Displaying items by tag: Powerboat

24th March 2020

The Motor Yacht Club of Ireland 1907-1935: Request for Information

Shantax in a 1925 cruise en route from Clontarf to the North Shannon Yacht Club (towing Water Wags), and then down the Shannon to Athlone for the LRYC regatta, to Shannon Harbour and returning to Dublin via the Grand Canal. The picture was taken at Lock 35 on the Grand Canal. Club member Jack Stephensi is in the yachting cap

While we are in 'shutdown' mode due to Covid19 I have taken the opportunity to write a book about 'THE MOTOR YACHT CLUB OF IRELAND' which thrived from 1907 until its demise in about 1935.

The club was active in Clontarf, Pembroke (where the Dodder meets the Liffey), Kingstown/Dun Laoghaire, Waterford, Ahlone, Tarmonbarry, Lough Bofin and Boderg, River Bann and Belfast Lough.

The key men Key Motor Yacht Club of Ireland men from left to right: C.H. Warren, Dr V.S. Delany (Longford), T.H.R. Craig (Solicitor, Frederick St), Alf Delany (Trinity College Dublin), Col. Mansfield, D.McMorrogh, D.P.C. Plunkett

Among the families who took part were: Delanys, Sargents, Wallers and Meldon families.

H.E. 1 Motor Yacht Club racing - H.E.1 at speed

I am interested in hearing from anybody who can provide me with photographs, programmes and anecdotes.

Published in Historic Boats

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12th February 2020

Book Now For Powerboat Training At The RSGYC

Places are still available for the latest powerboat training course at the Royal St George Yacht Club later this month.

The two-day course, on Saturday 29 February and Sunday 1 March from 8.45am to 5pm, provides the ideal way to get afloat for the first time, or to build on skills you already have.

The Irish Sailing syllabus Powerboat II course (National Powerboat Certificate) will formally teach you the fundamentals in the safe operation of a powerboat, its preparation and allied aspects, while helping you to build your confidence on the water and get the most from your RIB or powerboat in a safe and comfortable manner.

This weekend course (which will also run in May) is priced at €260 which includes all course materials, instruction and certifications. Book online via the RSGYC website HERE.

Published in Power

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6th November 2019

Black Swan is First All-Electric Passenger Boat Powered by ‘Second Life’ Batteries

Black Swan - First production model is due to go into service in early 2020

Renault has worked in partnership with French specialist maritime company Seine Alliance and electric propulsion experts Green-Vision to develop the first all-electric passenger boat powered by ‘second life’ batteries. Called Black Swan, the new craft represents the first step towards Seine Alliance’s commitment to an all-electric river cruise fleet by 2024.

Due to go into service in 2020, Black Swan can carry up to eight passengers and pioneers the use of lithium-ion batteries that have already had their ‘first car life’ in Renault Z.E. vehicles. After being reconditioned these cells are used to power a pair of 20 kW electric motors that allow two hours cruising on the River Seine in Paris, while full charge will take just two to three hours.

The Black Swan is based on an existing craft built by Italian firm Tullio Abbate. Originally powered by a traditional internal combustion engine, it now features four ‘second life’ batteries housed in specially designed, water-tight stainless steel containers located beneath the boat’s bench seats. The batteries and motors together weigh 278kg, which is less than the combined total of the original fuel tank and engines.

As a pioneer and leader in electric vehicles, this project continues Renault’s commitment to sustainability and the circular economy, which aims to reduce energy use and the extraction of raw materials by the re-use and refreshing of existing resources. Examples include Renault’s involvement in Smart Fossil Free Island on Porto Santo, Portugal, where resident volunteers drive Renault Z.E. vehicles that can feed energy back into the island’s electricity grid when not being used. Renault ‘second-life’ batteries are also used to store excess energy produced by the island’s solar and wind farms.

Published in Powerboat Racing

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Powerboat

4th August 2016

Powerboat Ireland Team Win Bronze At UIM HR850 World Championships

Team Powerboat Ireland celebrate at the UIM World Championships

Last weekend in Navia, Asturias, Spain, Hr850 and T850 Powerboat racing teams competed and represented their countries at the highest international level, the UIM World Championships. Within this group was Team Powerboat Ireland, a group of Irish Powerboat enthusiasts made up from members of North East Powerboat and Racing Club and the Irish Powerboat Racing Club.

