Traditional tumblehome hulls took to Galway Bay early yesterday to complete their Cruinniú na mBád, which had been cut short last weekend due to the weather. Blustery northwest winds and gusts, similar to those which capsized dinghies in Strangford Lough earlier this week, had forced an early end to the annual event off Kinvara last Sunday.
While the ritual delivery of turf did take place – in tribute to the fleet which once plied the Connemara coast with essential supplies – racing was curtailed due to northwesterly gusts of up to force eight.
Gentler northwesterlies and bright sunshine provided ideal conditions for a resumption. The O'Brien family-owned An Tonaí won the main contest, followed by An Mhaighdean Mhara and the Capall.
Among the Connemara fleet which crossed the bay last weekend was the gleoiteog McHugh – returning to the cruinniú for the first time since 2009, when it lost one of its sailors. The vessel had been en route from Kinvara to Rossaveal when it hit a squall and brothers Johnny (67) and Josie Sheáin Jeaic Mac Donncha (66) were thrown into the water. Josie was wearing a life-jacket and survived, but Johnny was not.
Meanwhile in Co Down, racing has continued at the GP14 world championships after a major rescue alert last Monday afternoon.
The British coast guard, on behalf of the Belfast coast guard, has defended the extent of the response, which involved deployment of the Bangor and Portaferry coast guard rescue teams, the Portaferry and Newcastle RNLI lifeboats, helicopters from RAF Valley in Wales and the Irish Coast Guard in Dublin, along with PSNI and ambulance crews.
East Down Yacht Club has confirmed that it asked for “support” if gusts persisted, after a second race had been cancelled and competitors were capsizing en route to shore. It had anticipated this would be provided by the Portaferry lifeboat. The club said it had provided sufficient safety cover for 88 craft on the water, with 13 rigid inflatable boats (ribs), more than the recommended ratio of one rib for every 10 dinghies.
In a statement, Belfast coast guard said it had received a call from East Down Yacht Club on Monday afternoon stating that “sailing dinghies, between them carrying around 200 people, had been hit by adverse weather conditions in Strangford Lough (which has a very large tidal range).
“The adverse conditions and the number of people reportedly involved made it a major incident that needed a multi-agency response,” it said. “As it was, 20 sailors were removed from the water, 10 injuries were reported with 2-3 people requiring hospitalisation.
“The [British] coast guard is committed to the saving of lives and when we receive a call for help we respond,” it said, noting that “we do not put a cost on human life. The role of the coast guard is to assemble and co-ordinate the necessary resources to carry out a search and rescue operation, based on the information we are given.”The British Marine Accident Investigation Branch says it does not plan to investigate the incident.
