Hal Sisk of Dun Laoghaire has tonight (Tuesday) received the International Classic Boater of the Year Award in London for his decades of inspired service to classic craft and sailing history, while his colleagues Fionan de Barra of Dun Laoghaire and Steve Morris of Kilrush Boatyard were also personally awarded - at a ceremony in the Royal Thames Yacht Club - for their exceptional work in the trio’s current shared project, the restoration of the Dublin Bay 21 Class.
Hal Sisk’s involvement with classic craft – which includes his current role as Chairman of the International Association of Yachting Historians - came after an active offshore racing career. He was one of the creators fifty years ago of ISORA in 1971-72, while his first significant vintage project was the restoration of the 1884-vintage Fife cutter Vagrant in 1984.
Many other interests and classic boat types were explored before - in 2003 - he initiated the successful 2005-completed restoration of the 36ft 1894-vintage G L Watson designed cutter Peggy Bawn (built by Hilditch of Carrickfergus), while another avenue of thought was explored with a glassfibre version of the 1890s Dublin Bay Colleen class.
He served as Class Captain of the Dublin Bay Water Wags (with whom he has actively raced for many years) when the 1887/1900 class finally achieved a turnout of 30 boats on the starting line, and meanwhile he was starting to work with Fionan de Barra, custodian of the 1902-founded Dublin Bay 21s, on developing a meaningful way of restoring the seven boats as a viable proposition to suit contemporary circumstances.
With four of the re-built boats expected in commission this summer thanks to the work by Steve Morris and his team at Kilrush Boatyard, the dream is becoming reality, and it means that Hal Sisk has now been very successfully involved in restoring classic craft from the three greatest Scottish designers of the “Golden Age” - William Fife, G L Watson and Alfred Mylne.
Yet remarkable as that is in its own right, it is only part of the broad swathe of inspired thinking and varied projects in which Hal Sisk has been involved in his many decades of playing a leading role in the Irish and international maritime scene, not least of them being the guidance through to publication – in 2008 - of the monumental book recording all the traditional craft of Ireland.