This Centenary Year of the award-winning Shannon One Design Class seems to be a happening of infinite elasticity. For some of the keenest, it began with the raw weather of May, when there were regattas for a determined few at Mountshannon on Lough Derg and Cong on Lough Corrib in County Galway.
A new level was then reached with the Class being the undoubted Stars of the Show in the Clinkerfest at Lough Ree Yacht Club in the first weekend of June. This was followed by a moveable feast of various venues at Lough Ree’s Inner Lakes before the final weekend of June was scheduled for the marathon long-distance race from Lough Ree down Shannon to Lough Derg.
That was the weekend when most coastal events were blown out, but although the Shannon ODs made most of their progress south under tow from various mother-ships, by the time they’d got down to Meelick a gallant group was sailing in a slight relenting of the weather.
Either way, the focus was now moved to Lough Derg for the first “official official” event of the Centenary, Lough Derg YC’s Shannon OD Centenary Regatta last weekend (2nd & 3rd July). It certainly moved everything up several gears, and we are indebted to Tom Waller, a fourth generation Shannon OD sailor, for capturing the mood of this festive yet decidedly competitive event.
Lough Derg sailing perfection – sunshine on the lake, a very usable breeze, and the clouds staying where they belong over the Clare hills. Photo:SODA
To put it in perspective, Tom’s great-grandfather Edgar Waller of Lough Derg was one of the founders of the class in 1922, after an initial first exploratory meeting held upriver in Athlone on 19th January 1921. At the time, Ireland was in political and civic turmoil verging into guerilla warfare. Yet the class founders continued with their project, and the Walter Levinge-built boats first raced in August 1922.
In 1924, when the Tailteann Games were held as a national multi-sporting event to celebrate the establishment of the new Irish Free State, the expanding Shannon OD class sent a flotilla of seven boats (by railway) to take part in the sailing events on Dublin Bay, and Edgar Waller won the Gold Medal.
His great-grandson Tom takes up the story in July 2022:
LOUGH DERG YC SHANNON OD CENTENARY REGATTA
“Forty-two entries were registered for the historic occasion of Lough Derg Yacht Club’s Shannon One Design Centenary Regatta on the weekend of 2nd and 3rd July 2022, organised with precision by Organising Committee Chairman and ex-LDYC Commodore John Tierney and his bespoke Centenary Regatta Committee, made up of the club’s Flag Officers and volunteers, in association with the Shannon One Design Association (SODA), currently chaired by Philip Mayne.
The 1835-founded Lough Derg YC at Dromineer successfully hosted a feast for 175 diners to celebrate the SODs’ Centenary
Competitors were welcomed by current LDYC Commodore Joe Gilmartin at a Cheese and Wine reception in the clubhouse on Friday 1st July in Dromineer, marking the official start of a year long celebration of this unique wooden clinker-built dinghy class, exclusively sailed on the Shannon River lakes and surely the numerically largest family One Design in Ireland. The weeks and months of planning that went into this weekend event had paid off with a near-capacity turnout from sailors who came from far and wide.
And old faces met with new, with several families like the Wallers and Delanys carrying on the tradition by bringing the fourth or fifth generation of sailors into the class.
The Saturday morning briefing by veteran Race Officer John Lefroy at 0930 reminded competitors that the races would start on time, and that the Racing Rules of Sailing, the ISA Prescriptions, and all relevant Class rules would apply. This prompted visiting helmsman Graham McMullin, ‘asking for a friend’, whether on-water infringements would be subject to a 360 or 720 penalty.
PENALTY 360 WELCOMED
After an impromptu committee meeting, 360 was declared, to a sigh of relief from the gathered competitors, who sail 3-up in these 18ft Bermudan rig boats designed by Morgan Giles, and propelled by a single 140 square feet mainsail which can be reefed in windy weather.
“We are racing” - the fleet gets away cleanly
A moderate breeze blowing from the SW ensured that 38 SODs set out with their full sails for Race 1 of this historic event. Two triangles and then back downwind to the club, starting out in Dromineer Bay, with John and Sandra Lefroy’s ‘Phoenix’ steam yacht as the committee boat.
She’s a 58ft vessel now synonymous with the SOD class, although built in Waterford of Lowmooor iron in 1872, some 50 years before this wooden dinghy racing class had evolved. Her cannon fired at 1100hrs sharp, the smoke signalling a successful start to the regatta as the Blue Peter dropped and ‘All clear!’ was hailed by the PRO.
How senior can you get? The Committee Boat, John and Sandra Lefroy’s 58ft iron-built Phoenix, was already fifty years old when the Shannon One Design Class was founded in 1922. Photo: SODA
Liam Maloney in 75 made quick work of the first beat, with son Damian on the sheet, leading the fleet at the weather mark for the first championship race in the 100th year of this thoroughbred class, suggesting that local knowledge still counts. But by the end of the two-triangles-and-a-beat, the three generation team of Seamus, Cathal and Hugo Breen from Lough Ree Yacht Club had taken the lead, with team O’Driscoll in 163 close behind and Margaret Delany with nephew Mark on the sheet in 37 ‘Kiwi’ taking third place as they came around Goose Island to finish. It should be noted that in fourth place was another familial team with 2021 SOD champion Harman Murtagh Jnr at the helm, sailing with his father Harman Snr, and his young grandson Emile Hennessy as third hand in 176.
