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Displaying items by tag: Mutiny & Murder

#Lecture - "Mutiny & Murder on the Earl of Sandwich", a public lecture by Peter Brady marks the final lecture season organised by Baltimore Maritime Centre which is held in Dublin.

The illustrated talk is take place in Poolbeg Yacht & Boat Club in the heart of the working port on Thursday 16th April at 8pm. Entry is €5 and is aid of the RNLI.

The lecture is a tale of piracy and will relive the fateful voyage of The Earl of Sandwich" which sailed from Tenerife November 1765 with a valuable cargo of wine, silk and other goods. Also told will be how the story is closely linked with Cork, Carlow, Kildare, Wexford, and numerous Dublin locations, including Ringsend and the Muglins off Dalkey.

In the 18th century, conditions of pay and work were poor; injury and ill health were a constant risk; and life expectancy was no more than 45 years.

Such was the life of a merchant seaman as the Earl of Sandwich departed London for the Canary Islands on 10 August 1765.

At Tenerife, the ship was laden with wine, silk and other goods, including a rich cargo of coin, which ultimately proved too much of a temptation for some.

Peter has been a sports diver in 1980 and with links in his interest of maritime history to his early dives on the wreck of the Tayleur at Lambay Island.

His research into the 'Earl of Sandwich' began with the stories he heard of how pirates were once hung on the Muglins. The information he has gathered adds new insights into the tale of the ship, its crew and its passengers.

The winter lectures series will resume in the same venue of Poolbeg but not until the Autumn. 

Published in Boating Fixtures

About Quarter Tonners

The Quarter Ton Class is a sailing class of the International Offshore Rule racing the Quarter Ton Cup between 1967 and 1996 and from 2005 until today.

The class is sailed by smaller keelboats of similar size and is likely the world's most-produced keelboat class.

The Ton, Half, Quarter, etc. 'classes' were each given a 'length' and yacht designers had almost free rein to work the hull shapes and measurements to achieve the best speed for that nominal length.

The Ton Rules produced cranky and tender boats without actual downwind speed. Measurement points created weird, almost square hull shapes with longish overhangs.

They were challenging to sail optimally and lost value very quickly as any new wrinkle (e.g. 'bustles') to take advantage of the rule made older boats very quickly uncompetitive.

Although its heyday was 30 years ago, the boat class continues to make its presence felt by holding its own in terms of popularity against some fern race fleets.