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Displaying items by tag: famous lifeboat lifted

#MaryStanford – Former lifeboat RNLB Mary Stanford was hoisted out of the Grand Canal Dock Basin, Dublin and onto a road-trailer at the weekend, writes Jehan Ashmore.

The 51ft class Barnett-class lifeboat completed the overnight 12-hour road journey to Midleton, Co.Cork. 

She was made famous for the rescue of the Daunt Lightship crew in 1936 and as previously reported made her final farewell on Saturday in the Ringsend basin, albeit on the short-hop from Charlotte Quay to the slipway.

On board her last hurrah were relatives of the coxswain, Colm and Aidan Sliney aswell as the nationwide crew.

From working on her getting her ready for the lift it was clear to see she is made of hardy stuff.

The raising of the boat was witnessed by the local community and to whom also lifted the spirits of the occasion.

At 4pm the crane took over making the transition from sea to land seem effortless thanks to skilful operator and the loading onto the truck. Her journey saw her safely delivered 12 hours later into the early hours of Sunday.

With support of a campaign, she is to be restored and located on a plinth overlooking the coastal path at Ballycotton, to where she was stationed with the RNLI. With a little love the Mary Stanford will out-live us all.

 

Published in Historic Boats

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.