IDRA14

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The IDRA14 or Irish Dinghy Racing Association Fourteen is a classic clinker built fouteen foot racing dinghy. It is a three sailed, two man boat with a single trapeze. Nowadays the 14s are raced mainly from three clubs in Dublin bay, DunLaoghaire, Clontarf Yacht and Boat Club and Sutton Dinghy Club. There are at least two 'away' events every year, the Northern Championships takes place across the border at the Carlingford Lough Yacht Club in Rostrevor every June and the National Championships alternate between inland and sea locations each year.

IDRA14 website

A Short History of the IDRA 14 ft. Dinghy. The prototype of the design, which was called “Fuss”, was designed and built in Poole, Dorset by the Irish naval architect George O'Brien Kennedy in the winter of 1938. "Fuss” proved to be very successful when raced by the designer in Poole Harbour in 1939. However as Europe was sucked into WW2 in September 1939 private boat building in the UK came to a sudden halt for the duration of hostilities.

Whilst Ireland was neutral during WW2 there were however severe restrictions on foodstuffs and petrol and many other items and travelling round the country was severely restricted. The Government requested citizens to join the services on a voluntary basis and many Irish sailing enthusiasts joined the new Slua Muiri (Irish Navy Reserve Force). Quite often during their duties they had time to chat and ponder on their favourite topic – sailing. Many friendships were formed amongst them as a result of this. There were relatively few dinghy classes at that time apart from the Waterwags (Dun Laoghaire), Mermaids (Dun Laoghaire), the BRA 12ft International Dinghies (raced in both Cork & Dublin), the Shannon One Design (raced in Lough Derg and Lough Ree) and other smaller classes. There were no truly National Classes that raced in venues throughout the country. Their discussions resulted in a group deciding they would set up an organisation to encourage and control small boat sailing throughout Ireland as soon as the war was over. And so it happened that they held a meeting in November 1945 and formed the Irish Dinghy Racing Association. The aims of the new Association were to encourage and regulate small boat sailing in Ireland. The group had also been studying suitable dinghy designs. Their requirements were for a boat which was fast and yet stable. They also decided it must be suitable to be kept afloat on a mooring or ashore on a launching trolly. The design must also not be expensive to build.

They finally settled on the “Fuss” design after reading an article about the boat. Following discussions with the designer and agreement on some minor design alterations they adopted the boat as an Irish National Class and called it the “Irish Dinghy Racing Association 14 foot One Design Dinghy”. Very quickly it was found that the name of this new Class was far to much of a mouthful to pronounce and it was very quickly shortened to “IDRA 14 ft Dinghy” or more simply “IDRA 14”. Although the Irish Dinghy Racing Association later (in 1964) changed it’s name to the “The Irish Yachting Association” and more recently (1992) to “The Irish Sailing Association” the Class retained the name “IDRA 14.”

They new association also adopted the other classes mentioned earlier and also the new “Firefly” (designed by the famous designer Uffa Fox). Interestingly all the designs, with the exception of the Firefly were of traditional clinker construction. The Firefly was manufactured of cold moulded plywood - a new type of construction that had been developed during the war for aircraft production.

The first IDRA 14’s were launched in 1946 and the first races were held in Dun Laoghaire and Clontarf. Within the next five years fleets were set up in various locations - the main ones being in Dublin (Dun Laoghaire/Clontarf/Sutton/Kilbarrack), Cork Harbour, Athlone, and Waterford with smaller groups in other Clubs. National Championships were held from 1947 onwards as part of the “IDRA Dinghy Weeks”. At these events the Irish Dinghy Racing Association arranged for different venues to host the National Championships of the classes to which they had granted National status. Dinghy Weeks had Championship Racing from the Monday to the Thursday and on the Friday they took the new champions from each Class competing and sailed them against each other in a nominated Class . The winner of this event was proclaimed “the Helmsman Champion of Ireland”with a huge silver salver as the prize. This became a much sought after trophy and is still raced for today but the racing is in a different format.

