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Displaying items by tag: youth sailor

The Royal St. George Yacht Club in Dun Laoghaire, County Dublin is seeking youth sailors 'looking for a new challenge'.

RStGYC Sailing Manager Ronan Adams says a group of sailors are looking to form a 29'er fleet in Dun Laoghaire. The RStGYC has put a shout out to to see 'if anyone else might be open to a discussion as to the merits of this double hander class'

While Adams acknowledges 'the 29er is not supported/ recognised by the ISA as a pathway class', he says 'it most certainly does have its merits internationally' and also is a draw as ‘cool’ and fast/ fun boat for the age group mid-teens/ youths who sail it.

The Royal St. George's Tom Higgins has launched a new 29er campaign with Royal Cork's Harry Durcan as Afloat.ie reported previously.

One possible draw back is that the learning curve is very steep, vertical nearly but those that stick with it will be rewarded. Good second hand boats are in the region of €5k and are available in the UK, according to Adams. 

RStGYC currently has two interested families and at least one in another waterfront Club in Dun Laoghaire who would like to meet other interested parties to discuss. 

Expressions of interest or suggestions on whom to pass on the information are encouraged. The plan is to put all interested parties in touch with one another through email and see what happens.

email: [email protected] who are aiming to hold a meeting on Sept 10th or 17th. and have your say on Afloat's Facebook page. Here's what others have been saying: 

Published in 29er

#euromed2014 – The Royal St. George's Grace O'Beirne was the top Irish youth sailor at the Malta based Euromed 2014 Optimist championships held immediately before Christmas. Nine races were sailed with two discards In a series sailed largely in winds from five to ten knots that were shifty and gusty. 

Unfortnuately, some of the Maltese series sailed at Mellieha Bay left a lot to be desired with only 13 finishers and 90 plus blackflag disqualifications in one afternoon on the water. 

O'Beirne finished 14th with a seventh in race four as her best result. Next – in a team of 17 Irish sailors – was Michael Carroll in 33rd place. Full results here

The Irish ambassador to Malta, Mr Padraig MacCoscair was at Mellieha Bay to welcome all the Irish sailors off the water at Euromed 2014.

 

 

Published in Optimist

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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