GP's have the largest and most active two person senior dinghy racing fleet in Ireland and we can prove it, by counting active boats and fleets. The GP is a one-design 14ft dinghy, raced by a crew of two. It is a three sailed 'mid-performance' boat which can be sailed safely in a wide range of sea and weather conditions, by moderately competent crew or it can be enjoyed while racing on the edge with spinnaker up in force 5 and 6 winds or tactically gaining inches, in a large championship fleet in a flat calm. It is a forgiving boat, easy to learn in and tolerant of a wide range of crew weight or experience.

There are seven national sailing events organised each year by the Class in Ireland. Each month from May to October there is at least one Open Meeting or Championship with attendances varying from 20 to 60 boats, depending on time of year, venue etc. On the water places are hotly contested by crews of the Gold, Silver and Bronze fleets from all around the country and off the water yarns and tips are just as hotly traded and good humored banter is the currency. Anyone who is even a little competitive soon gets hooked on the circuit and quickly makes new friends right across the spectrum of sailors both male and female. The GP14 has been popular here for 40 years and currently has fleets in 17 clubs around the country, where crews of all ages enjoy racing in brand new or older fibreglass or wooden boats costing from €1000 to €12000. The International Class Association keeps the GP14 up to date by continuous development and improvements, carefully designed not to prejudice older boats, while at the same time improving its appeal and ease of maintenance. Cost of ownership is kept down by a special class insurance scheme and restriction on the prices of major items such as sails and spars.

The GP14 Class Association of Ireland

There are about 400 GP's in Ireland with nearly 200 Association members and a strong organisation that looks after their interests with the help of the International Class Association, based in England. Our association provides a lot of help and guidance for members in areas such as Insurance, boat buying, boat tuning, race training, boat building, clubs where GP14s are sailed, World, National and Area Championships and Open Meetings etc.

In Ireland each year there are seven sailing meetings organised around the country including a Junior and Youth Championship, with entries ranging from 30 to 80 boats, most clubs are represented together with frequent visitors from the UK. There is a high standard of competition in the Class in Ireland, which has produced two World Champions and many ISA Champion of Champions and Irish boats regularly feature at the top of British Championships.

The Gp14 Class association of Ireland is organised on a regional basis by a volunteer committee who give of their time to ensure quality racing for all GP14 sailors. 

(Above details courtesy of the GP14 Class Association of Ireland) 

GP14 Class Association Of Ireland, c/o Tania MacHale, Secretary, Beech Cottage, Dromahair, Co Leitrim. Email: [email protected]

 

There is a space for Irish boating clubs and racing classes to use as their own bulletin board and forum for announcements and discussion. If you want to see a dedicated forum slot for your club or class, click here 

 

Afloat's Graham Smith wrote, on March 2009: "If 2007 had been a good one for Sligo’s Tim Corcoran and Brendan Brogan, 2008 was even better as the Western crew dominated the GP14 class, winning everything in sight.

They won the Leinsters at Blessington and then the Ulsters at home in Sligo before going on to retain their National Championship title with success at Newtownards. These results saw them win the Traveller’s Trophy and they also won the Speed Sail League, one of the class’s special annual awards.

Gerard Healy won the Youth Championship while Curly Morris headed the Master’s Championship.
Four new additions brought the national fleet up to 87 this year, with 60 of them racing regularly at the 17 established GP clubs, while turnouts at open events averaged the mid-20s. National Champions 2009: Tim Corcoran and Brendan Brogan, Sligo YC"

 

Graham Smith wrote in the March 2009 Afloat: "Clontarf and Skerries are the two promoters of the E-Boat and between them have 27 boats which race competitively at both club and open level. That number includes two boats which returned to the fold after restoration following bad damage during a storm two years ago.

Eighteen boats – effectively 70% of the national fleet – contested the National Championships in Clontarf and after six tight races, Pat O’Neill in OctopussE of the host club emerged victorious.

The other open events went to other skippers, with Pat Gilmour winning the Howth Lambay Race and John Denham winning the third Annual Liffey Challenge, an entertaining addition to the class’s racing calendar where the course boundaries are determined by solid quay walls.

The same events will feature in the E-Boat schedule for 2009 with the addition of a separate start at the Dun Laoghaire Regatta.

National Champion: Pat O’Neill, Clontarf Y&BC"

 

Clontarf Yacht & Boat Club – MaryRose Curran, tel 086 384 1936

Skerries Sailing Club – Ray Wall, email:[email protected]

 

Background

The E-Boat, designed by Julian Everitt, went into production in 1976 and to date there are in the region of 250 E-Boats around the world. She was designed to comply with IOR rules and is basically a 22 feet, four berth trailer/sailer. For the full story look at The E-Boat Story.

Specifications

Length Over All (LOA) 6.7 m                             Sail Areas

Length at Water Line (LWL) 5.5 m                      Mainsail 8.5 m²
Beam 2.8 m                                                  No.1 Genoa 15.6 m²
Draught (Keel locked down) 1.4 m                      No.2 Genoa 12 m²
Draught (Keel fully retracted) 0.25 m                  No.3 Jib 7.4 m²
Displacement 975 kgs                                      No.4 Storm Jib 2.5 m²
Ballast 318 kgs                                               Spinnaker 32 m²

The E Boat Class Association currently has a membership of around 100 worldwide, but with the majority of members living in and sailing around Great Britain, Ireland, The Netherlands and Denmark.

(Above information courtesy of the International E-Boat Class Association)

International E-Boat Class Association (UK) 

There is a space for Irish boating clubs and racing classes to use as their own bulletin board and forum for announcements and discussion. If you want to see a dedicated forum slot for your club or class, click here

The historic Water Wags are the most popular senior class of two man dinghy in Dun Laoghaire or elsewhere in Ireland.

Unlike other dinghy classes in Dun Laoghaire which sail under the burgee of the Dublin Bay Sailing Club on Tuesdays and Sundays, the Water Wags sail on Wednesdays under the burgee of their own club, The Water Wag Club, which was founded in 1887.

Each Wednesday evening from April till mid-September, (weather permitting) twenty of more of these 14'-3" long open wooden dinghies compete in a race within the shelter of Dun Laoghaire harbour.

The class offers a lifestyle, with regular social events, weekends away from Dun Laoghaire in venues such as Clew Bay, Glandore, or the River Shannon.

Who competes in the Water Wag races?
There is no age limit, although most competitors are between the ages of 25 and 75.

Although many boats are sailed by husbands and wives, there are some which are steered by wives and crewed by husbands.

Newly built boats are available on about 4 months delivery, and used boats are available from the Water Wag Club

Dublin Bay Dragon Fleet – 2009 Officers
Admiral – Martin Byrne
Hon. Secretary – Tim Pearson
Record Keeper – Daniel Murphy
Hon. Treasurer – Peter Bowring

Irish Dragon Association c/o Tim Pearson, Secretary, 44 Orpen Green, Stillorgan Grove, Blackrock, Co. Dublin. Tel: 01 283 2423, email: [email protected]

There is a space for Irish boating clubs and racing classes to use as their own bulletin board and forum for announcements and discussion. Click here for all the latest Dragon News.

