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Displaying items by tag: Red Arrows

#clipperrace – The world-famous Red Arrows will take to the skies over the North West Coast of Ireland at the end of June with their display of daredevil aerial manoeuvres, to bring a spectacular close to the 2014 LegenDerry Maritime Festival.

Brought to the North West by a partnership between Donegal County Council, Limavady Borough Council and Derry City Council, the RAF Red Arrows will perform their thrilling flying display as the stunning send-off to the Clipper 2013-14 Round the World Yacht Race on Sunday 29th June 2014.

The distinctive red jets, which are this year celebrating their 50th display season, will execute their trademark formations, close-passes and dynamic loops and rolls at the mouth of the River Foyle between Greencastle in Co. Donegal and Magilligan/Binevenagh in Co. Londonderry.

Thousands of people are expected to descend upon the North West Coast to capture a clear vantage point of the Red Arrows' stunning performance and celebrate the official Race Start of the Clipper 2013-14 Race at Greencastle, Co. Donegal.

Mayor of Donegal County Council, Councillor Ian McGarvey said: "Along with my fellow Mayors from Derry City Council and Limavady Borough Council I am delighted to confirm the staging of this spectacular Red Arrows event. I am sure this will attract visitors from across the region and beyond to the Lough Foyle area. Their exciting air display will be an excellent way to see off the Clipper Race as the fleet prepares to sets sail off the coast of Greencastle. I hope that everyone who comes to Donegal has a safe and enjoyable time."

Mayor of Limavady, Councillor Gerry Mullan said: "I am delighted to welcome back the spectacular Clipper Race event and am looking forward to seeing the boats sailing into Lough Foyle past Magilligan Point. I wish all the crews a warm welcome to the area and hope they get the chance to explore all it has to offer when they come ashore."

Mayor of Derry City Council, Councillor Martin Reilly said: "It is a major coup to have the Red Arrows perform and their display will provide a suitably spectacular final flourish to our week-long LegenDerry Maritime Festival. We are delighted to have been able to facilitate this in partnership with our friends in Limavady and Donegal, who are bringing the world-famous Red Arrows here.

"Our stunning North West coastline will provide the perfect backdrop for the official Race Start of the Clipper 2013-14 Round the World Yacht Race. We are thrilled that thousands of local people will be able to share the celebrations and the spectacle on land, on the sea and now, also in the sky."

Derry~Londonderry is the penultimate stopover for the Clipper 2013-14 Race, the world's longest ocean race. After a gruelling journey of almost 40,000 miles, 11 month circumnavigation of the globe the City will welcome the 12-strong fleet of Clipper Race yachts back to the city, including its very own Derry~Londonderry-Doire yacht, with a weeklong LegenDerry Maritime Festival from 21st - 29th June 2014.

The LegenDerry Maritime Festival will transform the River Foyle's quayside into a summer promenade, with race village, award winning continental market, seafood festival, music extravaganza and a host of sea-faring activities on and off shore for families, sailors and land-lubbers alike.

Published in Maritime Festivals

#VOLVO OCEAN RACE - Red Arrow jets will not be returning to the skies over Galway Bay when it hosts the Volvo Ocean Race finale this summer, the Galway Sentinel reports.

The Royal Air Force (RAF) has turned down a request by event organisers to bring its aerobatic display to the City of the Tribes citing 'operational reasons'.

It is understood that the RAF is reducing the number of Red Arrows performances this year due to a shortage of pilots trained to do air displays.

The Red Arrows flyover was one of the highlights of Galway's 2009 hosting of the yacht race.

However, their proposed return was opposed by anti-war campaigners the Galway Alliance Against War, who issued a statement last week declaring the the RAF and another "war outfit" were lined up as entertainment for the race week.

The Galway Sentinel has more on the story HERE.

Published in Ocean Race

Irish Sailing Club of the Year Award

This unique and informal competition was inaugurated in 1979, with Mitsubishi Motors becoming main sponsors in 1986. The purpose of the award is to highlight and honour the voluntary effort which goes into creating and maintaining the unrivalled success of Ireland's yacht and sailing clubs. 

In making their assessment, the adjudicators take many factors into consideration. In addition to the obvious one of sailing success at local, national and international level, considerable attention is also paid to the satisfaction which members in every branch of sailing and boating feel with the way their club is run, and how effectively it meets their specific needs, while also encouraging sailing development and training.

The successful staging of events, whether local, national or international, is also a factor in making the assessment, and the adjudicators place particular emphasis on the level of effective voluntary input which the membership is ready and willing to give in support of their club's activities.

