The great revival of the Rankin dinghy class at Cobh in Cork Harbour continues after ten years of dedicated work by enthusiasts of the boat.
"We are now the biggest classic dinghy class in Cork Harbour, if not on the entire South Coast," Owen O'Connell declared at Whitepoint, overlooking the harbour when the three latest to be restored were displayed – Numbers 40, 41 and 42.
The three newly converted Rankins
"And we have more of which we know up to 49 altogether. We know the people who have them, and perhaps they will be restored in due course. This is a generational thing. Families are the basis of this revival, from grandfathers to fathers, sons, wives, daughters, handing on the tradition of these great boats from generation to generation."
Ten years ago, in 2015, I interviewed Maurice Kidney and Conor English when they announced they were starting a campaign to revive the Rankins, a historic part of Cobh's sailing heritage. Brothers Eric and Dave Rankin designed and built the Rankins in Cobh in the late 1950s.
Owen O'Connell is the man who has restored the Rankins, at his boatshed in Whitepoint, three over this Winter, two for members of Cove Sailing Club and one for an owner in Ardmore, Co.Waterford.
Number 40 is the boat of Phil and Tadgh Scannell and their family. Number 41 is owned by the Ronan O'Driscoll family. He leads the mixed dinghy fleet at Cove Sailing Club.
Dick Lincoln, who sails from Ardmore, has Number 42. It replaces a Rankin lost in a fire at the shed where he had kept it. He secured a Rankin punt, which has been restored and converted to a sailing dinghy by Owen O'Connell.
Dick Lincoln of Ardmore with His Rankin and Owen O'Connell
In fact, all three dinghies are conversions of renowned Rankin punts.
"It has been an amazing journey from where we started," Maurice Kidney told me at Whitepoint on Sunday morning (April 13), when supporters gathered for the formal hand-over of the boas to the new owners. "We had modest hopes for about half a dozen when we started; now we have over 40 fit to take to the water. It is a significant day. We are running out of boats to restore. It has been a great journey of positive, strong support and refurbishment by families, taking the Rankins into a new generation, with young people sailing them again, where family members sailed them before."
More families joining the Rankin ranks in Cork Harbour and along the south coast of Ireland
Ian Scandrett, Commodore of Cove Sailing Club, said the Rankin fleet's commitment and dedication were a huge tribute to the boats' classic history and a great achievement by dedicated sailors and club members.
