laoghaire Regatta contribute to the local economy?

The Irish Marine Federation launched a case study on the 2009 Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta's socio-economic significance. Over four days, the study (carried out by Irish Sea Marine Leisure Knowledge Network) found the event was worth nearly €3million to the local economy over the four days of the event. Typically the Royal Marine Hotel and Haddington Hotel and other local providers are fully booked for the event.