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MAY 2007
McDonald's Boat Yard Greencastle craft the 'Foyle Class' punt
Over the past few months a number of punts have been crafted at McDonald's
boat yard in Greencastle. Three Foyle Class punts will be handed over
to the Foyle Rowing Club next week. Pupils from Moville Community
College are helping to put the final touches to their own punt, which
they will then take delivery of before the end of the school year.
The Foyle Rowing Club was formed in June of last year, they now
have 67 members and have linked up with Moville Community College
to teach rowing to the pupils there.
Robert Kelly, Chairperson of the Club, says that the traditional
seafaring skills were dying out, and that no new crew had been trained
in a Foyle Punt for almost a decade. It is, he says, important that
Maritime tradition be preserved in Moville and Greencastle. "The
best thing that I can see about getting the school involved in the
rowing club is that it will give them something to do, outside of
school hours as well."
Having had planning permission turned down for a boat shed, external
lighting and a new fence at the Shore Green in Moville, the Foyle
Rowing Club will meet next week with planners to try and resolve
the issue.
At present the clubs boats are being stored in a container at Moville
pier. Donegal County Council have agreed to lease the building at
the Shore Green in Moville to the Foyle Rowers. The club will be
submitting a new application and hopes are high that they will get
the go ahead for the work this time.
Those using the new crafts for the first time this summer might
not know it, but they are a link, one link in a chain that goes
back through generations of seafaring families in this area, says
Robert. "The rowing craft while never going away has evolved
and been adapted according to the needs of the time,. Getting longer
or shorter, more narrow or broader lighter or heavier, with or without
an outboard motor. This process of evolution threw up what in time
became known as 'The Foyle Class Punt'. a vessel built to a very
specific design and to very precise measurements. It is perfect
for racing. The resurgence of races over the last dozen years or
so, together with the formation of the Foyle Punt Association, is
down to the work of local seaman James Kelly, killed tragically
in 1992. A rowing race for charity, where competitors challenged
one another for the James Kelly Memorial Cup was organised for the
Greencastle Regatta".
The event was a success and reawakened an enthusiasm and fire for
the sport among the community. Since then a sizable number of races
have taken place as well as several ' Marathon Rows' for charity.
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