Dinghy Weeks became extremely popular, as the new classes including IDRA 14’s and Fireflies were more affordable than larger Yachts. Dinghy Week was held in many venues including Dun Laoghaire (Royal St George Yacht Club), Cork (Royal Munster Yacht Club), Dromineer (Lough Derg Yacht Club), Athlone (Lough Ree Yacht Club), Baltimore (Baltimore Sailing Club, Dunmore East (Waterford Harbour Sailing Club).

Many of Irelands top sailors of the time sailed “Fourteens” such as Douglas Heard (first President of the new Association) and Jimmy Mooney in Dun Laoghaire,: Somers Payne, Teddy Crosbie, George Bushe and Clayton Love Jnr in Cork, J.K.(Jackie) O’Reilly and Sean Flood in Clontarf and Noel (Bunny) Conn in Sutton.

In the 1950’s newer classes such as the Hornet, GP 14, Enterprise and 505 arrived on the scene – to be followed in the 1960’s by the Scorpions and Fireballs. These designs were of plywood construction and proved cheaper and easier to build than the IDRA 14’s. As a result from the mid 1960 onwards the number of new IDRA 14’s built declined sharply. Interest in the Class outside Dublin waned and by the mid 1960’s fleet racing became mainly confined to the Dublin area. Nevertheless the Class racing in Dublin was strong with more than two dozen boats competing in many of the Dublin regattas.

From 1969 onwards some of the Class wished to get GRP hulls and following consultation with the designer and Charlie Sargent (who built a plywood plug for the mould) the first GRP hull (with wooden deck) made it’s appearance at the Dublin Boat show in 1977. The boat was much admired and as a result many new boats were ordered. Delcraft Ltd (Malahide Co.Dublin) produced the GRP hulls. Two years later the Class allowed GRP decks as well and this further reduced the time taken to produce new boats. Numbers competing in events rose again for the first time in years and new people were attracted to the Class.

In total 122 IDRA 14’s were built. 88 were wooden boats and 13 of these were built in Baltimore, Co. Cork by An Bord Iascaigh Mara (Irish Sea Fisheries Board) as training for their apprentice shipwrights. 34 GRP boats were built. Most of the Bord Iascaigh Mara boats were sold off to the people who built them or locals in the West Cork area so only a couple were ever active in Class events.

With the passage of time and the stresses of weather many of the boats were lost – mainly through gales or neglect – whilst many others just simply “disappeared”.

With no new boats built since 1995 our numbers have been static for some time with around 30 boats engaged in regular Club racing- whilst some others make an occasional showing.

The Class is now centred in three locations – Dun Laoghaire on the Southside of Dublin Bay and Clontarf & Sutton on the Northside of Dublin Bay. Each of these locations has active fleet racing each week.

There are other Clubs in Ireland where boats are located in small numbers.

The Class attend regattas in the Dublin area and support two away (outside Dublin) events each year. The annual June Bank Holiday sees us at Carlingford Lough Yacht Club in Killowen (near Rostrevor) on the shores of Carlingford Lough – truly one of the most beautiful settings in Ireland with the backdrop being the mountains of Mourne. Our National Championships are held each August at different locations – recent years have seen us in Enniskillen, Wexford and Galway. The 2006 event was held in Enniskillen (Lough Erne Yacht Club) – in a lovely location on the shores of Lough Erne. There were 26 entries (a new record for us). Racing was excellent , with close finishes in all races. In the end Alan Carr & Barry Kelly in 14/38 Starfish emerged as the new National Champions. There is now such interest in the Class that we are confident of having 30 entries in 2007.

Following on the publicity of the restoration of “Dusk” in 1993 by David O’Brien of Afloat Magazine (which was also covered by Classic Boat Magazine) there is much more awareness of the pleasure and satisfaction to be attained in restoring wooden boats and some have been restored and two completely rebuilt. Since 2000 the Class have tried to ensure that derelict boats are acquired and stored until they can be restored. As the GRP boats are now nearly 30 years old some “refurbs” being carried out on them as well. All of this will result in extra boats being active in the years to come.

