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Displaying items by tag: Bill Topham

Tributes have been paid to the Kenmore man who died after his canoe capsized on Sunday (31 January).

As the Belfast Telegraph reports, Bill Topham was canoeing with a friend to islands in Kenmare Bay for a duck-shoot when their two-man vessel overturned in high winds as Storm Henry swept in from the Atlantic.

While his friend was able to swim to shore a few hundred yards away, Topham disappeared – and his body was recovered the following morning (Monday 1 February) after hundreds turned out to help with the search in often stormy conditions.

"Bill Topham and Kenmare, they sort of almost defined each other - willing to help everybody, always there and ready," said Rev Michael Cavanagh of St Patrick's Church of Ireland of the electrician, survived by his wife and three children.

The Belfast Telegraph has more on the story HERE.

Published in News Update

About Quarter Tonners

The Quarter Ton Class is a sailing class of the International Offshore Rule racing the Quarter Ton Cup between 1967 and 1996 and from 2005 until today.

The class is sailed by smaller keelboats of similar size and is likely the world's most-produced keelboat class.

The Ton, Half, Quarter, etc. 'classes' were each given a 'length' and yacht designers had almost free rein to work the hull shapes and measurements to achieve the best speed for that nominal length.

The Ton Rules produced cranky and tender boats without actual downwind speed. Measurement points created weird, almost square hull shapes with longish overhangs.

They were challenging to sail optimally and lost value very quickly as any new wrinkle (e.g. 'bustles') to take advantage of the rule made older boats very quickly uncompetitive.

Although its heyday was 30 years ago, the boat class continues to make its presence felt by holding its own in terms of popularity against some fern race fleets.