 

Afloat's Graham Smith wrote, in the March 2009 issue: "Sorenson (from Kinsale) won the Easterns but was even more impressive in winning the Italian Nationals in San Remo, while O’Donoghue won the Edinburgh Cup and was fourth and ninth at two major French events. Not surprisingly, he won the Class’s Travellers’ Trophy for his exploits abroad.

Back home, the Royal St George’s Martin Byrne had a memorable season, winning the Southerns in Kinsale and then becoming Irish Champion from a 16-strong fleet in Dun Laoghaire. Based on combined results, however, the defending champion Neil Hegarty tops the class rankings for the year.

The Dragon’s national fleet numbers remain static, but at a very healthy 42, and turnouts at open events is confidently expected to return to previous highs in the year ahead. National Champion 2009: Martin Byrne, Royal St George YC"
 

About the The Dragon

The Dragon was designed by Johan Anker in 1929. The original design had two berths and was ideally suited for cruising in his home waters of Norway. The boat quickly attracted owners and within ten years it had spread all over Europe.

In 1937 the Gold Cup was presented to the class by the Clyde Yacht Club Association. This quickly became one of the principal championships in the class and a prestigious trophy in the world of competitive yachting.

Origin of the Name

Gunter Ahlers writes: In the beginning boats were built by the designer's yard, Anker and Jensen, as a 'cheap' scerry cruiser for young people.

When the design was submitted to the then IYRU (now ISAF) he or someone else translated his name 'Anker' into Norwegian language 'Draggen' and the English, being reluctant to speak other languages, made out of 'Draggen', 'Dragon', probably thinking that this Norwegian did not even know how to spell Dragon.

This is how this Class came to its name, so I was told years ago. If it is not quite true, it comes close to being true and is a good story anyhow... see also Early Dragon History, an informal posting on the IDA Forum

After the excitement of the World Championships on Dublin Bay the previous year, 2008 could have been something of an anti-climax for the Dragons, yet the elegant one-design still produced fleets of 18 or so for its various championship events and Irish performances overseas were highly commendable, particularly by Don O’Donoghue and Olaf Sorenson.

 

Aims of the IDA

To further the interests of the International Dragon Class in all countries where Dragons are sailed and to introduce the Class to new countries.

To be responsible for the administration of the class rules and coordinating proposals for rule amendments for consideration by the International Sailing Federation (ISAF).

To ensure that the class retains its "International" status by complying with the criteria adopted by the ISAF.

To co-ordinate and select venues for the following International Championships: 1 World Championships; 2 European Championships; and 3 Gold Cups

To produce regular Yearbooks containing information about the Class and the activities of the IDA for distribution to all Dragon sailors throughout the world (to be distributed by National Dragon Associations).
General Meetings

The Annual General Meeting shall take place in October or November on a date, which precedes the annual meeting of the ISAF. Unless otherwise agreed at the preceding Annual General Meeting, the meeting shall take place in London.

(The above information courtesy of the International Dragon Association)

International Dragon Association

 

Graham Smith wrote, in the March 2009 issue of Afloat: "The RS stable was further enhanced by the arrival of the RS Elite keelboat class on Belfast Lough in 2006 and in less than two years, it has grown to 13 boats with five more expected in the Lough for 2009. Interest has been expressed in Cork, Dublin and Galway so 2009 may prove to be a turning point for the Elite.

The fact that the European Championships are being hosted by Royal North of Ireland YC at Cultra next June is the carrot to encourage expansion and the class promoters will no doubt be highly active over the winter months to attract more sailors to its fleet.

Simon Brien of Dragon, Squib, etc., fame has already been bitten by the bug and duly won the first ever Elite Nationals in the appropriately named ‘Athelites’. Clubmate Jeff Ralston won the inaugural Northerns in a nine-strong fleet. National Champion: Simon Brien, RNIYC."

RS Elite Ireland, c/o Gerry Reid, President, Royal North of Ireland Yacht Club, 7 Seafront Road, Cultra, Holywood BT18 0BB, N. Ireland. Tel:0044 777 484 9998, email: [email protected]

 

 

Preview ~ Cork Week 2006

(reprinted from Afloat June/July 2006)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you’re one of the many Irish sailors who thinks Cork Week is basically ‘The Solent on tour’, check out the 2006 entry list on www.corkweek.com and you will see that there is a strong domestic sailing following for what is the country's biggest and best known regatta.

A GBR armada, however, is already preparing to colonise Crosshaven for a week of fun from July 15th and this year there may be more than ever, thanks to a charity sail from England.

In May organisers said they may have to consider capping the number of entries for the regatta due to pressure of space in Crosshaven, said Chairman Ian Venner.

“Our new Online Entry system means that we can monitor the size of the entries along with the number of boats. Our priority is to create the best possible conditions for the regatta. We want people to enjoy competitive racing but we also want to keep the unique spirit of our regatta intact.”

Thankfully this did not have to happen and all 450 entries received so far have been accomodated. This is a drop off in numbers from 2004 with 500 boats, largely because of a smaller number of UK SB3s attending and also a smaller number of UK Sigma 38s.

Virgin Money has launched the newest offshore ocean race on the sailing calendar by announcing the Big V Race where participating crews are encouraged to raise sponsorship in aid of the Everyman Cancer Campaign. Selected as a Cork Week feeder race, it will set off from its main start location, Portsmouth, on July 10th, and is open to all classes.

BBC TV presenter, Ben Fogle, who, along with Olympic gold medallist James Cracknell, was narrowly beaten into third place in the Atlantic Rowing Race, has signed up to do the Big V Sail.

Dee Cafferi’s team have also signed up and Dee has agreed to present the prize giving for the race. Details, including race regulations, can be found at http://uk.virginmoney.com/cancer-cover/bigvevents/sail/

Heading up the Irish challenge in what is hoped will be a successful outcome from the Commodore's Cup, Colm Barrington has confirmed that he will be at Cork Week in his new Ker 50, Magic Glove. It will be Gloves first event in Ireland.

UK IRC Class champions Chieftain (IRC SuperZero), Tiamat (IRC0), Mariners Cove (IRC1) and Elusive (IRC3) along with Antix and Checkmate (2nd/3rd IRC2) have all confirmed their entries for Cork Week 2006.

This represents the first major Irish regatta for some of the Irish boats, such as Chieftain and Mariner’s Cove.

Richard Matthews of Oyster Marine, a regular competitor since 1992, has also entered his Oyster 72, Oystercatcher XXVIII.

Class Zero is shaping up to be a great class for racing boats of this size with Benny Kelly also confirming his TP52 Panthera for Crosshaven. On the opposite end of the scale, the SB3 Class should have great racing with about 30/40 boats expected.

Organisers are beaming as the event’s international profile continues to grow with boats from all over the world expected. This year’s regatta has attracted first time entries from the Philippines, South Africa, Italy and Sweden.

Cork Week 2008 Preview

380 boats and a fleet packed with quality

 (reprinted from Afloat June/July 2008)

Markham Nolan previews ACCBank Cork Week that has announced a new Cup for the amateur cruiser-racer

It’s now 30 years since the concept of Cork Week was born. In 1978 Royal Cork started the tradition of a biennial regatta with just 50 enthusiastic boats and a smattering of volunteers. Little did they know what they had started. The regatta gained momentum, and ten years later the club had a major event with a cult sailing following on its hands. Cork Week had arrived.