Bountiful July finally arrives – classic Shannon OD racing for their Centenary at Dromineer. Photo: SODA
SUN COMES OUT
By the afternoon, the sun had come out and the wind had veered West, allowing the course set to take the fleet up the Urra Channel and around the Corrikeen Islands, back to a mark off the south of the islands and down to the Mountaineer Rock Buoy, before returning back to a club finish, obeying the navigation mark at Salmon Rock, which had boats gybing back and forth as they raced home - competitors remarked that the course drawn on the board had resembled a dinosaur’s head! Some of the championship favourites started to appear, with 142 sailed by Frank Guy winning Race 2 and Stephen O’Driscoll in 163 taking second place, with Mags coming third again in 37, and Harman fourth in 176.
Running in for the finish, and keeping the weight forward as the breeze lightens. Photo: SODA
After tea, which was a full-on traditional affair on the second level of LDYC’s smart clubhouse, the racing turned the spotlight on the Juvenile helms, who had to be between the age of 16 and 24 years old for the Youth Race, later reduced to the younger age of 12 to encourage more participants.
The race turned out to be a highlight of this regatta with the encouragement of seeing the younger generations taking the reins and showing their sailing prowess. Two triangles out in the bay with a run into Goose on the final leg provided much of a spectator sport to the assembled viewers on the terrace of the clubhouse, seeing 142 with Eimear Keogh on the tiller in the Guy Family’s 142 (current holder of the Class’s Transom Trophy) rounding up at the first mark in pole position, Oscar George in John and Mary Cox’s 32 following behind, and Oscar Flynn in John and Stephen O’Driscoll’s 163 in third.
Friends and shipmates – Peter McCutcheon, Alan Hodgins and Paraic Burke racing 165. Photo: SODA
However, by the second round of the Youth Race, 32 - the oldest boat in the fleet - had skillfully taken the lead, coming in to Goose Island with a good two boat length lead. Gybing early, close to the island proved costly as the boats chasing them closed in, with 32’s rudder getting tangled in the weeds.
In what was almost a photo finish, Eimear Keogh helming with Frank Guy on the sheet, pipped them on the line to secure first place. Oscar George, with Anne-Marie Cox on sheet, took second with Oscar Flynn third in 163, while Hugo Breen was fourth in 155. The healthy rivalry between family boats, and the number of young sailors carrying on the sailing tradition, is surely a sign that the class is in good hands for the next centenary.
CENTENARY FEASTING FOR 175
The Regatta Dinner on the Saturday night was a fantastic reunion for members of the class at a seated feast for 175, celebrating the centenary with ‘Pig on a Spit’. Speeches were given by Chair of the Organising Committee John Tierney and SODA Chairman Philip Mayne, who reminisced about the characters from the past, ladies in the class who were formidable sailors such as Mary Hooker (née Tisdall), Joyce Blake (née Greene), Peggy Minchin and Posy Goodbody (née Holmes), as well as the 1972 SODA Governing Body stalwarts such as Syd Shine, Bunny Goodbody, Lola Leech, Hardress Waller and Peter Huskinson, all of whom did so much for the class.
Next to address the crowded room was Commodore and Squib sailor Joe Gilmartin, who spoke about the symbiotic relationship of the two yacht clubs in Derg and Ree, as well as humorously describing a sailing career in the Shannon One Design class which started and ended when he was offered the loan of Hardress Waller’s 102, which was duly rescinded after several capsize calamities and seeing him round up to the jetty - in John Marriage and Teddy Knight’s 93 - with a bang!
Joe impressed upon the dinner guests the importance of promoting sailing of all classes in the club, to protect the future of the sport. The mic was passed to LRYC Commodore Georgina Kenny, who expressed her appreciation to LDYC and invited members to come to their centenary event in Athlone. Finally John turned to the honorary guests: ‘elder statesman’ of the class Reggie Goodbody, who had remarked that he enjoyed sailing 81 with so many fond memories, and veteran sailor Teddy Knight, who at the age of 84 was honoured and thanked by all for his contribution to the class.
Still at it at age 84 – Teddy Knight with Seamus Breen and Tom Marriage “swept the board” in the class 46 years ago. Photo SODA
Teddy had promised to sail the 93 in this regatta with his original crew from 46 years ago, when he had ‘cleaned up’, and they - Seamus Breen and Tom Marriage - were both in attendance. And after the formalities there was music, dancing and revelry continuing into the early hours, a Shannon sailing tradition pre-dating the SODs but continued by them with added enthusiasm.
