In 1955, Irish Olympian Dr Alf Delany bought an International 12-foot dinghy called Cora. She is now owned by his daughter Margaret Delany and Cora is again racing. Gerry Murray, who races her with Margaret has been looking into Cora's history and discovered that she was built in 1921. The class is holding a 100th birthday party for Cora at the Irish 12-foot Nationals in Dun Laoghaire on 29th August.

Cora was built by Camper and Nicholsons in Gosport. She was commissioned for Lt Col The Hon Claud Brabazon and he called her Gadget with sail number K29. Gadget is on the right in the photo above taken at Seaview on the Isle of Wight in 1921. 

In 1928 Claud Brabazon retired to Wicklow and brought Gadget to Seapoint Boat Club where she became No 8. After the club moved to Dun Laoghaire, he continued to race her until at least 1933. He suffered from arthritis so in 1935/36, he had a Mermaid called Delphis (sail number 2) built by Michael Mahony in Dun Laoghaire, and he became the Mermaid class captain in 1938.

In the meantime, no 8 reappeared in Howth SC as Cora and was sailed by Dr Tom Lane in 1935 and 1936. Dr Lane was a well-respected urologist at the Meath hospital who lived in Howth. In 1937 she was raced by P. Corbett, who we believe to be Peggy Corbett. JM Hickey sailed her in 1938 and D Dixon in 1942. Cora was also sailed by Tom Stewart, Ted Croxon and Sean Hooper in the years around 1945 when she won the Edmond Johnson Cup.

In 1944 she was raced by Norman Ross in Skerries, and he was noted as the owner by Sutton Dinghy Club in 1945. I really hope so because he sold her to Alf Delany in 1955. Here is the bill of sale.

Cora's bill of sale from 1955

Norman Ross was an interesting character who owned the Royal Hotel on Valentia Island. Previously he started a successful barber's shop in Suffolk Street for a bet. Notes from Aidan Henry at SDC implies that he owned Cora in 1941. Cora was scratch 12 foot dinghy in DBSC in 1944 though Aidan thinks she was sailed by Sean Hooper that year before he went on to race Ean Gaile. Norman Ross also presented the Cora Trophy which is now the Irish National l2 foot Trophy.

Alf Delany raced successfully in Cora in 1954 before he bought her and used her at Sutton and Clontarf for the next few years. The next generation of Delany's learned to sail in her before the 12 foot dinghy class lost out to newer designs. She was re-rigged as a DBSC 12 foot although she did not suffer the foredeck. She was then mostly used for family holidays and as a tender to Camblyn but Cora did feature in the Irish Nationals in 1963.

In 2006 Margaret Delany inherited her and Cora was rejuvenated. A rebuild at the International Boat Building College in Lowestoft and much more work by Doughal MacMahon brought her back to full racing trim in her original configuration. Since 2013 she has competed in West Kirby, Loosdtrecht, De Kaag, Lowestoft, Oulton Broad, Rutland Water and she has been at every Irish 12-foot Nationals in Dun Laoghaire since 2015.

Cora holding off the Dutch at Rutland in July 2019

I am hoping that some readers will be able to fill in some of the gaps in Cora's history. Any information would be helpful to understand who owned and raced Cora at any time but especially between 1933 and 1955. We would like to know how her name was chosen and as much as possible about Norman Ross.

If you have any memories of Cora, we would be delighted to hear from you. Her email is [email protected].

Gerry Murray lives in Reading and is an active sailor at Cowes and on the Shannon. With Margaret Delany, he has been privileged to care for and race Cora for the last 15 years. He is currently researching her history and the fascinating people that have sailed her.