At that stage, Cork Week was a welcome antidote to the hot-shot racing that pitted the disgruntled amateur against the pro. No pros were allowed at Cork Week, a Corinthian ethic reiterated this year with a new trophy for the amateur cruiser-racer, the Corinthian Cup supplied by the Sisk Group. Boats in IRC Class Zero, in which professional sailors are allowed, are eligible if they have a maximum of one Group 3 classified sailor on board.

However, the pros are out there, in the one-design classes and in the big boats, and part of the experience of something like Cork Week is racing at an event which can still attract top names in yacht racing. Racing against the best is an education, and there’s always the chance that you’ll rub shoulders at the bar, and perhaps learn a trick or two from a friendly pro over a pint.

Since those early days, then, Cork Week has become something of a sailing must-see. It’s a rite of passage, providing milestones every other year by which Irish sailing is measured. Do you remember your first Cork Week? Of course you do. You still tell the stories. The memory will be blurry, sunburnt and caked in salt, but you’ll remember it – for many reasons.

There’s the fact that Crosshaven, geographically, was never meant by God to see this much action. The narrow tidal estuary has overcome its limitations through innovation, expansion and pure can-do moxy to accommodate all-comers. As craft of every conceivable shape and size funnel into the harbour at the end of the racing day, you could practically walk from shore to shore without getting your feet wet, using the moving boats as stepping stones.

There’s the fact that, for plenty of us, this is, undoubtedly, the biggest and best event available.

Until recently, nothing came close to Cork Week for sheer volume, with several acres of canvas hoisted by thousands of competitors every day, and gallons of liquid refreshment sluiced through bodies every evening. It has been Ireland’s yacht racing behemoth for decades, and the numbers, when all is said and done, are mind-boggling. There’s the craic, the unquantifiable charisma that is a factor of place, people and shared experience.

And then there’s the racing. Outside the heads the fleets go their separate ways in the morning, returning to the marina, bar and bandstand together at the end of the day. The middle part of the day is filled with the reason most go to Cork – a mix of courses, conditions, classes and competition that is unsurpassed.

The secret, as always, is in the successful mix of onshore and offshore pleasures. The tent city provides as many memories as do the racecourses, and with 10,000 visitors through the gates in any given year, its status as one of Ireland’s biggest sporting events is assured. Landlubber delights this year include several top music acts, with Paddy Casey and Aslan just two of the big names gracing the tent city in ’08.

But what of the racing at ACC Bank Cork Week, the 2008 edition, which is likely to be as memorable as any other? Entries have already reached a respectable 380, down from the heady, chaotic days of 600 boats and more, but it’s a fleet packed with quality. Again, it’ll be a spectacle like no other at the top end of the ratings, where the big money and the pros live.

For those who enjoy the skyscraper effect of superyachts, as you crane your neck upwards to take in their monstrous rigs, there are a handful of over-60s, including the awesome STP 65 Moneypenny, owned by San Franciscan Jim Schwarz, and the enormous 90-foot Reichel Pugh, Rambler, one of two maxis which featured in last year’s Fastnet Race.

However, it’s the slightly smaller TP52s that have the most potential for high-speed, close quarters cut-and-thrust racing. The six one-design carbon sleds (or as close as dammit to one-design), include Colm Barrington’s Flash Glove. The fleet will line out off Roches Point and those following form will be offering slim odds on Benny Kelly’s Panthera, which has stolen a clutch of victories around England’s south coast already this year.

Ten Farr 45s form another high-performance one-design category within IRC class Zero, as well as, further down the ratings, ten X332s, a dozen Beneteau 31.7s and more than two dozen J109s, which will share guns for some toe-to-toe action in their Irish Championships.

And among the cruiser-racers, the beating heart of the event, you’ll find a slew of top club racers facing off against crews returned from the Commodore’s Cup.
 
The newly-swelled ranks of the SB3 class are expected to number into the forties, with entries coming from as far afield as Australia.

For the slightly more sedate, yet no less competitive, forty-something entries flesh out the increasingly popular white sails gentleman’s class.

All that remains is to get thee to the Rebel County for another edition of Ireland’s premier regatta. It’s all there once again – everything that makes the week as special as it is. The line-up is solid. The stage is set. Cork it.  
 

 

The Admiral's View

Describing himself as a ‘reluctant admiral’ when it comes to telling his story, Mike MacCarthy started sailing in dinghies at the Royal Cork Yacht Club at about nine or ten years of age. He’s now been involved for 30-odd years having worked up to admiral, a position he will fill for the next 18 months having started in the position in January 2008.

Enjoying his tenure, looking forward to Cork Week and commenting on what it means to be admiral, MacCarthy maintains that, “the club here is quite large and there are a number of different sections: racing, dinghies, cruising, and motor-boating, and each group has their own social element. I have to try and represent every one of these and not just the club itself, which makes the job time-consuming, yet very interesting”.

Putting a slight sail to his own story, MacCarthy acknowledges “I’m from the racing fraternity and the name of my boat is Checkmate – a family association – which is a racing cruiser, and I enjoy racing in West Cork and go to Dublin on a regular basis, and I’ve been to Dún Laoghaire Week several times”.

If the Royal Cork Yacht Club had the ear of Government, MacCarthy would like to see “a better system to allow the club develop its facilities, both land- and water-based. For instance, if I had a €5 million donation tomorrow, I wouldn’t be able to build a marina. Or a slipway. The planning regulations and the red-tape between The Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, valuation departments and county councils (even though Cork County Council has been very good to us and has been very understanding) is a nightmare. We have a wish list of a number of projects we’d like to do including extending our marina, putting in a crane, and developing an extra slipway. However, with all the different departments to negotiate with, it’s incredibly difficult to improve the quality of the club.”

 
 

2012 will mark the 32nd anniversary of Ireland's premier off-shore sailing event, the Round Ireland Yacht Race, organised by Wicklow Sailing Club in association with RORC.

For the first time the biennial Round Ireland Race counts for the same points as the Fastnet race in the Royal Ocean Racing Club events (RORC). This is a huge boost for Wicklow Sailing Club Wicklow's Chairman of the event, Dennis Noonan expects a strong Irish turnout for the event in June.

The Round Ireland Yacht Race will depart from Wicklow Bay at 12 noon on Sunday 24th June 2012, leaving Ireland and all its islands to starboard. It is the longest race in the Royal Ocean Racing Club calendar, comparable to similar Offshore Races such as the Fastnet, Malta Middle Sea, Sydney-Hobart and China Sea races. The first race took place in 1980 with only thirteen boats. Since then, in the biennial race, the fleet has grown steadily, and some 30 to 40 yachts are expected to be at the start line in 2012.

Click this link for all the latest Round Ireland Sailing News

Sailing around Ireland poses many challenges for boats and crew, with open ocean on the south and west coasts, tidal challenges on north and east coasts apart from all the off lying rocks and sandbanks to keep navigators on their toes and not forgetting the vagaries of the Atlantic weather systems. This is very much a sailors' race but armchair spectators can follow the race on their computers, thanks to modern race tracker technology.

A Round Ireland Sail Fest (Thur 21 – Sun 24 June) will complement the race preparations and add a welcome level of fun and entertainment always provided for those travelling to Wicklow for the race start.