The Class has always been known as the “Friendly Class” with shore activities rated in the same importance as water borne ones. We have also very family orientated and everyone – including children are welcome at our events. This results in our two “away” (outside Dublin) events each year being very popular with the host Clubs – especially the bar profits !!. Our championships in Galway last year had 22 boats but the total number of people there was 110 (incl. 10 kids) – not bad for a two handed boat.

We have our official 60th celebrations in Clontarf Yacht and Boat Club, Dublin on 8th /10th September. At this event there will be activities for our current sailors, visitors from our sister Classes in UK & South Africa as well as racing for enthusiastic former sailors. We are also expecting a Yachting World Dayboat from Castletownsend in Co.Cork to be present for the event.

To round off the Jubilee season we have booked a formal dinner in the Royal St. George Yacht Club on 16th September.

We have compiled a listing of all boats built and whilst we are aware of the demise of many of our “Fourteens” we are keen to find the location of some of our “missing” boats. A copy of our listing can be made available on request. Any information or enquiries should be sent Ian Sargent (Class Historian): isargent@eircom.net or c/o CY&BC, Clontarf, Dublin 3, Ireland

The Class in South Africa:

An order for 14 boats was received in 1946 by the Lymington Slipway & Engineering Co. in Hampshire England - where the designer George 0'Brien Kennedy was based before he went to India. The boats were shipped out to Durban, South Africa where the Class was called "REB’s". REB was the initials of the then Commodore of the Royal Natal Yacht Club (Rupert Ellis Brown) who personally paid for the cost and delivery of half of the REB fleet. Rupert was a very wealthy businessman in the Sugar Industry and Lord Mayor of Durban at the time. There were 14 boats imported into South Africa. Another two were built locally by Fred Nicholls in his boatyard at The Bluff, Durban.

The boats sailed under the burgees of the RNYC( Royal Natal Yacht Club) & PYC (Point Yacht Club) in Durban – races on Wednesdays and Saturdays alternated between the two Clubs. Many household names in South African sailing raced in the REB’s at the time – including South African Olympic sailors Rupert Ellis Brown and John Sully. The Class in South Africa were ahead of their counterparts in Ireland as they had spinnakers and introduced trapezes in 1953 (seven years before they were allowed in Ireland). Interestingly they did not have buoyancy bags – when I enquired why I was told “the waters in Durban are warm and very shallow in parts – so retrieving a capsized boat was not difficult”. The Class was strong for many years up to the 1960’s - when they were superseded by other Classes. Many of the boats were donated to the University of Natal and they were both sailed and enjoyed by the students for many years afterwards.

One of the boats (REB No.18) was sailed for many years from 1948 on the Vaal River at Lough Vaal, Gauteng (formerly Transvaal Province) at the 'Loch Vaal Club'. Kevin Fenix of Malahide (Dublin) crewed in the boat for many years, provided the information on this boat. The last known “sighting” of a REB was in a museum at Midmar Dam in Natal in 1990 – sadly the museum closed since then and no further information is available on the boat.

We now have a many photos and information on the REB’s thanks to the help of Noel Bedford (who sailed IDRA 14’s in Clontarf before emigrating to Durban where he very successfully sailed a REB). I would also like to thank the late Joe Harris (Life President of the Point Yacht Club)

whom I had the pleasure of meeting on a few occasion before his death. I would also like to thank the many former REB sailors I met in Durban and Cape Town.

The Class in the United Kingdom. In the UK the Class (with minor hull modifications) was sailed in three different locations and called the "Dragonflies", “Christchurch Dragonflies” and “Hardway Seabirds”

“Dragonflies”(Waldringfield) The Waldringfield Sailing Club read about the “Fuss” design and the IDRA 14’s from an article in a sailing magazine. They contacted the designer who made some modifications to the design and so the “Dragonfly” was born. Waldringfield SC is based on the River Deben at Waldringfleld, Suffolk. Forty-three Dragonflies were built and sailed from 1949 onwards and have graced the waters of the Deben every season since.

The fleet became smaller as new designs were introduced and some boats deteriorated in condition but in recent years the Dragonfly have been busily acquiring and restoring derelict boats. As a result the fleet is again expanding as the restorations are completed. They now have fourteen boats sailing and are working on restoring more. The Dragonflies, apart from allowing metal masts are still very original in layout and fittings. They still have the 25 lbs of lead in their centreboards and have aluminium rudder blades. They are very much the “Senior Class” in Waldringfield and are kept on their own line of moorings directly out from the Club.

