Displaying items by tag: female sailing

13th October 2020

Kish for Breakfast, Tuskar for Lunch – Old Head of Kinsale for Dinner? Ireland's Flying Female Circumnavigators Closing in on the First Major Turn

Mark of the course – the Tuskar Rock with turbine-cluttered Carnsore Point beyond. Magenta Project has got there from Dublin Bay in just a morning's sail

Female Two-handed Round Ireland Record Day One 1400: Kish Lighthouse for breakfast. Tuskar Rock for lunch. That's the way it is for Pam Lee and Cat Hunt as they've scorched down Ireland's East Coast in a fine fair wind with a sluicing ebb tide in the Beneteau Figaro Magenta Project, intent on establishing a significant female two-handed Round Ireland record

Eight o'clock this morning saw them sweeping away from Dublin Bay in gathering sunshine and brisk northwest to north winds. But at this early stage of the challenge, we haven't seen any incredible speed bursts, as the secret is to avoid damage to the boat in general and sails in particular as they take advantage of a wind and tide system which is panning out very nicely, and will get them on to the south coast and west of the Coningbeg by mid-afternoon.

Magenta Sailing Round Ireland Tracker A significant female two-handed Round Ireland record in the making - see live tracker below

In doing so, they're achieving a steady and more-than-respectable average speed of upwards of 11 knots, and in closing in on the Tuskar with the favourable tide doing some serious work, they're showing better than 13 knots over the ground.

Visibility is currently good at that often misty corner of Ireland, but they'll be so busy they'll scarcely have time to appreciate the views, or the irony of the crowded wind farm of giant turbines on Carnsore Point. It was there that people camped out for months in protest against the possible sitting on the point of a nuclear power plant, so now instead the locals are left with giant turbines whirling in sinister style all about them.

However, Magenta Project's ship's company will be busy at other work, optimising their sail plan for a speedy reach along the south coast, which may well see them thinking in terms of dinner a la main as they zoom on past the Old head of Kinsale.

Sailing Magenta Round Ireland Record Tracker

Published in Round Ireland Speed Record

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National Yacht Club Facilities

Facilities include a slipway directly accessing Dun Laoghaire Harbour, over eighty club moorings, platform parking, pontoons, fuelling, watering and crane-lifting ensure that the NYC is excellently equipped to cater for all the needs of the contemporary sailor. Berths with diesel, water, power and overnight facilities are available to cruising yachtsmen with shopping facilities being a short walk away. The club is active throughout the year with full dining and bar facilities and winter activities include bridge, snooker, quiz nights, wine tasting and special events.

National Yacht Club History

Although there are references to an active “club” prior to 1870, history records that the present clubhouse was erected in 1870 at a cost of £4,000 to a design by William Sterling and the Kingstown Royal Harbour Boat Club was registered with Lloyds in the same year. By 1872 the name had been changed to the Kingston Harbour Boat Club and this change was registered at Lloyds.

In 1881. the premises were purchased by a Captain Peacocke and others who formed a proprietary club called the Kingstown Harbour Yacht Club again registered at Lloyds. Some six years later in 1877 the building again changed hands being bought by a Mr Charles Barrington. and between 1877 and 1901 the club was very active and operated for a while as the “Absolute Club” although this change of name was never registered.

In 1901, the lease was purchased by three trustees who registered it as the Edward Yacht Club. In 1930 at a time when the Edward Yacht Club was relatively inactive, a committee including The Earl of Granard approached the trustees with a proposition to form the National Yacht Club. The Earl of Granard had been Commodore of the North Shannon Y.C. and was a senator in the W.T.Cosgrave government. An agreement was reached, the National Yacht Club was registered at Lloyds. The club burgee was created, red cross of Saint George with blue and white quarters being sky cloud, sea and surf. The Earl of Granard became the first Commodore.

In July of 1950, a warrant was issued to the National Yacht Club by the Government under the Merchant Shipping Act authorising members to hoist a club ensign in lieu of the National Flag. The new ensign to include a representation of the harp. This privilege is unique and specific to members of the National Yacht Club. Sterling’s design for the exterior of the club was a hybrid French Chateau and eighteenth century Garden Pavilion and today as a Class A restricted building it continues to provide elegant dining and bar facilities.

An early drawing of the building shows viewing balconies on the roof and the waterfront façade. Subsequent additions of platforms and a new slip to the seaward side and most recently the construction of new changing rooms, offices and boathouse provide state of the art facilities, capable of coping with major international and world championship events. The club provides a wide range of sailing facilities, from Junior training to family cruising, dinghy sailing to offshore racing and caters for most major classes of dinghies, one design keelboats, sports boats and cruiser racers. It provides training facilities within the ISA Youth Sailing Scheme and National Power Boat Schemes.

Past Commodores

1931 – 42 Earl of Granard 1942 – 45 T.J. Hamilton 1945 – 47 P.M. Purcell 1947 – 50 J.J. O’Leary 1950 – 55 A.A. Murphy 1955 – 60 J.J. O’Leary 1960 – 64 F. Lemass 1964 – 69 J.C. McConnell 1969 – 72 P.J. Johnston 1972 – 74 L. Boyd 1974 – 76 F.C. Winkelmann 1976 – 79 P.A. Browne 1979 – 83 W.A. Maguire 1983 – 87 F.J. Cooney 1987 – 88 J.J. Byrne 1988 – 91 M.F. Muldoon 1991 – 94 B.D. Barry 1994 – 97 M.P.B. Horgan 1997 – 00 B. MacNeaney 2000 – 02 I.E. Kiernan 2002 – 05 C.N.I. Moore 2005 – 08 C.J. Murphy 2008 – 11 P.D. Ryan 2011 – P. Barrington 2011-2014 Larry Power 2014-2017 Ronan Beirne 2017 – 2019

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