2010 Race

There are four classes in IRC in which boats and their crews can compete, including a Classic Class for the Michael Jones Trophy, classes for Sigma, ISORA, IRM, a Team Prize. 2004 saw the launch of the Two-Handed Class which has introduced a new level of competition for the more extreme sailor. In the past, boats competing have ranged from an 84-footer former 'Round the World' maxi to club boats one third the size, and all shades in between.

2006 saw the largest yacht yet to partake – Konica Minolta Zana, a 30m (98') racing machine from New Zealand, but light winds scuppered her chances of breaking the record or winning the race.

Sunday the 20th of June 2010 will be the 30th anniversary of the First Round Ireland.

There are very few human emotions left untouched by participation in the Round Ireland Race. Elation, fear, despair, and joy – they're the obvious ones. But as well there's love – love of our country and it's extraordinary coastline. Sailing the 704-mile course is an expression of that profound feeling.

Even the most hardened racer returns from the campaign emotionally enriched. But of course, as the pre-start manoeuvring builds up off the Wicklow pierheads, it's the sporting challenge of the race which is uppermost. The fine thoughts can come later for, at the start, everything is aimed at coping with the sailing, navigational and technical problems which this great race inevitable involves.

Seven-hundred-and-four miles may not seem much at first sight, but think of what it contains when its the shortest distance round Ireland and her islands. Four very different coastlines have to be negotiated as well as as a host of headlands, rocks and sandbanks.

And then there's the tides – as the ebb sluices away from Wicklow down past the banks of the southeast, that's only the beginning of it.

For immediately you're in the battle to carry that one ebb all the way south, past the Tuskar and out past the Coningbeg until you reach the slacker tides off the Waterford coast.

Getting that far might be cause for relaxation, but in the 1990 race the fleet had a beat along the supposedly gentler south coast into a near gale which sorted them out in a big way with dismastings and other damage.

At both the Old Head of Kinsale and Ireland's 'land's end' of Mizen Head, tides again become significant, while along the southwstern seaboard there's another unexpected hazard. The coastline is so spectacularly beautiful, with dramatic off-lying rock giants such as the Bull and the Skelligs, that crews can be awed and distracted by it all.

At each outcrop of the Irish land is approached, race navigation can more accurately be described as pilotage. Cutting the corners as closely as possible can save valuable time, but cutting the corners too close can result in disaster. The sheer scale of the corners you're rounding naturally inspires respect – wherever else he or she may sail afterards, few navigators will ever forget rounding the most westerly point of the race – the Great Foze Rock out beyond the Blaskets.

Because the race is outside every rock and islet, special difficulties arise at two specific points. At both Black Rock in Mayo and the most northerly point, Inishtrahull off Donegal, the safest water is actually inside the rocks in question. Thus they are marked by lighthouses which are meant to guide you through the clearer inside passages. But the rules say you take the hazardous route outside. It can be difficult on a dark and stormy night, to say the least, but such challenges are what the Round Ireland Race is all about.

And there's no rest on the open water stretches such as those between the Blaskets and Slyne Head, or from Eagle Island to Tory. There can be surprising variations in wind strength and direction crossing these great bays, even over short distances, and when it's a beat – as it was in 1986 up the west coast – the right tactical decisions paid enormous dividends.

Off the Donegal coast there's the added problem of salmon nets. Whether they're legal or not is beside the point: they're there and you have to deal with them and their owners as best you can.

Once the extraordinary island of Tory is astern, newcomers to the race tend to relax a bit, thinking that open water is a thing of the past, and rough sailing with it. Not a bit of it. For as you near Inishtrahull, the tides strengthen rapidly and all the way from Inishtrahull through the narrow seas of the North Channel until the South Rock is reached, if wind over tide occurs then you're in very rough water indeed, particularly off Rathlin Island.

It would be understandable to ease off a little once the South Rock is passed. After all, you're on the home straight, this is the griendly old Irish Sea, and there's only a hundred easy miles to the finish.

The race has been lost by such an attitude. never is it more necessary to keep up the pressure. And, as you get into strong tides from Rockabill southward, hard-gained leads which have been built up over 650 miles can simply evaporate in flukey winds and foul tides.

So it is never over until you've passed the orange buoy off the Wicklow pierheads. And after that, it's only the actual sailing which is over.

The memories become enriched as time passes, and even the parites could be said to go on until well into the autumn, when the sponsors host the prize-giving. If you want to experience the genuine camaraderie of sailing folk, then this is one event not to be missed.

 

 

Ready for Ireland (reprinted from the May 2004 issue of Afloat)

The Round Ireland is not for the faint-hearted nor the unprepared. David Nixon describes the battle to get a competitive boat to the start line

Above: Spirit will add spice to the BMW Round Ireland 2004 in Irish waters thanks to a Howth YC campaign. Photo Tim Wright

My last attempt to skipper a Round Ireland was in 1996 when, as a group of insane teenagers, we thought it would be a great idea to compile a Youth Challenge for the race. I’m happy to say we didn’t see it through, because I’m sure that if we had pursued that dream, none of us would have lived to tell the tale. I have learned since that offshore sailing is not quite as easy as it seems.

Last August, I got the call from Fred and Jim, who were in Plymouth having just finished the Fastnet Race. They urged me to put pen to paper for a significant Round Ireland entry. I began a proposal that day and now it’s finally beginning to come to fruition. The pleasant part of planning has been the support we have enjoyed. It has been really positive and uplifting for me and the team. It hasn’t all been easy but we are determined to see it through to the finish. Wicklow here we come!

Above: Lift off – At the launch of Howth's Round Ireland campaign on the GUL stand at the London Boat Show are (left to right) Spirit's owner Hamish Oliphant, Irish Olympian Tom McWilliam, Veteran Jim Barden, Ireland's Round the World Skipper Joe English, O2's Round Ireland entry Skipper David Nixon, Fred Connolly and David Howard. Photo: Mark Jardine

I missed the last Round Ireland. While it was pleasant getting into a warm and comfortable bed on the night of the start, a little drunk, I couldn’t help but feel disappointed I wasn’t taking part. The Round Ireland is a magical race, I can’t quite say why, but it is magic. I guess with so many corners to turn and fabulous landmarks to pass, you can’t help but enjoy it.

However, my favourite part of the Round Ireland is the finish, something I think I share with all other sailors. I remember on board Cracklin’ in 98, we were off Rathlin and Jeep Cherokee had finished. How we envied them – pints and steaks all round in Wicklow Sailing Club. At that stage I realised we needed a faster boat.

Drawing up my current plan, I asked myself whether I could see it through. Happily I was reassured by a number of people around me, namely Jimmy Barden, Fred Connolly and Davie Howard. My brother was also very encouraging which was important as he has nothing to do with sailing – he just knew I’d do it.

My other question was whether I could actually skipper a substantial team racing a high performance racing machine. That can only be answered during the race, but my team believe I can and, with their support, anything is possible. I’m 26, and while my knowledge and experience may be somewhat limited, it’s the team that makes a crew and the attitude and approach of that crew that can bring the boat to victory.

The plan was simple from the start; procure the best resources available to give us the best possible chance to win the race and beat the record. Fundamentally that meant attaining sound and substantial sponsorship – not an easy task. It then meant finding the most suitable boat available and recruiting an appropriate pro-am crew. Pros were a must, but so too were amateurs since that’s a major feature of the campaign.

