A former Admiral and President paid tribute to a former Admiral and President at the 302nd annual general meeting of the oldest yacht club in the world.
It was rather unique as David O’Brien, former President of the Irish Sailing Association and a former Admiral of the Royal Cork Yacht Club in Crosshaven, proposed Peter Crowley, former Admiral of the club and former President of the ISA for Honorary Membership in recognition of his service to the club and to the sport of sailing.
The proposal was approved unanimously, with a standing ovation given by the members present as Peter Crowley accepted the honour.
Afloat nominated Peter as Sailor of the Month for November for sailing services, commenting: “Affable Race Officer and former Royal Cork YC Admiral Peter Crowley brings comprehensive experience of participation and organisation to any major championship with which he becomes involved.”
Peter Crowley is well known and respected throughout sailing circles for the length and breadth of Ireland and also for his commitment and work with the RNLI.
Peter Crowley's proposal for Honorary Membership by David O'Brien
Admiral, Flag Officers, Members
My introduction to boats with sails was as a young teenager in Ardmore watching my school friend Peter Crowley, his siblings, and acquaintances sailing around an almost empty bay in one of the half dozen single sail, one design, dinghies built by his father, Finbarr. In those days, only the odd real hardy seafarers cruised the coastline and then rarely called into Ardmore, so these intrepid young sailors had the open bay to themselves with only some local salmon fishermen and their nets to contend with, though I’m sure these sailboats were much more of a nuisance to those striving to make a hard-earned living, than the other way round.
There were no formal sail training courses 50 years ago, so all the experience Peter gained was achieved on the water the hard way, in various boat types and sizes. And I may add without lifejackets or rescue boats in many cases.
In his late teens/early twenties, Peter was competitively involved in rowing on the Lee, and campaigned seriously on the windsurfing circuit, both of which required a high level of fitness, which he worked hard to achieve and maintain.
RCYC
Here in the Royal Cork, Peter for many years was an active member of the National 18ft class sailing regularly with, amongst others, Tom Dwyer inCobblerod, before acquiring their own boat, Dynosore in 1998. (I’ll leave you to work out where both these names originated from).
As the family grew Peter joined with friends as part owner of that well-known floating playpen, Blue Shark, which regularly became a mothership for events, a safe nursery for younger children, and a practical resource to entertain families and friends for a day on the water. Blue Shark knew every nook and cranny around the harbour and over the 12 years in that ownership, undoubtedly found some new ones.
Peter owned or shared in a number of racing/cruising boats, from the Corby 25 named Hi-Time to the current Beneteau Trawler named Spare-Time, which has been a familiar sight around the harbour since 2007 – more of this anon.
But while that’s an incomplete snapshot of Peter’s sailing curriculum – what about his contribution to the sport?
Like many before and after him, as Kevin & Sam became involved in the Oppy fleet, so too did Peter and Marie get involved in the many events associated with the class, travelling around the country to other venues for championships and competitions. Not happy staying ashore in such circumstances Peter's natural instinct was to get involved in the event, assisting on the water as rescue, mark laying and hence to the committee boat itself, where his knowledge, skills and willingness to be part of the team became obvious, and sought after.
Soon Peter was in demand as Principal Race Officer, PRO, for Club and local regattas. By then, the Irish Sailing Association, ISA, had adopted standard criteria for the certification of race officers, and Peter soon ascended that ladder to National Race officer status qualifying him to take control for all local, regional and national championships.
However, this left a gap for the Club when canvassing for European and World events whichrequired an International Race Officer to be the principal race official. Royal Cork and Crosshaven, especially through the Cork Week events was being recognised as a suitable venue by a variety of classes and was awarded the 2001 Laser Class Worlds.
Peter assisted the UK International Race Officer, Jeff Martin, brought over for that event and he got the bug! Following up on the qualification procedure, including attending training in Finland, he achievedInternational status in 2002.
Over the last 20 years, Peter’s portfolio of events includes:
- Numerous Club, regional, and national organised events for dinghies and keelboats annually both here in Crosshaven and throughout Ireland
- Many Cork Weeks both on the water for a specific fleet, and as Race Director over all fleets
- Sovereign Weeks in Kinsale
- 1720 European and national Championships
- 505 Worlds in Crosshaven in 2022
- ICRA Championships
- Irish Sailing senior and junior Champions Cups –formally call the Helmsmen trophy
- Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regattas
- Mirror Europeans
- And many more significant events which I’m sure I have left out.
It’s well known that if a club is lucky enough to find Peter available for any event, not only do they benefit from the experience of Peter himself; but receive a fully equipped, and often fully staffed, committee boat; his on-board accommodation; and excellent support and hospitality provided by Marie. He has also been known to bring along his own experienced mark layers/rescue to complete the team.
I mentioned Spare Time above which was purchased in 2007. One of its shake-down cruises was to Wales in May 2008, transporting a motley crew to the Heineken Cup final in Cardiff when Munster lifted the trophy. Unfortunately, the weather that weekend was rather inclement and whilst the boat got a thorough testing, so too did the crew!
Administrative Experiences
You might think from the above that Peter’s involvement with our sport was all water based – far from it.
- President of IODAI – late 90’s
- RCYC Admiral 2004-2005
- President of Irish Sailing 2008-2011
- Former Council member and now Vice President of RNLI
505 Worlds & Winkie Nixon
The 505 Worlds 2022 from 3rd to 13th August at the Royal Cork, came laden with historic associations. It was the fourth time the class had come to Crosshaven for its world championships, and I am reliably informed that Peter was involved in some way with all four. For the first in 1959 he caught boats and moved trollies whilst in short pants, to PRO in 2022. We’ll let him tell us what his role was in 1964 and1982
Winkie Nixon recently wrote in Afloat of the 505’s that “though this attractive class may still look as modern as tomorrow, it goes way back, and around 70 years ago Cork Harbour was the hotbed of a busy fleet that was part of a worldwide movement. But now – like former superstar classes such as the Finn, the Star and the Dragon – the 505 class is an elite international travelling circus, making the highest demands on any venue that it selects for its Worlds”.
In announcing Peter Crowley as a nominee for the month of November Afloat Sailor of the month for services to sailing, Winkie wrote that the “Affable Race Officer and former Royal Cork YC Admiral Peter Crowley brings the comprehensive experience of participation and organisation to any major championship with which he becomes involved”.
Praise indeed!
Admiral, it gives me great pleasure, and it is an honour to propose Peter Crowley as an Honorary Member of the RCYC.
David O’Brien
16 January 2023.
