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Displaying items by tag: Reserve

#navy – Ten new recruits to the Naval Service Reserve completed their training in a ceremony in the Naval Base on Haulbowline yesterday. The 10 recruits, 9 from Cork and 1 from Dublin endured 3 weeks of intense training where they covered a range of subjects such as foot and arms drill, marksmanship, sea survival, fire-fighting, military law and an introduction to military customs, traditions and way of life.

This is a milestone as it marks the first integrated Naval Service Reserve recruit class since the inception of the Single Force Concept which is a key element of the 2012 Defence Forces Reorganisation. The training was shared between members Naval College and the Naval Service Reserve. The Naval Service Reserve will soon be seeking a total of 25 potential recruits in its Cork (2), Dublin (5), Limerick (8) and Waterford (10) units.

The role of the NSR is to augment Naval Service seagoing strength through provision of trained personnel whilst at unit level providing the capability for an armed Naval Element afloat with local shore support and expert local maritime knowledge and intelligence in support of PDF Operations at and from the sea in the main trading ports in support of maintenance of National Sea Lines of Communication (SLOC).

The Naval Service is an integral part of Óglaigh na hÉireann / Defence Forces and operates jointly with the Army and Air Corps. The Naval Service protects Ireland's interests at and from the sea. Currently, the Naval Service is tasked with a broad range of maritime defence, security and other roles. Routine patrols are multi-tasked to encompass national and maritime security, ocean governance, fishery protection, safety and surveillance, port security, drug interdiction, pollution control and search and rescue.

The Service also supports Army operations in the littoral and by sea lift. It provides support on Aid to the Civil Power and Aid to the Civil Authority operations, including inter alia maritime security cordons, and possesses the primary diving team in the State. The Fisheries Monitoring Centre ( FMC) at the Naval Base is the designated national centre with responsibility for monitoring all fishing activity within the Irish Exclusive Fishery Limits and all Irish fishing vessels operating around the world. In addition, Naval Service Vessels have undertaken supply and reconnaissance missions to overseas peace support operations and participated in foreign visits in support of Irish Trade and Diplomacy.

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Published in Navy

Howth 17 information

The oldest one-design keelboat racing class in the world is still competing today to its original 1897 design exclusively at Howth Yacht club.

Howth 17 FAQs

The Howth 17 is a type of keelboat. It is a 3-man single-design keelboat designed to race in the waters off Howth and Dublin Bay.

The Howth Seventeen is just 22ft 6ins in hull length.

The Howth 17 class is raced and maintained by the Association members preserving the unique heritage of the boats. Association Members maintain the vibrancy of the Class by racing and cruising together as a class and also encourage new participants to the Class in order to maintain succession. This philosophy is taken account of and explained when the boats are sold.

The boat is the oldest one-design keelboat racing class in the world and it is still racing today to its original design exclusively at Howth Yacht club. It has important historical and heritage value keep alive by a vibrant class of members who race and cruise the boats.

Although 21 boats are in existence, a full fleet rarely sails buy turnouts for the annual championships are regularly in the high teens.

The plans of the Howth 17 were originally drawn by Walter Herbert Boyd in 1897 for Howth Sailing Club. The boat was launched in Ireland in 1898.

They were originally built by John Hilditch at Carrickfergus, County Down. Initially, five boats were constructed by him and sailed the 90-mile passage to Howth in the spring of 1898. The latest Number 21 was built in France in 2017.

The Howth 17s were designed to combat local conditions in Howth that many of the keel-less boats of that era such as the 'Half-Rater' would have found difficult.

The original fleet of five, Rita, Leila, Silver Moon, Aura and Hera, was increased in 1900 with the addition of Pauline, Zaida and Anita. By 1913 the class had increased to fourteen boats. The extra nine were commissioned by Dublin Bay Sailing Club for racing from Kingstown (Dún Laoghaire) - Echo, Sylvia, Mimosa, Deilginis, Rosemary, Gladys, Bobolink, Eileen and Nautilus. Gradually the boats found their way to Howth from various places, including the Solent and by the latter part of the 20th century they were all based there. The class, however, was reduced to 15 due to mishaps and storm damage for a few short years but in May 1988 Isobel and Erica were launched at Howth Yacht Club, the boats having been built in a shed at Howth Castle - the first of the class actually built in Howth.

The basic wooden Howth 17 specification was for a stem and keel of oak and elm, deadwood and frames of oak, planking of yellow pine above the waterline and red pine below, a shelf of pitch pine and a topstrake of teak, larch deck-beams and yellow pine planking and Baltic spruce spars with a keel of lead. Other than the inclusion of teak, the boats were designed to be built of materials which at that time were readily available. However today yellow pine and pitch pine are scarce, their properties of endurance and longevity much appreciated and very much in evidence on the original five boats.

 

It is always a busy 60-race season of regular midweek evening and Saturday afternoon contests plus regattas and the Howth Autumn League.

In 2017, a new Howth 17 Orla, No 21, was built for Ian Malcolm. The construction of Orla began in September 2016 at Skol ar Mor, the boat-building school run by American Mike Newmeyer and his dedicated team of instructor-craftsmen at Mesquer in southern Brittany. In 2018, Storm Emma wrought extensive destruction through the seven Howth Seventeens stored in their much-damaged shed on Howth’s East Pier at the beginning of March 2018, it was feared that several of the boats – which since 1898 have been the very heart of Howth sailing – would be written off. But in the end only one – David O’Connell’s Anita built in 1900 by James Clancy of Dun Laoghaire – was assessed as needing a complete re-build. Anita was rebuilt by Paul Robert and his team at Les Ateliers de l’Enfer in Douarnenez in Brittany in 2019 and Brought home to Howth.

The Howth 17 has a gaff rig.

The total sail area is 305 sq ft (28.3 m2).

©Afloat 2020