Ireland has a wealth of amateur sailors with excellent skills, knowledge and experience. The challenge, I believe, is to develop this to compete on the international scene. Having competed in the 2002 Commodores’ Cup, I feel there is a gulf between Ireland’s available resources and that required to compete at the highest level.

I had the opportunity to learn about the level of ability among professional ranks in 1998 when Roy Dickson kindly sent me off with Cracklin’ to race with a fully professional team on Barlo Plastics. We won, and it taught me a lot.

As an amateur, I feel the best way to improve my own ability is to race with professionals any chance I get. This pro-am mix is the philosophy of the modern day Commodores’ Cup, but it costs to live it. Commercial support in the form of sponsorship is essential to pay the bills.

So our Round Ireland project has longer term relevance. It provides us with training in two very important ways – sponsorship attainment and learning from professionals. 

So how did we do it? Well, as with most things, there has been an element of luck. I called a colleague to help me with the proposal document and he liked the concept, so O2 got involved. Davie Howard has the GUL agency in his ProRig store so he put me in touch there and they also liked the plan. A couple of other sponsors have come on board since.

In the meantime we were looking for a boat, a search which proved quite difficult. The web and contacts are great but amazingly there are not that many good offshore boats available for charter. In the end we were very fortunate to get in touch with Pure Sailing, a Plymouth-based charter company with a VO 60, (Tyco from the last Volvo Ocean Race). Hamish Oliphant, the owner, was very interested by our proposal and signed up to the campaign.

Left: The big one – A Volvo 60 will Race round Ireland under a Howth flag. Photo: Tim Wright

Finally the crew. We had a long list of our own guys that we wanted on the team, but it was essential to put together the right team. Jim Barden had the tough job of final selection. We got in touch with Tom McWilliam who agreed to sail with us and brought in Steve Hayles and Guy Salter, both of whom had raced on Tyco for the VOR. I also asked Joe English and Davie Harte onto the team. The owner brings three, taking the total number of pros to eight. We will compliment this with ten amateurs, most of whom would have sailed aboard Cracklin’ Rosie with Jim and I.

Time has flown in development of this campaign. Before we know it we’ll be lining up at the start in Wicklow. I can’t wait. The competition will be great, the race will be excellent. Even better, the finish in Wicklow awaits with pints and steaks all round. That’s what it’s all about! 

 

Royal Cork stake early claim

Five of the nine entries received so far for the June 26 start of the BMW Round Ireland race are from Royal Cork in a fleet that Wicklow organisers ultimately expect to swell three-fold by the entry deadline of May 24.

The largest entry continues to be the Volvo 60 Spirit (David Nixon, Howth) but there are other big boats on the horizon according to organiser Denis Noonan.

A single entry has been received in the new two-handed class and it comes from the Isle of Man Yacht Club in the form of Andrew Bell's J105 sloop, Moontiger. 

  

Dingle pair to take on Ireland

Co-skippers Aodhán Fitzgerald from Dingle and Frenchman Yannick Lemonnier will go head-to-head with fully crewed entries in the 704-mile Round Ireland race this year.

The pair aim to compete both in the two-handed class of the race as well as the overall fully-crewed IRC category.

Both co-skippers have impressive sailing credentials. Lemonnier competed in the Figaro single handed racing events for five years before he moved to Ireland in 2001. He has also competed in several two-handed transatlantic races as well as several Tour de France a Voile series.

Fitzgerald has been active in the Irish offshore racing scene for ten years, campaigning on the well-travelled GK 34 Joggernaut for the past eight years. Aodhan has competed in four Round Ireland races and two Fastnet races. Successes include an overall win in the 1999 Dún Laoghaire to Dingle race.

The team’s longer term ambitions include competing in next year’s Fastnet Race (two handed division) as a warm-up for the two handed transatlantic AG2R race in 2006. Further details can be found on the team’s website www.dinglesailing.com

COPYRIGHT AFLOAT 2004 

 

Time out, round 13 (reprinted from the July 2004 issue of Afloat)

 A showdown not witnessed in ten years is on the cards for the BMW Round Ireland Race as a surge of interest has seen a 60 per cent jump in entries from five countries for the 704-mile race

Above: With variable displacement, an IRC rating of 1.425, a canting keel and powerful sailplan French entry Solune’s performance is designed to match a Volvo upwind and an Open 60 offwind 

Looking back over the past decade or more, it is clear that the only thing predictable about the Round Ireland race – and we are about to embark on the 13th – is it’s unpredictability. So will the 13th staging of Ireland’s classic offshore race be unlucky for some? Almost certainly, yes.

 

With a little over a week remaining before the start of the 704-mile BMW Round Ireland Race, entries have exceeded organisers' expectations and presently stand at 47 boats from five countries with further late entries tipping the 50 mark.

The non-stop race for monohull yachts gets underway at 14.00 hrs on Saturday June 26th 2004 from Wicklow Sailing Club and the first boats will be expected to finish just three days later following their southabout circumnavigation.

Left: Denis Noonan all set for his third and final Round Ireland as race organiser 

 Commenting on the entry, Race Director Denis Noonan said: "The response has been very encouraging as we had initially hoped that we might reach 40 boats. The introduction of a two-handed class is a factor and BMW’s sponsorship has helped raise the profile of the race considerably." 

 

French giant aims to crush Irish Spirit

 A war of words has broken out between the main contenders for this year’s Round Ireland title, as the fleet of 50 boats makes final preparations for the event.

Paris-based financier Jean Pierre Chomett has thrown down the gauntlet to main rival David Nixon by declaring that he has entered the record-breaking 60-footer Solune not only to win on the water but also to smash the race record.

Six years ago, Colm Barrington in Jeep Cherokee set a mark of three days, four hours and 23 minutes for the 704-mile course, (see 'Records...' below) but Chomett believes a sub-three-day time is possible.

In setting the Round Britain and Ireland record in May, Solune reached top speeds of 26 knots in short surf, but also managed to average 22 knots for long periods of the voyage. It’s all weather dependent, of course, but Chomett believes the new design – a cross between a Volvo and open 60 design – has a better upwind performance than the Volvo 60 in both light and strong winds, a key sailing angle in the Round Ireland event where up to half the race can be spent on that point of sailing.

Above: The 2002 fleet departs Wicklow. Two years later the fleet has doubled in size and stature

However, 02 Team Spirit skipper David Nixon (26), who has chartered the Volvo 60 from the UK for the event, has dismissed the performance boasts of the French prototype. "As long as there’s breeze, we'll be okay," said the Howth skipper.

Built by the same team that created the Alinghi America's cup hulls, Solune broke the Round Britain and Ireland record by more than three days and 15 hours ahead of the previous record, a month ago. It was during that trip off the Irish west coast that Chomett made up his mind to return for a second record-breaking attempt.

There’s little doubt that the La Rochelle entry is up to the job. The broad-beamed boat comes complete with powerful gennaker, twin rudders and a canting keel. For the circumnavigation, Chomett will have Playstation's weather router and navigator Chris Tibbs of Cowes on board.

A third big boat for the fleet will be Dutch entry Second Love, a Standfast 64 that’s unlikely to prove a significant threat to the other pair as this boat is a Fast Cruiser design and lacks the performance advantages of stripped out interiors and lightweight equipment.

Nevertheless, this race is not about line honours or even a new course record – both are not part of the official event programme. The overall win is based on corrected handicap time that may yet give the Dutch boat an advantage.

