Guest Speaker Gráinne Costigan to join September Cruising Group Meeting

12 August 2025
Guest Speaker Gráinne Costigan to join September Cruising Group Meeting
HYC Cruising Group are delighted to welcome Gráinne Costigan as guest speaker at their upcoming September meeting. The group would like to extend an open invitation to all HYC members - particularly female members - along with any family or friends who may be thinking about taking up sailing, to join the meeting.
 
Gráinne has an inspirational story having started sailing as a child in Sutton and later racing out of Howth. She went on to study physics and astronomy, living in various places around Europe while earning her PhD and working as an astronomer. She is now living and working in Barcelona where she discovered the Mini 6.50 class and bought her own boat, Sea Fever, in January 2022.
 
The Mini is a 6.5 m purpose-built boat for solo Atlantic crossings without outside assistance or contact. Technology is kept deliberately low to keep campaign budgets accessible, and the unique philosophy of the class fosters a tight-knit, supportive community of competitive solo sailors. Gráinne has been an active part of the Mediterranean circuit and is heavily involved in the local training group.
 
In 2024, she completed the challenging Round Trip race from Les Sables d’Olonne to the Azores and back. This June, she and co-skipper Ceci Zori delivered an impressive performance in the Mini Fastnet, finishing 4th out of a fleet of 50 and winning the Best Performance Prize for traditional bow boats.
 
Now, she is in the final stages of preparation for the Mini Transat, starting on 21 September—a solo race across the Atlantic—in which she will make history as the first Irish woman to take on this iconic challenge.
 
Come along and hear her story - 7pm, Monday 1st September - Asgard Room