We’ve become sadly inured to reports of Denis Doyle’s exquisitely-varnished Crosshaven-built Frers 51 Moonduster of 1981-vintage mouldering mossily in the harsh climate of northern Norway. So when a certain nautically-minded antiquarian bookseller of the Roughty Valley in southwest Kerry mentioned he’d heard from Scandinavia of the super-star of 1974, the Ron Holland One Tonner Golden Apple built in Cork with Bushe family brilliance for Hugh Coveney, we prepared ourselves for bad news.

Not so. After going through a couple of post-Coveney ownerships in the south of England, many years ago Golden Apple went to Denmark. There, she has been much loved and kept in extremely good order thanks to wintering in one of those classy Baltic boat-sheds where the heating comes on if freezing temperatures threaten.

Were it not for the fact that we know so well when she was built, you’d think she was ten years old at most. But this is indeed the boat in which Harold Cudmore properly launched his stellar international sailing career, and he and she made such an impact in the Worlds at Torquay that everyone now tends to remember Golden Apple even though another boat was the actual winner, with Cudmore’s first Ton Class Worlds title coming two years later in 1976 with the Half Tonner Silver Apple - now owned by Conor Fogerty of Howth.

Golden Apple meanwhile - the pioneer of them all - is now a very manageable classic, and for sale at €60,400 – details and more photos here 

In 1974, Ireland - and particularly Cork - leapt to a new level of international sailing prominence as the fresh combination of the design talents of Ron Holland, the sailmaking skills of Johnny McWilliam, and the boat-building talents of the Bushe family came together in the Crosshaven area to create a focus of ability, energy, innovation and enthusiasm which were to result in many successful craft, leading to the winning by Harold Cudmore of the Half Ton Worlds in 1976 with Silver Apple, designed by Ron Holland with sails by John McWilliam.

This theme was continued by many other achievements. But the story really started with the now-almost-mythical One Tonner Golden Apple in 1974, and Johnny McWilliam has recently unearthed an 8mm cine version of the One Ton Worlds 1974, which has been digitised by his son Jamie with the late Bob Fisher telling the tale of a time when the world was young and all things seemed - and were - possible.

Sailing tributes have been paid to legendary boat builder George Bushe, who died last week aged 89.

Born in Baltimore, Co Cork, Bushe got his start in boat building through his father, who make traditional punts. From there he went on to Skinner's Boatyard in Skibbereen and worked with the late Jack O'Driscoll in Ringaskiddy.

In the 1960s and '70s he worked at the Southcoast Boatyard in Rochestown, where be built many famous racing boats for Cork's premier sailing clans - such as the Golden Apple for the late Hugh Coveney, father of Minister for the Marine Simon Coveney.

Bushe went into semi-retirement in the 1970s, working at the Royal Cork Yacht Club, restoring boats in winter and even racing his own until the mid 2000s.

His remains were carried to St Patrick's Cemetary in Crosshaven aboard the Cánóg, the last boat he completed and which he raced competitively as recently as 2006.

George Bushe is survived by his wife Carmel and their children: Bernice, Fergus, sail maker Majella, shipwright Mark, and boat builder and sailor Killian Bushe, who just last month received the Fastnet Award for his own contributions to sailing.
 
The Irish Examiner has more on the story HERE.