  

Records

Records show how that between 1980s first race and Colm Barrington’s 1998 current record run that nearly 60 hours have been shaved off the circuit time. The race is on to be first round Ireland in under three days.

135:02:27       1980    Force ten-sion    J.S. Morris, Pwhelli
99:45:25        1982    Moonduster        Denis Doyle, RCYC
88:15:43        1984    Moonduster        Denis Doyle, RCYC
84:56:06        1990    Rothmans          Lawrie Smith, Royal Thames
76: 23:57       1998    Jeep Cherokee    Colm Barrington, RIYC

 

Small may yet be beautiful

It’s all very well two big boats vying for the win on the water but as race followers know well the overall prize on corrected time typically only becomes clear once the small boats are back in Wicklow. Challenging the big boats for the race win in 2004 falls to a host of smart contenders of widely varying size; the recent light-airs RORC Cervantes Trophy Race in class zero featured three Round Ireland entries that illustrate this variety.

 

Royal Cork’s Eric Lisson (third from right) celebrates with the Cavatina crew after the 2002 race

Piet Vroon's 52-foot Tonnerre de Breskens, the Dutch winner of the 2001 Rolex Fastnet Race, took one hour off Anthony Richard's Minnie the Moocher, a Kerr 11.3 which in turn was 36 minutes ahead of Second Love after 110-miles of racing. For the Round Ireland, a large gap between the first, big boat finishers and the rest of the fleet finishing at Wicklow seems unlikely.

The list of handicap contenders must include another Jason Kerr design that has consistently proven problematic for bigger rivals and now has its sights set on this classic offshore course – Voodoo Chile, to be known as Calyx Voice & Data under Eamon Crosbie and his regular team from the National YC. As one of the smallest boats in the race, line honours is not an option for this 32-footer.

But Crosbie won't be the only smaller boat giving the big boys palpitations as they wait out the finishers at Wicklow Sailing Club. Eric Lisson and his Granada 38 Cavatina will be defending the 2002 title victory and, as the second-last finisher two years ago, nobody will be counting results on the basis of outside chances again.

Less predictable will be the new innovation for the 2004 race – a two-handed class that has attracted at least six entries. This will be a particularly tough challenge for some boats that range in size from 30 to 45 feet. One of the first entries came from Dingle pair Aodhan Fitzgerald and Yannick Lemonnier (see May Afloat), who have chartered Figaro Beneteau number 32, which has just arrived back from St Barths after completing the AG2R transatlantic. Entries in this class appear very competitive, with English interest centred on Thunder 2, a former winner of Cork Week class 0.

Left: Giant killer – Last time round in 2002, the Cavatina win came as such a shock that there was not even a picture of the boat available. The press had to make do with a shot of the comparatively petit and elderly Granada 38 footer on her moorings in the Curabinny river!

Overall, the revival in fortunes for the Round Ireland is to be welcomed and the increasing turnout is a testimony to the basic attraction of the race. The sheer unpredictability of the course, which fails to guarantee outright victory to the all-out racers, acts as a balance for the club crew and keeps the event within its original ethos.

Moreover, while just a handful of prizes are up for grabs, simply completing this challenging but achievable course places the event as a ‘must do’ for many crews and acts as an incentive to continue racing, often against the odds. For that reason alone, the Round Ireland has proven that reports of the death of offshore racing are very much exaggerated.  

COPYRIGHT AFLOAT 2004

 

 

Here we go – Round 14 (reprinted from the June/July 2006 issue of Afloat)

The 100-foot Kiwi Pot-Hunter has arrived in search of a record. Afloat previews a 2006 Round Ireland fleet that has plenty of spice

At 4pm on July the 1st the BMW Round Ireland Yacht Race will set off from Wicklow Sailing Club. This year will be the 14th race to date and Wicklow Sailing Club officials are saying it will be one of the best and entries are still coming in well after the entry deadline so 2004’s 49-boat fleet could well be matched.
 
Race Organiser Denis Noonan had 41 entries as Afloat went to press (on June 16th) but is confident this figure should reach ‘in the region of the fifty mark’ as the big day draws near.
 
Either way, any deficiency in numbers is more than made up for in variety and this year Wicklow welcomes it's largest entry to date.

Owned by Stewart Thwaites, the record breaking yacht, 'Konica Minolta Zana' is a 30m super maxi yacht. She is due in Dublin in June with the intention of adding a Round Ireland Race record to an already formidable list of record times which she holds. The current record of 76hrs, 23 minutes and 57 seconds was set by Colm Barrington in Jeep Cherokee in 1998.

This will be the only competitive racing that the New Zealand yacht – sponsored by Lakeshore Funds – will participate in before heading down to the Mediterranean to compete in a number of events that include the Middle Sea race as well as the Maxi World Cup.

It was hoped that she could compete in Cork Week also, but this plan was scuppered by time constraints.

Konica Minolta Zana currently holds race records for the HSBC Coastal Classic Race, the Auckland to Suva race and the Auckland to Noumea race, as well as a string of top finishing positions in the Sydney Hobart.

Aboard Konica Minolta Zana will be a plethora of top class international sailors including Gavin Brady (watch captain), multiple world champion, Americas Cup and Volvo sailor, Steve Hayles, (navigator) ex-Oracle and with four Whitbread/Volvo races under his belt,  Rodney Keenan (watch captain) ex-Volvo, etc., Kip Stone, first in Open 50s single handed yachts. 

Among her crew will be Martin Hannon, originally from Newtownards who now lives in New Zealand. Adding a bit of local knowledge to the team will be GP champion Ruan O'Tiarnaigh.

However, size does not always matter in a race of this magnitude, with past winners including Calyx Voice & Data, Imp, and Cavatina all weighting-in at 40 foot and under.

One of the smallest boats in the fleet, Eamon Crosbie’s 32 footer Voodoo Chile (last time known as Calyx Voice & Data) is back racing as Teng Tools to retain his title.

Ireland West Tourism and Ireland West Airport Knock have joined in sponsoring an entry.

Aodhán Fitzgerald, winner of the 2004 Round Ireland two-handed class with Yannick Lemonnier, heads the twelve strong Team Ireland West, drawn from the membership of Galway Bay Sailing Club. They will be sailing a race-optimised Beneteau 40.7 yacht, chartered specially for the event, under the name ‘Ireland's West’. Well-known Galway sailor Barry Heskin will be watch leader, while Galway man Noel Butler, a former Laser 2 World Champion and helm of the winning boat in Class 1 at the UK's Cowes week last year, will be principal helmsman.

Another west coast entry are upping the ante with the charter of a Volvo 60. The group, known as the Spirit of Kilrush team, will have Simon McGibney among its crew. They have completed a number of training sessions on the boat in Cowes.

J.P. Chomette, on board Solune who holds the Round Ireland monohull record, is back and this time means business after some reworking of his canting keel 60-footer. Navigator Chris Tibbs is on board the French entry again.

This year will again be a very special one in our Double Handed Fleet, which already boasts Nunatak, skippered by Mike Jacques, and Moontiger driven by Alan Bell.

Yannick Lemonnier and Mark Greely of Dingle, Sailing Club, are fine-tuning their Beneteau Figaro 2 which they’re chartering with the support of their sponsor Southbound Group in the two-handed category.

