The Golden Jubilee of the much-loved Ruffian 23 Class was well celebrated in 2023 at all its main centres in an enjoyable moveable feast, mostly in Ireland but culminating in Hong Kong in October with the triennial Inter-Port Championship in which the Irish fleets take on the strong Hong Kong fleet.
Former Dublin Bay SC Commodore Ann Kirwan – who successfully races two Ruffian 23s, Bandit in Dublin Bay and Orca II in Schull – played a role in all the Golden Jubilee events on most coasts. But for the winning Irish 20-person expedition to Hong Kong, she was both Team Captain and logistics organiser, filling both roles with such competence and good humour that she is a very worthy winner of a “Sailor of the Month” title for October.