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Displaying items by tag: Patrol Training Boats

#PatrolBoats – Two Royal Navy P2000 'Archer' class inshore fast-patrol and training boats will have visited both Dublin Bay ports by the middle of next week, writes Jehan Ashmore.

HMS Exploit (P127) which recently paid a visit to Dublin Port at the Poolbeg Yacht & Boat Club's marina was also followed by a short-hop across the bay to Dun Laoghaire Harbour Marina where she departed yesterday evening.

She had set originally off from Penarth Marina near Cardiff and made en route call to Ireland via Milford Haven. A sister HMS Express (P163) is due to Dublin Port in several days time.

Both 20m boats as previously reported on Afloat.ie called to Dun Laoghaire Marina a year ago.The pair as previously mentioned belong to the Archer P2000 class numbering 14 vessels and which form the First Patrol Boat Squadron.

Their primary function is supporting the University Royal Naval Units (URNU) in addition they contribute to other wide range roles. The URNU is based at HMS Cambria, a Royal Navy Reserve establishment near the Welsh capital.

 

Published in Naval Visits

Tom Dolan, Solo Offshore Sailor

Even when County Meath solo sailor Tom Dolan had been down the numbers in the early stages of the four-stage 2,000 mile 2020 Figaro Race, Dolan and his boat were soon eating their way up through the fleet in any situation which demanded difficult tactical decisions.

His fifth overall at the finish – the highest-placed non-French sailor and winner of the Vivi Cup – had him right among the international elite in one of 2020's few major events.

The 33-year-old who has lived in Concarneau, Brittany since 2009 but grew up on a farm in rural County Meath came into the gruelling four-stage race aiming to get into the top half of the fleet and to underline his potential to Irish sailing administrators considering the selection process for the 2024 Olympic Mixed Double Offshore category which comes in for the Paris games.