FRESH SOUTHWEST BREEZE
A fresh breeze from the SW on Sunday morning helped to revive any muzzy heads from the previous night, but with the fleet barely out of the harbour by the time the Phoenix was on station, some competitors were relieved to see the AP flying at 1030hrs, despite the PRO’s insistence on time-keeping! Finally some 40 boats appeared on the line, harking back to the great old days of this class in the 90’s when there were even 50-60 entries for the Annual Regatta – it was a sight to be seen.
The ever-changing cloud formations above Lough Derg are a study in themselves. Photo: SODA
The first of two back-to-back races for the championship, Race 4, was two triangles and a beat, with the leaderboard chalking up as 155 in first, 163 in second, and 142 placed third, with John Leech in 96 coming fourth, something of a premonition for the overall results. Sailors were all too eager to get Race 5 underway, and three hoots sent everyone back to the beginning again. The second starting sequence also proved to be opportunistic for those choosing to go at the committee boat end, and several premature starters pushed everyone over the line again. Instructions were relayed to Ex-Commodore Jack Bayly who was manning the pin end of the line, to pull up anchor and move forwards to reduce the committee boat end bias.
Even after two general recalls, with the Round-the-Ends rule applying, one competitor did not take the hint as John Lefroy shouted loudly “Get off the line!”. This resulted in an OCS for just one premature sailor, and the rest of the fleet got off to a flying start for the deciding race in the Centenary championship, which was two rounds and then home. Graham McMullin, with regular sheethand Neil Smyth on board 151, managed to take first place from fellow LRYC champion Harman Murtagh in 176 in second and Cathal Breen in 155 coming third, with Liam Maloney and family coming fourth in 75.
Getting up close and personal – manoeuvring at the lee mark can be very close and precise with just one sail to handle. Photo: SODA
In the afternoon, a Guest Race was held where helms had to be other than a regular SOD helm or boat owner. Another photo finish ensued as Ben Huskinson helmed 75 to what seemed like sure victory, only to lose momentum inside Goose Island, but nevertheless drifting over the line just before Eimear Flynn in 163 caught up. Carden Kent came third in Jonathan Horgan’s 167, while Richard Hodgins took fourth in 155.
AND THE BAND PLAYED ON…
Just like old times, the Nenagh Ormond Brass Band played during tea and prizegiving, and sailors collected their very special Centenary prizes, ceramic plates which had been beautifully designed and made by Stephen Tierney (145) for this Centenary Regatta edition - he also prepared a beautiful and unique gift jug for every participating boat.
If you’re negotiating your way through a seaway on the ocean, are you in a “lakeway” on Lough Derg? Photo: SODA
All in all, PRO John Lefroy gave us great racing over the weekend and both LDYC, SODA and the Organising Committee had put on a wonderful event to remember, ably assisted by the many volunteers and people on and off the water.
Participating in this regatta with my own son in our family boat, 53, that my great grandfather Edgar Waller sailed from 1926, was a true honour and pleasure. The Silver Fleet prize we won at the weekend sits with pride on the mantelpiece, and perhaps it will still be there in another 100 years!
Tom Waller 6/7/22
OVERALL RESULTS Shannon One Design Centenary Championship
1st Cathal Breen, 155 - LRYC
2nd Frank Guy, 142 - LDYC
3rd Stephen O’Driscoll, 163 - LDYC
4th John Leech, 96 - LDYC
Silver Fleet
1st Tom Waller, 53 - LDYC
2nd Jonathan Harper, 178 - LDYC
3rd Peter Keogh, 141 – LDYC
4th Mark O’Sullivan, 122 – LDYC
Youth Race
1st Eimear Keogh, 142
2nd Oscar George, 32
3rd Oscar Flynn, 163
4th Hugo Breen, 155
Guest Race
1st Ben Huskinson, 75
2nd Eimear Flynn, 163
3rd Carden Kent, 167
4th Richard Hodgins, 155
Organising Committee: Chair - John Tierney
CONTINUING SODA PROGRAMME
The busy Centenary Year programme continues this weekend with Goose Island Regatta on Lough Derg while on Lough Ree the SODs get together with the vintage and classic barges of the Hertage Boat Association, and then after a short break the second Centenary Regatta is staged at Lough Ree:
Jul 9-10 Goose Island Regatta (LDYC
Jul 9-10 Barges & SOD's (LRYC)
Jul 23-24 LRYC SODA Centenary Regatta
Jul-Aug 30-5 Lough Ree Yacht Club Annual Regatta (LRYC)
Aug 6-7 Dromineer Castle Regatta (LDYC)
Aug 8-13 Lough Derg Yacht Club Annual Regatta (LDYC)
Aug 27-28 Corrikeens Regatta (LDYC)
Sep 3-4 North Shannon Regatta (LRYC)
Sep 10-11 Harvest Regatta (LDYC)
Sep 17 The Wega Regatta (LRYC).
