National Yacht Club – Wednesday 12th November at 20.30 – All Welcome
The National Yacht Club and ISORA are thrilled to announce that Liam Coyne, Co-Skipper of “Lula Belle” will give his talk in the National Yacht Club, Dun Laoghaire on the 12th November at 20.30. All are welcome to attend this unique presentation.
The “Dynamic Duo” of Liam Coyne and Brian Flahive came together for only one race in the season of 2014. They had sailed two-handed together for many years taking an active part in ISORA and also competing in the D2D, Round Ireland and the Fastnet races.
At the end of last season Brian had moved to live in Malta so it was decided that if they were to sail together again they would have to make it “worthwhile”. To make it worth the trip from Malta they decided to enter the 1800 mile Sevenstar Round Britain and Ireland Race!!! As the organisers had only just allowed two-handed entries for the first time, they seized the moment and entered.
They could not have picked a worst year to take part in this race. The weather conditions for the start were affected by the remnants of Hurricane Bertha. So bad was the weather that the organisers changed the direction of the race to go anti-clockwise around the course. To avoid the worst of the weather the start was also delayed for 18 hours. 28 boats took part in the race.
Racing Two-Handed around Britain and Ireland requires all round skill, great seamanship and tenacity. Most of the time the Two-Handed pair are alone on deck while the other sleeps. It can be a lonely existence on deck and the lack of sleep and the effects of exposure to the harshest of conditions is bound to take its toll on both yacht and crew.
Lula Belle overcame all the challenges that the course could throw at them. Despite significant breakages and technical problems, they limped over the finish line at 11:40:54 on Saturday 23rd August in an elapsed time of 12 days 02 hours 40 minutes and 54 seconds. They took 5th place overall in the race and 1st in the Two-Handed Class and the combined IRC Three and IRC Four Class.
Liam Coyne will give a talk on his adventure. He will talk about the technical and mental preparation required before and during the race. With the inclusion of video excerpts he will describe the challenges both he and Brian faced and how they dealt with them.
This talk is a great opportunity for any sailor who ever dreamt of racing offshore to learn about the severe challenges Liam and Brian lived through while taking part in what is probably the most challenging offshore race ever.
Liam will give his talk in the National Yacht Club, Dun Laoghaire on the 12th November at 20.30. All are welcome to attend this unique presentation.
Bar food is available in the Club before the talk.
For any enquiries contact Peter Ryan – 087 2545037 or
