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Displaying items by tag: Griffin Project

Baltimore Sailing Club’s Joseph Griffiths will be joining the two Northern Ireland youth sailors selected for the Griffin Project 2024.

As previously reported on Afloat.ie, the Griffin Project is a Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC) initiatve which gives young sailors the opportunity to try offshore sailing, learn best practices for yachting and improve their overall crewmanship.

As part of the project, Griffiths will receive coaching from world-class sailors such as Dee Caffari, Shirley Robertson, Steve Hayles and Ian Walker as one of an exclusive club of 20 sailors selected across the UK and Ireland, including Emma McKnight from Strangford Lough Yacht Club and Daniel Corbett from County Antrim Yacht Club.

Munster Technological University, where the West Cork sailor is an undergraduate studying architectural technology, said: “Joseph has displayed a great attitude and ability to be a good team player ashore and afloat and we are delighted he is getting this exciting opportunity.”

Published in West Cork
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Northern Ireland youth sailors Emma McKnight from Strangford Lough Yacht Club and Daniel Corbett from County Antrim Yacht Club are among just 20 across the UK selected for the Griffin Project 2024.

The Griffin Project is a Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC) initiatve which gives young sailors the opportunity to try offshore sailing, learn best practises for yachting and improve their overall crewmanship.

As part of the project, Emma (25) and Daniel (18) will receive coaching from world-class sailors such as Dee Caffari, Shirley Robertson, Steve Hayles and Ian Walker.

They will also be given opportunities to put what they have learnt into practice in races such as Cowes to Saint-Malo. This will inevitably contribute to their development as sailors in challenging and at times unfamiliar environments.

Selection for the Griffin Project was hugely competitive. Over 300 sailors from around the world applied to be part of the project, as previously reported on Afloat.ie, but only 20 were ultimately successful.

For more on Emma and Daniel and the Griffin Project, see the RYA website HERE.

Published in RORC
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Dublin Bay Sailing Club Turkey Shoot Winter Series

Dublin Bay Sailing Club's Turkey Shoot Series reached its 20th year in 2020.

The popular yacht series racing provides winter-racing for all the sailing clubs on the southside of Dublin Bay in the run-up to Christmas.

It regularly attracts a fleet of up to 70 boats of different shapes and sizes from all four yachts clubs at Dun Laoghaire: The National Yacht Club, The Royal St. George Yacht Club, The Royal Irish Yacht Club and the Dun Laoghaire Motor Yacht Club as well as other clubs such as Sailing in Dublin. Typically the event is hosted by each club in rotation.

The series has a short, sharp format for racing that starts at approximately 10 am and concludes around noon. The event was the brainchild of former DBSC Commodore Fintan Cairns to give the club year-round racing on the Bay thanks to the arrival of the marina at Dun Laoghaire in 2001. Cairns, an IRC racer himself, continues to run the series each winter.

Typically, racing features separate starts for different cruiser-racers but in fact, any type of boat is allowed to participate, even those yachts that do not normally race are encouraged to do so.

Turkey Shoot results are calculated under a modified ECHO handicap system and there can be a fun aspect to some of the scoring in keeping with the Christmas spirit of the occasion.

As a result, the Turkey Shoot often receives entries from boats as large as Beneteau 50 footers and one designs as small as 20-foot flying Fifteens, all competing over the same course.

It also has legendary weekly prizegivings in the host waterfront yacht clubs immediately after racing. There are fun prizes and overall prizes based on series results.

Regular updates and DBSC Turkey Shoot Results are published on Afloat each week as the series progresses.

FAQs

Cruisers, cruising boats, one-designs and boats that do not normally race are very welcome. Boats range in size from ocean-going cruisers at 60 and 60 feet right down to small one-design keelboats such as 20-foot Flying Fifteens. A listing of boats for different starts is announced on Channel 74 before racing each week.

Each winter from the first Sunday in November until the last week before Christmas.

Usually no more than two hours. The racecourse time limit is 12.30 hours.

Between six and eight with one or two discards applied.

Racing is organised by Dublin Bay Sailing Club and the Series is rotated across different waterfront yacht clubs for the popular after race party and prizegiving. The waterfront clubs are National Yacht Club (NYC), Royal Irish Yacht Club (RIYC), Royal St George Yacht Club (RSGYC) and Dun Laoghaire Motor Yacht Club (DMYC).

© Afloat 2020