The importance of a dynamic and fruitful interaction with the local community is emphasised, and also with the relevant governmental and sporting bodies, both at local and national level. The adjudicators expect to find a genuine sense of continuity in club life and administration. Thus although the award is held in a specific year in celebration of achievements in the previous year, it is intended that it should reflect an ongoing story of success and well-planned programmes for future implementation. 

Over the years, the adjudication system has been continually refined in order to be able to make realistic comparisons between clubs of varying types and size. With the competition's expansion to include class associations and specialist national watersports bodies, the "Club of the Year" competition continues to keep pace with developing trends, while at the same time reflecting the fact that Ireland's leading sailing clubs are themselves national and global pace-setters

Irish Sailing Club of the Year Award FAQs

The purpose of the award is to highlight and honour the voluntary effort which goes into creating and maintaining the unrivalled success of Ireland's yacht and sailing clubs.

A ship's wheel engraved with the names of all the past winners.

The Sailing Club of the Year competition began in 1979.

PR consultant Sean O’Shea (a member of Clontarf Y & BC) had the idea of a trophy which would somehow honour the ordinary sailing club members, volunteers and sailing participants, who may not have personally won prizes, to feel a sense of identity and reward and special pride in their club. Initially some sort of direct inter-club contest was envisaged, but sailing journalist W M Nixon suggested that a way could be found for the comparative evaluation of the achievements and quality of clubs despite their significant differences in size and style.

The award recognises local, national & international sailing success by the winning club's members in both racing and cruising, the completion of a varied and useful sailing and social programme at the club, the fulfilling by the club of its significant and socially-aware role in the community, and the evidence of a genuine feeling among all members that the club meets their individual needs afloat and ashore.

The first club of the Year winner in 1979 was Wicklow Sailing Club.

Royal Cork Yacht Club has won the award most, seven times in all in 1987, 1992, 1997, 2000, 2006, 2015 & 2020.

The National YC has won six times, in 1981, 1985, 1993, 1996, 2012 & 2018.

Howth Yacht Club has won five times, in 1982, 1986, 1995, 2009 & 2019

Ireland is loosely divided into regions with the obviously high-achieving clubs from each area recommended through an informal nationwide panel of local sailors going into a long-list, which is then whittled down to a short-list of between three and eight clubs.

The final short-list is evaluated by an anonymous team based on experienced sailors, sailing journalists and sponsors’ representatives

From 1979 to 2020 the Sailing Club of the Year Award winners are:

  • 1979 Wicklow SC
  • 1980 Malahide YC
  • 1981 National YC
  • 1982 Howth YC
  • 1983 Royal St George YC
  • 1984 Dundalk SC
  • 1985 National YC (Sponsorship by Mitsubishi Motors began in 1985-86)
  • 1986 Howth YC
  • 1987 Royal Cork YC
  • 1988 Dublin University SC
  • 1989 Irish Cruising. Club
  • 1990 Glenans Irish SC
  • 1991 Galway Bay SC
  • 1992 Royal Cork YC
  • 1993 National YC & Cumann Badoiri Naomh Bhreannain (Dingle) (after 1993, year indicated is one in which trophy is held)
  • 1995 Howth Yacht Club
  • 1996 National Yacht Club
  • 1997 Royal Cork Yacht Club
  • 1998 Kinsale Yacht Club
  • 1999 Poolbeg Yacht & Boat Club
  • 2000 Royal Cork Yacht Club (in 2000, competition extended to include class associations and specialist organisations)
  • 2001 Howth Sailing Club Seventeen Footer Association
  • 2002 Galway Bay Sailing Club
  • 2003 Coiste an Asgard
  • 2004 Royal St George Yacht Club
  • 2005 Lough Derg Yacht Club
  • 2006 Royal Cork Yacht Club (Water Club of the Harbour of Cork)
  • 2007 Dublin Bay Sailing Club
  • 2008 Lough Ree YC & Shannon One Design Assoc.
  • 2009 Howth Yacht Club
  • 2010 Royal St George YC
  • 2011 Irish Cruiser Racing Association
  • 2012 National Yacht Club
  • 2013 Royal St George YC
  • 2014 Kinsale YC
  • 2015 Royal Cork Yacht Club
  • 2016 Royal Irish Yacht Club
  • 2017 Wicklow Sailing Club
  • 2018 National Yacht Club
  • 2019 Howth Yacht Club
  • 2020 Royal Cork Yacht Club

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