Will Chambers (Hr850 Driver), Oliver Haire (T850 Driver) Denis Dillon (T850 Driver) Simon Haire (Crew) Dick Corley (Mechanic) veterans of previous UIM European Championships decided to pool their talents under the Banner of “Team Powerboat Ireland” and with the support of the ISA as the UIM National Authority, travel to the World Championships, represent their country and hopefully bring back UIM World Championship medals to Ireland.

Will Chambers HR850 Bronze medal winner - Will Chambers in the HR850 class

The competition would not be easy as the Team found out on day 1. Will Chambers following on from his success at Navia the previous year with a UIM Silver in the European Championships was determined to follow up with a World Championship podium place. Competitive from the start he was up at the front when his race boat was holed and he had to abandon the race and lift his boat to safety. Oliver Haire also had the mechanical gremlins strike and was also lifted to safety. With no points on the score sheet for both Will and Oliver, Day 2 seemed a long way away and decisions had to be made as to what the Team would do. A Team meeting was held and a decision was made to work some long hours and repair the holed HR850 and replace the engine powerhead in the T850.

When Day two dawned, Team Powerboat Ireland were ready and with Denis Dillon having the only points on the scoresheet they knew it would be a challenge that would see man and machines pushed to the limit. And to the limit they were pushed with Will Chambers working his way up the standings with two fine second place finishes in the final heats which saw him take 3rd place overall in the HR850 Class and a UIM World Championship Bronze Medal.

There was to be no podium places for Denis Dillon and Oliver Haire but both finished in the rankings and were presented with their trophies. All were delighted that they had represented their country as best as they could and they knew they had competed against the best in the world. Plans are already afoot as to how to gain the extra edge that will see them advance in the standings for 2017.

A statement from the Team shortly after the final results:
“It’s being an amazing two days of racing, we have put blood sweat and tears into every practice, every qualifying, every race heat and we followed this up with a long evening maintaining both man and machine. During the event, we never let our passion determination and teamwork falter and for Will Chambers to achieve a UIM World Championship Bronze Medal It made the trip all worthwhile.

We knew when we left Ireland for the long journey to Spain that we would be competing against the best competitors in the world, this did not deter us and it just goes to show what a few guys with determination and Teamwork can achieve. We are very proud to have represented IRELAND on the World Stage and to bring back a “UIM World Championship Medal” in the HR850 Class is an honor and a privilege for all of us. The Team believes we have shown like our P750 racers before us what can be achieved, we feel with the right support & sponsorship, Irish Powerboat Racing Teams & Clubs working together can ensure that Team Ireland competes in UIM European & World Championships into the future, in regard to our UIM Medals we hope they are many more to come.”

Published in Powerboat Racing

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29th May 2016

Hibernia Round Ireland Powerboat Record Update: 17.00

Latitude:52.08295
Longitude:-6.59018
GPS location Date/Time:05/29/2016 16:47:49 IST

Published in Round Ireland Power

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29th May 2016

Hibernia Round Ireland Powerboat Record Update: 15:34

Latitude:52.99888
Longitude:-5.62967
GPS location Date/Time:05/29/2016 15:34:58 IST

Published in Round Ireland Power

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29th May 2016

Hibernia Round Ireland Powerboat Record Update: 14:30

Latitude:54.07438
Longitude:-5.42014
GPS location Date/Time:05/29/2016 14:28:40 IST

Published in Round Ireland Power

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29th May 2016

Hibernia Round Ireland Powerboat Record Update: 12:56

Latitude:55.30949
Longitude:-6.18073
GPS location Date/Time:05/29/2016 12:55:09 IST

Published in Round Ireland Power

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29th May 2016

Hibernia Round Ireland Powerboat Record Bid Update: 12:20

Latitude:55.43712
Longitude:-7.27466
GPS location Date/Time:05/29/2016 12:20:29 IST

Published in Round Ireland Power

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26th May 2016

Round Ireland Powerboat Record Bid This Weekend

Hibernia Racing's 100 mph ALLBLACK SL44 is making a Round Ireland Record bid from Kinsale this weekend

A bid to break the 2009 Round Ireland powerboat record will be made this weekend. Venture Cup entrant John Ryan and his Team Hibernia crew will make an attempt at the record on Sunday. Starting in Kinsale on the South Coast, Ryan and his four man crew will need to be back in the Munster harbour within 19 hours if they are to break the seven–year–old record set in a time of 18 hours 38 minutes and 50 seconds.