Yannick and Mark have been sailing together for a number of years and came second in the Dun Laoghaire to Dingle race on board Southbound in 2005. The boat’s racing name for the Round Ireland is Southbound.ie and you’ll be able to follow the their progress and race position due to the addition of a tracking system on board the competing boats this year.

However, the BMW Round Ireland Yacht Race is not only about the intense offshore race, there is also an extensive social event for all the crew and spectators. The party kicks off in Wicklow on Wednesday the 28th and carries the whole way to the start and after.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1 The big one cometh! At over 100 foot surely Barrington’s 1998 record will fall? All eyes will be on the Konica Minolta Kiwi entry.

2 Do Dingle.com was the two handed winner in 2004, two years later skipper Aodhan Fitzgerald is heading up Team Ireland West.

3 Limerick’s Andrew Carey during training on the Western Yacht Club’s Volvo 60 entry Spirit of Kilrush

4 Sean Lemass and the National YC crew on Gallileo are keen offshore campaigners

5 A winner offshore and a winner round the cans: Chieftain’s skipper Ger O’Rourke has his eyes on handicap honours in the canting keel fifty footer.

6 Jean Phillipe Chomette already has a Round Ireland speed record under his belt. Now the Paris financier is eyeing a race record too in the Nacira 60 City Jet
 
7 Sarnia, a veteran S&S 36 from the National YC.

8 and 11  Yannick Lemonnier and Mark Greely of Dingle Sailing Club are entered in the double handed category. The boat’s racing name for the Round Ireland is Southbound.ie

9/13 Waiting for the start at Wicklow

10 Minnie the Moocher, a race leader til Mew island in ‘04, the Kerr 11 metre is back  

 

Afloat opinion 

Wicklow Sailing Club rolls out its 14th Round Ireland race but its appeal, though deserving of far greater international note, remains rooted in a small domestic fleet.

The club have received 41 entries as Afloat goes to press and it is likely to swell with late entries to over 45 or more before the July 1 start. Over half of the fleet is from Dublin and Cork. The balance of the domestic fleet, totalling 29, is made up from entries from the West coast, Waterford, UK and French entries, and one very large Kiwi boat make up an overseas entry of 12.

The failure to capitalise on the success of the 2004 event with a bigger fleet this time round will be seen, by some, as a disappointing outcome for a number of reasons but primarily because if it is – as so often it is claimed to be – one of the world's classic offshore races, then its fleet could, as with Australia’s Sydney-Hobart or Britain’s Fastnet fixture, number in excess of 100 boats. There are 50 Irish yacht clubs around the coast but only 11 have sent entries.

The biggest club presence is from the Royal St. George, sending five boats. The country’s largest club, Howth, has a single entry. Only three of the four Dun Laoghaire clubs are sending boats. The home of the country’s biggest sailing centre, with the Wicklow start line on its doorstep, can only muster 12 in total.

Cork's race veteran Eric Lisson was clear about club support when he lifted his overall prize in 2002. He pleaded with offshore sailors at the time to go out and canvass for it's future support.

Lisson, who took second in the 2005 Fastnet Race, knows the potential of the Round Ireland is not just as another ‘passage race’ as RORC describe it but as a symbol of Irish sailing. He suggested that if each of the 30 skippers or so could attract one more clubmate then quite simply they would double the size of the fleet. Two years later, 49 entries and a big breeze meant 2004 went down as a highlight of the race’s 28–year–history.

But now four years on, the exact reason for the lack of growth can most precisely be attributed to a clash of dates with the Commodore's Cup. Ireland is fielding three teams and with a strong entry for the Cowes event (see page 24), this has had a direct effect on Round Ireland numbers and crew availability. But even this is too convenient an excuse for a race whose true strength lies abroad.

What really is at stake for Irish sailing is much more than running a local yacht race. The Round Ireland is the perfect offshore race course and it needs to be sold as such.

Pictured left: Adrian Lee’s Beneteau Irisha passes below Wicklow head at the start of the 2004 race

The entire sailing community headed by the Irish Sailing Association (ISA) or another body needs to get behind Wicklow and assist it in promoting this 704-mile offshore race as an icon of Ireland's summer sport.

Nowhere was this point more clearly made than in early June when the world's top offshore sailors called in unexpectedly to our South and West coasts.

They came principally in search of wind in leg eight of the Volvo Round the World race. They found little wind, unusually, but before they left they wrote prose worthy of a Failte Ireland copywriter.

In his log Navigator Simon Fisher from ABN AMRO TWO wrote: “Our day started sailing in and out of the mist rolling down off the hills and, as the sun rose and the mist burnt off, it gave way to spectacular views of rolling green hills and a weather-beaten rocky coastline. With castles and towers stationed on each headland, it gives you the feeling of sailing through a scene out of Lord of the Rings.”

COPYRIGHT AFLOAT 2004

See Navigating Round Ireland Tips

 

 

More on the Round Ireland Yacht Race:

Round Ireland Yacht Race 2010 Review

Round Ireland Yacht Race, Ireland's top offshore fixture

A Round up of 80 stories on the 2010 Round Ireland Yacht Race

L'Aberwrac'h Light house. Image courtesy of Rush Sailing Club Photo Gallery

Rush Sailing Club was founded in 1954 by a group of local enthusiasts with no facilities and less money. Nonetheless, several of them built their own Dublin Bay Mermaids. Designed in 1933, a fleet of these beautiful clinker-built 17-foot dinghies are still the mainstay of racing in the club over fifty years later.

Since those early days, the club has developed beyond recognition, with a fine clubhouse, yard, private slipway and fenced and serviced boat park.

In addition to the Mermaids, there are now a substantial fleets of cruisers and motor boats moored in the estuary, an active Junior section sailing Optimist, Pico and Feva dinghies, and members involved in a wide range of water sports, from fishing to kayaking and diving. Courses are also organised for adult beginners and for developing more advanced skills.

New members are always welcome. The Club Bar is open to members on Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings. The clubhouse is also available for private hire for functions. For bookings, contact Marguerite Carthy, 087 253 7860.

Rush Sailing Club, Linkside, Rogerstown, Co Dublin. Tel: 01 843 0695, email: [email protected]

Dinghies at the Evening Topaz Sailing. Photo: Brian McDowell

Malahide’s Three Clubhouses… 

1 The Three Day Wonder!

 

Although the club was founded in 1958 it did not have a clubhouse until 1959.

Despite planning the club's first Whitsun Open Meeting (on the Broadmeadows) the enthusiastic early members found time to acquire and erect a de-mountable wooden chalet that had been purchased from Barney Herron Prefab Homes in Leixlip. It cost £300.

They started assembling the new clubhouse on a site on the 'Band Gardens' – more or less our current St. James's Terrace site, which the Commodore, Lord Talbot had made available to the club. Work commenced on an April Monday and by Wednesday the roof was in position.

The building served the Lower Estuary sailors well and was used as a starters retreat when Mermaid races were started and finished at a line from the flagpole to a mark off Malahide Point. The building was removed in 1979 to make way for a more substantial premises.

 

 

2  The 2nd Clubhouse

 

In 1962 a site was acquired at Cave's Marsh on the Broadmeadows from the local farmer, Mr Cave. A clubhouse was erected and a dinghy pen fenced off. Starting as a builders hut, it grew over the years then suffered severe fire damage, was re-built, then extended to the solid structure of to-day. See the illustration at the head of this page.

