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Displaying items by tag: D class lifeboat

A brand new RNLI inshore lifeboat was officially named 'Bradley and Sonya' during a moving ceremony on Saturday 25th September at Fenit which is located on north side of Tralee Bay on the far south west coast of Ireland. The new D class lifeboat was named in memory of a young couple, Bradley and Sonya Burns from Bangor who were lifeboat volunteers and who died within 10 months of each other in 2006.

Volunteer lifeboat crew with Bangor RNLI raised £34027.48 to fund the lifeboat as a tribute to the young couple.The lifeboat was named by Mrs Mary Connolly and Mrs Eileen Savage, the mothers of Sonya and Bradley, while Sonya's sister Judy Connolly and Bangor lifeboats Senior Helmsman Kyle Marshall delivered the lifeboat into the care of Fenit RNLI. Fourteen members of Bangor lifeboat crew attended the ceremony along with members of the couple's family and lifeboat volunteers from around the coast.

Speaking during the ceremony Judy Connolly said, "Whilst we will never forget Bradley and my sister Sonya it is some comfort to know their legacy lives on, doing what they did so well – working to save lives at sea. We are delighted that this modern new lifeboat will make a real difference to the search and rescue capability in the Kerry area. Tragedy is never far from the sea and I do hope that it will be the instrument to save many lives."

Lifeboat Operations Manager with Fenit RNLI Gerard O'Donnell added, "We are extremely grateful to the crew at Bangor lifeboat station for their generosity in funding the new lifeboat. On behalf of the lifeboat crew in Fenit I offer our sincere thanks. This improved lifeboat will allow our volunteer crews to respond more quickly in emergencies and may well make the difference between life and death for someone in trouble in the water. "

Kyle Marshall, Senior Helmsman on Bangor lifeboat commented "It is a truly fitting honour and legacy to the memory of our dear friends Bradley and Sonya; they gave so much to the RNLI." Kyle went on to say "The generosity and support from the people of Bangor, from others further afield and from within the RNLI family has been overwhelming. So many individual people, groups and companies have selflessly given of their time, effort and money to fund this new Fenit lifeboat. We at RNLI Bangor Lifeboat wish to express our heartfelt thanks to everyone who made the funding of this new lifeboat possible"

The Bradley and Sonya lifeboat will join Fenit's all weather Trent class lifeboat Robert Hywell Jones Williams.

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Mrs. Mary Connolly (Sonya's mother) and Mrs. Eileen Savage (Bradley's mother) name RNLI Fenit lifeboat 'Bradley and Sonya'

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Fenit Lifeboat in action. The RNLI D class lifeboat is 5 metres in length and has a maximum speed of 25 knots. Photos: Valerie O'Sullivan


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Howth Yacht Club information

Howth Yacht Club is the largest members sailing club in Ireland, with over 1,700 members. The club welcomes inquiries about membership - see top of this page for contact details.

Howth Yacht Club (HYC) is 125 years old. It operates from its award-winning building overlooking Howth Harbour that houses office, bar, dining, and changing facilities. Apart from the Clubhouse, HYC has a 250-berth marina, two cranes and a boat storage area. In addition. its moorings in the harbour are serviced by launch.

The Club employs up to 31 staff during the summer and is the largest employer in Howth village and has a turnover of €2.2m.

HYC normally provides an annual programme of club racing on a year-round basis as well as hosting a full calendar of International, National and Regional competitive events. It operates a fleet of two large committee boats, 9 RIBs, 5 J80 Sportboats, a J24 and a variety of sailing dinghies that are available for members and training. The Club is also growing its commercial activities afloat using its QUEST sail and power boat training operation while ashore it hosts a wide range of functions each year, including conferences, weddings, parties and the like.

Howth Yacht Club originated as Howth Sailing Club in 1895. In 1968 Howth Sailing Club combined with Howth Motor Yacht Club, which had operated from the West Pier since 1935, to form Howth Yacht Club. The new clubhouse was opened in 1987 with further extensions carried out and more planned for the future including dredging and expanded marina facilities.

HYC caters for sailors of all ages and run sailing courses throughout the year as part of being an Irish Sailing accredited training facility with its own sailing school.

