Menu

Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

Displaying items by tag: Mike Caplan

#Bjmarine – In a busy year for BJ Marine on both sides of the Irish Sea, the leading Irish boats sales firm has opened a new office in Pwllheli, North Wales to "give an unrivalled presence in the Irish Sea", according to the firm's Bernard Gallagher.

The move gives BJ Marine waterside locations and facilities at Bangor marina in County Down where it operates the marina boatyard, its head office at the new Greystones marina in Wicklow and now on the far side of the Irish Sea at Gwynedd in North Wales.

The marina in Pwllheli boasts 400 berths and storage for a further 200 boats ashore, which played a big part in BJ Marine's commitment to set up office there.

With a rich cruising ground and plenty of traffic across the Irish Sea, its no surprise that Gallagher says he's "extremely excited for the future of our Pwllheli office and the opportunities for customers on both sides of the Irish Sea."

Mike Caplan is managing the Pwllheli sales operation, bringing to the team over 16 years experience in both new and used boat sales, with Dickies in Wales and with BJ Marine on the Beneteau stand at numerous international boat shows over the years.

Caplan will be at the London Boat Show on 9-18 January to share his knowledge and help you find the right boat for your needs.

Published in BJ Marine

The Rankin Dinghy of Cobh, Cork Harbour 

A Rankin is a traditional wooden dinghy which was built in Cobh, of which it’s believed there were 80 and of which The Rankin Dinghy Group has traced nearly half. 

The name of the Rankin dinghies is revered in Cork Harbour and particularly in the harbourside town of Cobh.

And the name of one of those boats is linked to the gunboat which fought against the Irish Volunteers during the 1916 Easter Rising and later for the emergent Irish Free State Government against anti-Treaty Forces during the Irish Civil War.

It also links the renowned boat-building Rankin family in Cobh, one of whose members crewed on the gunboat.

Maurice Kidney and Conor English are driving the restoration of the Rankin dinghies in Cork Harbour. They have discovered that Rankins were bought and sailed in several parts of the country.