Hibernia Racing's 100 mph –ALLBLACK SL44 entry is built for marathon racing and has a range of 500–miles, making it possible for the circumnavigation to be made with just one refuel stop. The sleek aluminium built craft was testing in Cork Harbour a month ago and was powering around Dublin Bay in the past fortnight as preparation for the now cancelled Venture Cup.

The 2009 record holder Philip Fitzgibbon will be part of this weekend's attempt and joins the four–man crew as navigator. Sean McNamara and Denis Dillon complete the line–up.

'We''re going clockwise from Kinsale. I'm keen to get the Atlantic out of the way first', Ryan told Afloat.ie this afternoon.

Fitzgibbon and Mike Shanahan reclaimed their Round Ireland Powerboat Record powering over the Kinsale finish line to become the first team to set a sub 19–hour time for the circumavigation of Ireland in October 2009. The record was set in a 7.5 metre RIB powered by a 250hp engine.

Published in Round Ireland Power

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Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta

From the Baily lighthouse to Dalkey island, the bay accommodates six separate courses for 21 different classes racing every two years for the Dun Laoghaire Regatta.

In assembling its record-breaking armada, Volvo Dun Laoghaire regatta (VDLR) became, at its second staging, not only the country's biggest sailing event, with 3,500 sailors competing, but also one of Ireland's largest participant sporting events.

One of the reasons for this, ironically, is that competitors across Europe have become jaded by well-worn venue claims attempting to replicate Cowes and Cork Week.'Never mind the quality, feel the width' has been a criticism of modern-day regattas where organisers mistakenly focus on being the biggest to be the best. Dun Laoghaire, with its local fleet of 300 boats, never set out to be the biggest. Its priority focussed instead on quality racing even after it got off to a spectacularly wrong start when the event was becalmed for four days at its first attempt.

The idea to rekindle a combined Dublin bay event resurfaced after an absence of almost 40 years, mostly because of the persistence of a passionate race officer Brian Craig who believed that Dun Laoghaire could become the Cowes of the Irish Sea if the town and the local clubs worked together. Although fickle winds conspired against him in 2005, the support of all four Dun Laoghaire waterfront yacht clubs since then (made up of Dun Laoghaire Motor YC, National YC, Royal Irish YC and Royal St GYC), in association with the two racing clubs of Dublin Bay SC and Royal Alfred YC, gave him the momentum to carry on.

There is no doubt that sailors have also responded with their support from all four coasts. Running for four days, the regatta is (after the large mini-marathons) the single most significant participant sports event in the country, requiring the services of 280 volunteers on and off the water, as well as top international race officers and an international jury, to resolve racing disputes representing five countries. A flotilla of 25 boats regularly races from the Royal Dee near Liverpool to Dublin for the Lyver Trophy to coincide with the event. The race also doubles as a RORC qualifying race for the Fastnet.

Sailors from the Ribble, Mersey, the Menai Straits, Anglesey, Cardigan Bay and the Isle of Man have to travel three times the distance to the Solent as they do to Dublin Bay. This, claims Craig, is one of the major selling points of the Irish event and explains the range of entries from marinas as far away as Yorkshire's Whitby YC and the Isle of Wight.

No other regatta in the Irish Sea area can claim to have such a reach. Dublin Bay Weeks such as this petered out in the 1960s, and it has taken almost four decades for the waterfront clubs to come together to produce a spectacle on and off the water to rival Cowes."The fact that we are getting such numbers means it is inevitable that it is compared with Cowes," said Craig. However, there the comparison ends."We're doing our own thing here. Dun Laoghaire is unique, and we are making an extraordinary effort to welcome visitors from abroad," he added. The busiest shipping lane in the country – across the bay to Dublin port – closes temporarily to facilitate the regatta and the placing of six separate courses each day.

