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By Ann Kirwan
(Past Captain)
Welcome to the website of the Irish Ruffian Association. The Ruffian 23
is a 23 foot keelboat which was designed and built by brothers Dickie
and Billy Brown of Portaferry, Co. Down, 35 years ago. The Ruffian 23 is
a great one design racing boat, an extremely family-friendly boat, and
despite its size, the Ruffian 23 has cruised waters around Ireland, the
UK, and further afield. Approximately 200 Ruffians were built and many
are still raced regularly in Dun Laoghaire, Wicklow, Skerries,
Baltimore, Carrickfergus, Strangford Lough, around the Clyde, the Isle
of Man, and even as far afield as Hong Kong and Uruguay.
An annual feature of the Irish Ruffian calendar is the North v. South
Team Racing event which is held alternately in Carrickfergus and in Dun
Laoghaire.
The Dun Laoghaire Ruffians also hold an annual inter-club team racing
event with the most recent event being contested by the National Yacht
Club, the Royal St. George Yacht Club, the Dun Laoghaire Motor Yacht
Club, and Wicklow Sailing Club. It
was held on June 29th and
the holders, the National Yacht Club, retained the title.
Regional events take place each
year – the Northern Championships hosted by Carrickfergus Sailing Club,
the South East Coast Regatta hosted by Wicklow Sailing Club, and the
South Coast Championships hosted by Baltimore Sailing Club.
A good fleet of Ruffians competes in the annual Lambay race, and a
Ruffian, Shannagh, was the proud winner of the Lambay Lady trophy in
2004.
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