There are several organisations in Ireland's varied maritime life that don't need a high profile to do good and useful work by stealth, and you'll find Jack O'Keeffe of Carrigaline in Cork is involved with several of them. But his recent election as Chairman for two years of the internationally-operating Drascombe Association has inevitably raised his profile and drawn fresh attention to a range of characterful little boats which almost defy categorisation.

Yet they're undoubtedly multi-purpose, for although their ease of trailering is one of their key features, several have made transoceanic cruises, while others have ventured – often in small lightly-organised groups – far into hidden rivers that more orthodox cruising boats can't reach.

The flexibility of the Drascombes' way of doing things meant that in the stop-start times of pandemic-plagued 2020, they probably managed a better cruising season than most other boat types. And Jack O'Keeffe's willingness to take on the mantle of pre-research and organization while leading by example makes him a very worthy "Sailor of the Month".

Convenient cruising in "thin water" – Drascombes make a handy mid-day beach stop in Galway Bay. Photo: Jack O'Keeffe

The many, varied and characterful boats of the Drascombe range became even better known throughout Ireland during 2020. Their trailerable flexibility of logistics and boat-positioning - together with their Association's long experience in organising cruises-in-company and rallies to remote coastlines and lakes - enabled them to give textbook lessons in how to comply with pandemic regulations while still providing their flotillas and small fleets with worthwhile ventures afloat and ashore. Our report of their Boyne Rally in July was very typical of the special ingenuity which the Drascombes deploy in getting to the places other boats don't reach.

The Drascombe Association's main man in coordinating a varied programme of rallies in Ireland and the UK through 2020 was Jack O'Keeffe of Cork – of Carrigaline, to be precise. And whatever he did during the past year or so, it seems to have been neatly on target, as the Association's recent online AGM saw him being elected Chairman for the next two years, heading up an organisation which has members and officers based in several countries, with the most distant being in Australia.

Jack O'Keeffe of Cork Harbour, newly-elected Chairman of the internationally operating Drascombe Association, has been involved with Drascombes since 2002.  

They produce an attractive professional-standard quarterly news-letter which everyone knows as DAN (Drascombe Association News), and here too the O'Keeffe household is involved, as Jack and his wife Anne are the proofreaders, but Jack tells me that it's really Anne alone – "she can pick up a typo at a hundred yards….".

Meanwhile, he'll be busy enough with other work, as he has been retained as Rally Coordinator. The difficult organisational environment of 2020 saw the Drascombe Association availing of Jack's skill, as their main rally in Ireland in August on Lough Corrib – with the Rev David Williams of Cong as the on-site organiser – had a problem of success, with 27 boats applying to take part when the regulations then in force limited the fleet to 15.

So they made it two fleets, with Jack O'Keeffe leading one group starting on the Friday, while the Reverend led the others next day. It says much for the size and variety of island-studded Lough Corrib, that the two groups managed to avoid each other, yet had themselves a fine old time at some of Lough Corrib's more intriguing ports and islands.

This year the main rallies in Ireland will be a first one off the northern coast to Rathlin Island and then back to Strangford Lough in June, culminating on June 18th with a rally at the Down Cruising Club Lightship HQ, the focus for Strangford Lough's growing fleet of Drascombes. After that between July 18th and August 9th, the fleet will be working their way along the coast of Northern Ireland to the River Bann, and thence upriver to Lough Neagh.

Reaching the places other boats don't reach - Drascombes together at Staleen on the River Boyne, 12th July 2020.  

Far to the southwest, there's a rally at the Kenmare River on August 21st & 22nd, and then in September there's what well could become the big one, the Autumn Rally on Lough Derg around the weekend of September 10th to 12th.

It's a challenging programme when you remember that Drascombe owners tend to be highly individualistic types who - from time to time – also like to do their own thing. But an overview of 2020's successfully completed activities suggests that beneath its amiable and easygoing image, the Drascombe Association is an extremely effective organisation. Yet when I asked the new Chairman what was the secret of it all, he immediately replied with a chuckle: "A bit of luck goes a long way".