It may seem odd to mention an event which is already a sell-out. But it’s now 44 years since John Gore-Grimes of Howth was first awarded the Blue Water Medal of the Cruising Club of America for his remarkable Arctic voyages in the Nicholson 31 Shardana. And these days - like several ultra-senior sailors - he is a participating member of the Forget-Me-Knots Choir of kindred spirits.
This remarkable group radiates outwards from the former Viking port of Baldoyle, taking in most of south Fingal, and Howth in all its glorious eccentricities. They’ve decided to hold a celebratory night for the skipper of Shardana with a choral performance in Howth Yacht Club on the evening of Thursday, June 20th - doors open at 7.30pm, and the show starts at 8.0pm.
The word is that it’s already a sell-out “unless you have an inside track to the organisers”. But either way, we thought we’d spread this welcome news about a man who is truly a giant in Irish sailing and voyaging history.
So much meticulous preparation by John Gore-Grimes went into each Arctic voyage with Shardana that the departures could always be festive – this well-crewed departure may look like regatta time, but it is 1989 and they’re going to go very far indeed into the Arctic ice with (left to right) Christine Heath, Bob Fannin Jnr at mast, John Gore-Grimes on helm, Andrew Hegarty, Peter Culleton and Natasha Gore-Grimes. Photo: W M Nixon