The club has a fully serviced marina with berthing for 250 yachts and HYC is delighted to be able to welcome visitors to this famous and scenic area of Dublin.

New applications for membership are always welcome

Howth Yacht Club FAQs

Howth Yacht Club is one of the most storied in Ireland — celebrating its 125th anniversary in 2020 — and has an active club sailing and racing scene to rival those of the Dun Laoghaire Waterfront Clubs on the other side of Dublin Bay.

Howth Yacht Club is based at the harbour of Howth, a suburban coastal village in north Co Dublin on the northern side of the Howth Head peninsula. The village is around 13km east-north-east of Dublin city centre and has a population of some 8,200.

Howth Yacht Club was founded as Howth Sailing Club in 1895. Howth Sailing Club later combined with Howth Motor Yacht Club, which had operated from the village’s West Pier since 1935, to form Howth Yacht Club.

The club organises and runs sailing events and courses for members and visitors all throughout the year and has very active keelboat and dinghy racing fleets. In addition, Howth Yacht Club prides itself as being a world-class international sailing event venue and hosts many National, European and World Championships as part of its busy annual sailing schedule.

As of November 2020, the Commodore of the Royal St George Yacht Club is Ian Byrne, with Paddy Judge as Vice-Commodore (Clubhouse and Administration). The club has two Rear-Commodores, Neil Murphy for Sailing and Sara Lacy for Junior Sailing, Training & Development.

Howth Yacht Club says it has one of the largest sailing memberships in Ireland and the UK; an exact number could not be confirmed as of November 2020.

Howth Yacht Club’s burgee is a vertical-banded pennant of red, white and red with a red anchor at its centre. The club’s ensign has a blue-grey field with the Irish tricolour in its top left corner and red anchor towards the bottom right corner.

The club organises and runs sailing events and courses for members and visitors all throughout the year and has very active keelboat and dinghy racing fleets. In addition, Howth Yacht Club prides itself as being a world-class international sailing event venue and hosts many National, European and World Championships as part of its busy annual sailing schedule.

Yes, Howth Yacht Club has an active junior section.

Yes, Howth Yacht Club hosts sailing and powerboat training for adults, juniors and corporate sailing under the Quest Howth brand.

Among its active keelboat and dinghy fleets, Howth Yacht Club is famous for being the home of the world’s oldest one-design racing keelboat class, the Howth Seventeen Footer. This still-thriving class of boat was designed by Walter Herbert Boyd in 1897 to be sailed in the local waters off Howth. The original five ‘gaff-rigged topsail’ boats that came to the harbour in the spring of 1898 are still raced hard from April until November every year along with the other 13 historical boats of this class.

Yes, Howth Yacht Club has a fleet of five J80 keelboats for charter by members for training, racing, organised events and day sailing.

The current modern clubhouse was the product of a design competition that was run in conjunction with the Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland in 1983. The winning design by architects Vincent Fitzgerald and Reg Chandler was built and completed in March 1987. Further extensions have since been made to the building, grounds and its own secure 250-berth marina.

Yes, the Howth Yacht Club clubhouse offers a full bar and lounge, snug bar and coffee bar as well as a 180-seat dining room. Currently, the bar is closed due to Covid-19 restrictions. Catering remains available on weekends, take-home and delivery menus for Saturday night tapas and Sunday lunch.

The Howth Yacht Club office is open weekdays from 9am to 5pm. Contact the club for current restaurant opening hours at [email protected] or phone 01 832 0606.

Yes — when hosting sailing events, club racing, coaching and sailing courses, entertaining guests and running evening entertainment, tuition and talks, the club caters for all sorts of corporate, family and social occasions with a wide range of meeting, event and function rooms. For enquiries contact [email protected] or phone 01 832 2141.

Howth Yacht Club has various categories of membership, each affording the opportunity to avail of all the facilities at one of Ireland’s finest sailing clubs.

No — members can join active crews taking part in club keelboat and open sailing events, not to mention Pay & Sail J80 racing, charter sailing and more.

Fees range from €190 to €885 for ordinary members.
Memberships are renewed annually.

©Afloat 2020