 

 

3  Back to the Lower Estuary – The 3rd Clubhouse

 

The club celebrated its 21st birthday in 1979 and was thriving with high levels of dinghy sailing activity on the Broadmeadows and a growing fleet of small cruiser/racers on the lower estuary.

It was agreed that a more elaborate clubhouse was needed at St. James's Terrace and so a local architect, Mr. Brendan Canning, was engaged to draw up plans. A contract was signed with O'Rourke Builders Ltd. and with the help of bank finance and interest free loans from members a £60,000 clubhouse was constructed. The new facility was officially opened on Friday 30th May, 1980.

In that year the club officers were:

President: Capt. J. C. Kelly-Rogers

Vice President: Len E. Mills

Commodore: Peter Killen

Vice Commodore: Gerry Newman

Rear Commodore: Arthur Slye

Hon. Sec.: C. W. Woodman

Hon. Treasurer: Pat O'Keeffe

Hon. Sailing Sec.: Ashley Cross

Junior Affairs: Christy Sheridan

Committee Members: John Banim, George Long, George McIlhagga, John McInerney, Tom Mythen and Jim Twomey.

Trustees: M.J. Byrne, R.S. Dix, and C.W. Woodman.

In 1980 the membership stood at 99 Family, 70 Ordinary, 35 Cadet, 10 Associate and 11 Life Members

   

4 And our latest

For almost a decade the Club had hopes of moving from St. James's Terrace to the marina area as it was always felt that it would be in our interests to be close to the boats moored in the marina. However, we were unable to reach an accord with any of the various parties involved over the years with the marina development project. Consequently, a general meeting of members on 17 October, 2001 authorised the Executive Committee proceed with a major refurbishment and extension of the existing premises at St. James's Terrace. The club had accumulated a substantial cash balance in recent years and the balance of expenditure was to be financed by bank borrowings and a small increase in subscriptions over the following three years.

After much drawing and redrawing of plans agreement was reached with Ray Mac Donnell Architects on extending to the East at a higher floor level to provide a large lounge with panoramic windows, extending to the South to allow for a new bar, keg room and kitchen and a complete makeover of the toilet and shower facilities. Lissadell Construction Ltd. were awarded the contract. Eventually, on 22 June 2003 the magnificent new facility was officially opened and is now being much enjoyed and appreciated by members and friends. The works cost just under €600,000 inclusive of VAT.

 

The Ripple

The Ripple, a 12 ton cutter, was built in Belfast in 1862 for G. Brett by D. Fulton, a building contractor who also built yachts. Fulton was a leading member of the Royal Ulster YC and also a member of the Clyde, Mersey, Western and Prince Alfred yacht clubs.

At Carrickfergus Regatta in 1866 there was a 12 ton cutter Ripple owned by D. Boyd of Royal Mersey Yacht Club.

The vessel was purchased by George Murney, also a Royal Mersey member, probably in 1868 because in that year he commissioned the above picture by W. Abernethy which is now in the possession of the Royal Ulster YC. At this time he also owned an 8 ton cutter Lily. Murney was an original member of the RUYC, number 13 on their list of members and their first treasurer in 1867. He remained a member until the late 1880s. His brother Dr. D. Murney was number 6 on the Royal Ulster original members list and was Rear Commodore from 1875 until 1883. George was a keen yachtsman, not only in Belfast Lough as he and Ripple appeared in Carlingford regattas in 1872, 1877 and 1878, at Malahide in 1870, 1872–1875 and the Royal Irish in 1887. Racing yachts in those days did not carry sail numbers but flew an owner’s distinctive flag at the masthead, blue or red with a white lion rampant in the case of the Ripple as shown on the painting above.

 

Sailing at Broadmeadows

Malahide Yacht Club has a long tradition of dinghy sailing and we’re very proud of the achievements of our sailors over the years.

The club was established in 1958, initially concentrating on dinghy sailing in the Broadmeadows estuary. The fleet comprised mainly Herons for the juniors and Enterprises, with their distinctive blue sails, for the rest. Later Optimists became very popular for the 8-14 year olds. Very large fleets of the latter two classes developed and racing was to a high standard with the club producing Olympic representatives, Irish and British national champions and many others representing Ireland internationally. With the growth of other types of sailing, especially Cruiser Class III, dinghy sailing went into a decline, mirroring a national trend. However, there has been a tremendous resurgence locally with the introduction of the Topaz class and the fleet has gone from scratch to over fifty boats in the course of the last few years with growth continuing apace. Hand-in-hand with this activity has gone a major refurbishment of the shore side facilities at Broadmeadows.

We have a busy club race calendar with races every Thursday and Saturday during the season.

Other events, such as away events where we take some of our fleet to visit other clubs are generally organised by the Dinghy committee and posted on the website.

If you’re not a 'racer' and want to sail for fun make contact as we will also be arranging fun sailing events.

If you’ve never sailed and dinghy before and would like to try, we have club boats that can be rented for a modest fee so members can experience the excitement of dinghy sailing without having their own boat.

Evening Dinghy Racing – On Thursday evenings during season with first gun at 19.30 hrs.

Saturday racing on Broadmeadows – Racing for Lasers, Topaz, Mirrors, Optimists and sundry boats on most Saturdays throughout the season with First Gun at 15.00 hrs.

Dinghy sail training – Details on 'Courses and Tuition' page.

Training courses for Juniors – As in previous years, MYC is running its ever-popular summer training courses for juniors down in the Broadmeadows. ISA Levels 1, 2, 3 and 4 (Racing) courses will run concurrently. The first set of courses begins on Monday 3rd July and lasts for 3 weeks and the second on Monday 24th July. Full details and application form on 'Junior Courses' page. 

 

2008-9 Officers & Committee of Malahide Yacht Club and Contacts

Commodore – Colm Fitzpatrick – 086 819 7584

Vice Commodore – Martin Clancy – 087 252 8559

Rear Commodore – Bob Sugrue – 086 804 8048

Hon. Secretary – Eddie Magee – 087 259 1418

Hon. Treasurer – Andy Deegan – 083 303 6731

Sailing Development – Brian McDowell – 087 232 7745

Membership – Deirdre Moore-Somers – 086 196 8553

Cruiser Racing – Brian Stewart – 087 329 8598

Cruising – Dave Farrell– 086 255 7120

Dinghy Sailing – Peter Cunning – 086 805 1783

Junior Affairs – Chris Shackleton – 086 820 6374

Bar – Irene Devitt – 087 699 5855

Clubhouse & Grounds – Michael McCabe – 087 245 2637

MYC 50th – Rose Michael – 087 255 2726

Dinghy Section – Optimist class Sec: Fran Thompson – [email protected]
Topaz class: Diarmuid Marron – [email protected]
Laser class Sec: Garrett Donnelly – [email protected]

Cruiser Section – Cruising: Dave Farrell – As above
Racing: Lee Douglas – As above 

Membership Secretary: Deirdre Moore-Somers – As above

Clubhouse: Steward - Pat O'Keeffe – 845 3372/087 243 0646 (St. James's Terrace)

(The above information and image courtesy of Malahide Yacht Club 

 

Malahide Yacht Club, Sea Road, Malahide, Co. Dublin. Get directions