A fleet total of this size represents something of an unknown quantity on the bay as it is more than double the size of any other regatta ever held there.

Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta FAQs

What is Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

Dun Laoghaire Regatta is Ireland's biggest sailing event. It is held every second Summer at Dun Laoghaire Harbour on Dublin Bay.

When is Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

Dun Laoghaire Regatta is held every two years, typically in the first weekend of July.

Where is Dun Laoghaire Regatta held?

As its name suggests, the event is based at Dun Laoghaire Harbour. Racing is held on Dublin Bay over as many as six different courses with a coastal route that extends out into the Irish Sea. Ashore, the festivities are held across the town but mostly in the four organising yacht clubs.

How big is Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

Dun Laoghaire Regatta is the largest sailing regatta in Ireland and on the Irish Sea and the second largest in the British Isles. It has a fleet of 500 competing boats and up to 3,000 sailors. Scotland's biggest regatta on the Clyde is less than half the size of the Dun Laoghaire event. After the Dublin city marathon, the regatta is one of the most significant single participant sporting events in the country in terms of Irish sporting events.

How old is Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

The modern Dublin Bay Regatta began in 2005, but it owes its roots to earlier combined Dublin Bay Regattas of the 1960s.

How many boats compete at Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

Up to 500 boats regularly compete.

How many yacht clubs are represented at Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

Up to 70 different yacht clubs are represented.

Where do the yachts come from to compete at Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

The Channel Islands, Isle of Man, England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, Ireland countrywide, and Dublin clubs.

How many boats are visiting boats at Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

Nearly half the sailors, over 1,000, travel to participate from outside of Dun Laoghaire and from overseas to race and socialise in Dun Laoghaire.

What type of yachts race in Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

21 different classes are competing at Dun Laoghaire Regatta. As well as four IRC Divisions from 50-footers down to 20-foot day boats and White Sails, there are also extensive one-design keelboat and dinghy fleets to include all the fleets that regularly race on the Bay such as Beneteau 31.7s, Ruffian 23s, Sigma 33s as well as Flying Fifteens, Laser SB20s plus some visiting fleets such as the RS Elites from Belfast Lough to name by one.

What famous sailors race in Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

Some sailing household names are regular competitors at the biennial Dun Laoghaire event including Dun Laoghaire Olympic silver medalist, Annalise Murphy. International sailing stars are competing too such as Mike McIntyre, a British Olympic Gold medalist and a raft of World and European class champions.

How much does it cost to enter Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

There are different entry fees for different size boats. A 40-foot yacht will pay up to €550, but a 14-foot dinghy such as Laser will pay €95. Full entry fee details are contained in the Regatta Notice of Race document.

Where can spectators view Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

Spectators can see the boats racing on six courses from any vantage point on the southern shore of Dublin Bay. As well as from the Harbour walls itself, it is also possible to see the boats from Sandycove, Dalkey and Killiney, especially when the boats compete over inshore coastal courses or have in-harbour finishes.

How does Dun Laoghaire regatta compare to international regattas?

Very favourably. It is often compared to Cowes, Britain's biggest regatta on the Isle of Wight that has 1,000 entries. However, sailors based in the north of England have to travel three times the distance to get to Cowes as they do to Dun Laoghaire.

Why is Dun Laoghaire Regatta so unique?

Dun Laoghaire Regatta is unique because of its compact site offering four different yacht clubs within the harbour and the race tracks' proximity, just a five-minute sail from shore. International sailors also speak of its international travel connections and being so close to Dublin city. The regatta also prides itself on balancing excellent competition with good fun ashore.

Who organises Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

The Organising Authority (OA) of Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta is Dublin Bay Regattas Ltd, a not-for-profit company, beneficially owned by Dun Laoghaire Motor Yacht Club (DMYC), National Yacht Club (NYC), Royal Irish Yacht Club (RIYC) and Royal St George Yacht Club (RSGYC).

What does Dun Laoghaire Regatta contribute to the local economy?

The Irish Marine Federation launched a case study on the 2009 Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta's socio-economic significance. Over four days, the study (carried out by Irish Sea Marine Leisure Knowledge Network) found the event was worth nearly €3million to the local economy over the four days of the event. Typically the Royal Marine Hotel and Haddington Hotel and other local providers are fully booked for the event.