There was a visit to Ireland by a team from the Waldringfield fleet in 1969 and two visits from a Dublin IDRA 14 team. With the political turmoil in Northern Ireland interest in maintaining visits waned and contact was lost. Ian Sargent visited Waldringfield in 1995 and contact was re-established. This resulted in Barry Searle & Mike Head bringing Dragonfly 43 to Dublin for the IDRA 14 Class Golden Jubilee celebrations in 1996 where the fleet were reviewed ashore -36 IDRA 14’s and the Dragonfly - by the designer George O’Brien Kennedy. George later told us he was delighted to see the Dragonfly as had never seen a completed Dragonfly before - the only one he had ever seen was on his drawing board !!. He had left England and gone to work in India by the time the Dragonflies were built.

Barry Searle of Waldringfield has provided us with the Dragonfly History and a complete listing of all 43 Dragonflies built. I am very grateful to him and many others in Waldringfield for their help and enthusiasm with my research. It is hoped there will be many fraternal visits between the two surviving “Sister Classes” in the future. A large contingent of Dragonfly sailors from Waldringfield are coming to Dublin this September for the IDRA 14’s Diamond Jubilee Celebrations.

We have compiled a listing of all boats built and whilst we are aware of the demise of many of our “Fourteens” we are keen to find the location of some of our “missing” boats. A copy of our listing can be made available on request. Any information or enquiries should be sent Ian Sargent (Class Historian): isargent@eircom.net or c/o CY&BC, Clontarf, Dublin 3, Ireland

Christchurch Dragonflies: There were also Dragonflies at Christchurch (in Dorset) where they were sailed for 3 seasons (1949-1951) under the burgee of Christchurch Sailing Club. They were known as "Christchurch Dragonflies". We have a full listing of the six boats built. The current whereabouts of all these boats is not known. However as late as 1997 one of them (no 6) was in Batheaston, near Bath.

However contact with the owner has been lost. The Waldringfield Class are also currently in contact with another Christchurch Dragonfly owner and this boat is in Scotland.

Hardway Seabirds: There was also a fleet called “Hardway Seabirds” at the Hardway Sailing Club, near Portsmouth. This Club is based an area that had been reclaimed with the rubble from the buildings bombed in Portsmouth during the first years of the 2nd World War. A pier was added later and was uses to embark thousands of troops and their armour for the “D Day” landings in Normandy in 1944. Following the cessation of hostilities the Club was formed and acquired part of the site. In 1949 they were looking for “a modern Bermuda rigged dinghy” and they read about the success of the IDRA 14 in Ireland. They contacted the designer and the design was adopted. The Class was called the “Hardway Seabirds”. According to the Club’s History the Hardway Seabirds, together with another class – the Cat Rigged “Hardway Winds”, formed the backbone of their Club activities for many years.

Other George O’Brien Kennedy Dinghy Designs: George O’Brien Kennedy also designed the highly successful “Yachting World Dayboat” with over 800 boats built.

George told us this design differed too much from the “Fuss” design to be considered “the same boat” as the “Fuss” design. However many of the characteristics are the same – the Yachting World had asked him to submit a design that would be “robust, round bilged and suitable for family sailing and be capable of standing up to some of the more difficult open waters encountered round the UK coast.”

George’s design was accepted and over 700 boats were built to the design – with GRP hull being introduced in the late 1960’s.

There are some YW Dayboats in Ireland – with a fleet of 6 in Castletownsend in Cork.

George also designed many other dinghies, cruising yachts, motor cruisers, fishing vessels and other types of craft in a long lifetime of boat design.

Sadly George passed away in the late 1990’s – having just completed designs for new fishing vessels for the west of Ireland – one of them for his son.

However as long as we all continue to enjoy our boats (or just savour the wonderful memories of sailing in them) the spirit and beauty of George O’Brien Kennedy’s brilliant “Fuss” design will never be forgotten…