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Displaying items by tag: Shackleton Epic

#LectureShackleton – Neale Webb, who is related to the family of the Irish-born Antarctic explorer, will present his lecture 'Sir Ernest Shackleton - Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration' next Thursday, 14 February.

The talk which is for the Kilmacud-Stillorgan History Society, will be held at 20.00hrs in the Function Room of the Glenalbyn Sports Club in Stillorgan. All visitors are welcome –admission fee: €3

As previously reported, the five-man crew re-enactment of Shackleton's Epic Antarctic rescue continued, having this week reached landfall on South Georgia Island after sailing 800 nautical miles and taking nearly 12 days to complete to reach this destination, a key highlight of their journey.

To follow the team's latest blog reports, and to track the Alexandra Shackleton, a replica of the lifeboat James Caird used in the mission nearly a century ago, visit: http://shackletonepic.com/live-tracking/

 

Published in Boating Fixtures

#EPICVoyage - A crew of five led by British-Australian adventurer, Tim Jarvis, are attempting to become the first to authentically re-enact Sir Ernest Shackleton's Epic 800nm rescue mission across the Southern Ocean from Elephant Island to South Georgia.

The team, are on their 11th day onboard the Alexandra Shackleton which is heading for South Georgia, some 23 nautical miles away. The purpose built 22ft vessel is an exact replica of the lifeboat, James Caird, which made the same journey across the perilous ocean to reach the rugged peaks of the island.

Alexandra Shackleton was named after the Kildare born, polar explorer's only grand-daughter, who as previously reported on Afloat.ie was at the launch of the Shackleton Endurance Exhibition in Dun Laoghaire last September. The exhibition has a wonderful collection of photographs taken by Frank Hurley which relives the abandoning of the exploration ship Endurance, which became crushed in the pack ice, and the subsequent lifeboat rescue mission which can be read HERE in greater detail.

At only 22.5 ft/6.9m, Alexandra Shackleton, is a purpose built exact replica of the lifeboat, James Caird, which made the same journey across the perilous ocean to reach the rugged peaks of South Georgia.

The re-enactment of Shackleton's 'double' journey across sea and land using traditional gear will be according to Jarvis (46), a veteran of multiple polar expeditions, the most challenging expedition of his life.

Shackleton Epic has been in development since 2008, when Shackleton approached Jarvis with the idea of an expedition to honour one of the greatest leadership and survival stories of all time. To keep abreast of news of the re-enactment team, there's a BLOG and to track the vessel's progress, click HERE

 

Published in News Update

The Half Ton Class was created by the Offshore Racing Council for boats within the racing band not exceeding 22'-0". The ORC decided that the rule should "....permit the development of seaworthy offshore racing yachts...The Council will endeavour to protect the majority of the existing IOR fleet from rapid obsolescence caused by ....developments which produce increased performance without corresponding changes in ratings..."

When first introduced the IOR rule was perfectly adequate for rating boats in existence at that time. However yacht designers naturally examined the rule to seize upon any advantage they could find, the most noticeable of which has been a reduction in displacement and a return to fractional rigs.

After 1993, when the IOR Mk.III rule reached it termination due to lack of people building new boats, the rule was replaced by the CHS (Channel) Handicap system which in turn developed into the IRC system now used.

The IRC handicap system operates by a secret formula which tries to develop boats which are 'Cruising type' of relatively heavy boats with good internal accommodation. It tends to penalise boats with excessive stability or excessive sail area.

Competitions

The most significant events for the Half Ton Class has been the annual Half Ton Cup which was sailed under the IOR rules until 1993. More recently this has been replaced with the Half Ton Classics Cup. The venue of the event moved from continent to continent with over-representation on French or British ports. In later years the event is held biennially. Initially, it was proposed to hold events in Ireland, Britain and France by rotation. However, it was the Belgians who took the ball and ran with it. The Class is now managed from Belgium. 

At A Glance – Half Ton Classics Cup Winners

  • 2017 – Kinsale – Swuzzlebubble – Phil Plumtree – Farr 1977
  • 2016 – Falmouth – Swuzzlebubble – Greg Peck – Farr 1977
  • 2015 – Nieuwport – Checkmate XV – David Cullen – Humphreys 1985
  • 2014 – St Quay Portrieux – Swuzzlebubble – Peter Morton – Farr 1977
  • 2013 – Boulogne – Checkmate XV – Nigel Biggs – Humphreys 1985
  • 2011 – Cowes – Chimp – Michael Kershaw – Berret 1978
  • 2009 – Nieuwpoort – Général Tapioca – Philippe Pilate – Berret 1978
  • 2007 – Dun Laoghaire – Henri-Lloyd Harmony – Nigel Biggs – Humphreys 1980~
  • 2005 – Dinard – Gingko – Patrick Lobrichon – Mauric 1968
  • 2003 – Nieuwpoort – Général Tapioca – Philippe Pilate – Berret 1978

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