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Displaying items by tag: weekend 1314 May

The Old Head of Kinsale Lighthouse in west Cork is closed to the public for most of the year, however there will be a rare opportunity for the public to enter the lighthouse next month.

Locals and tourists alike will have a chance to witness the stunning views from inside the 30 metre high Old Head of Kinsale Lighthouse that was designed by Inspector George Halpin.

Permission has been granted by the Old Head Golf Links and the Commissioners of Irish Lights to raise funds during two days in May.

The fundraising is for the development of the Old Head Signal Tower and Lusitania Museum.

The Open Days will be held on the weekend of Saturday, 13th and Sunday, 14th May.

The lighthouse at the Old Head is one of the major lights on the south coast and also serves as a guide to the entrance of Kinsale Harbour, which is to the east of the light.

The light was first established on 1st October 1853 and the current range of the light is 20 nautical miles.

YayCork has more details on the open days.

Published in Lighthouses

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.