Howth Yacht Club is pleased to welcome the newest member of our RIB fleet; number 10.

Thanks to funding from Community Sport Facilities Fund, we were able to secure this much-needed addition to our fleet. Our RIBs support a wide range of club activities, including powerboat training courses, junior sailing instruction, race management, coaching and safety cover. This summer, they have been instrumental in supporting our busy junior programme, providing both safety cover and instructor transport.

During the week, RIB 10 is used as a lead safety boat, a mark-laying vessel for club racing and for powerboat development sessions. At weekends, it supports our regular on the water activities as well as our busy open events schedule. This weekend, for example, it will be on duty as we welcome 154 young sailors to Howth for the Optimist Leinsters, some of Ireland’s most promising youth sailors.

Bringing RIB 10 to Howth Harbour was a team effort and would not have been possible without the support of the Community Sport Facilities Fund, along with the work of Commodore Kevin Monks, Bosun Alin Gudea, Robert Kennedy and Emmet Dalton.

We would also like to recognise the late Riain Timon, whose influence on the club's RIB programme is still felt today. A passionate advocate for dinghy sailing and safety afloat, Riain was instrumental in developing the systems and standards that underpin our fleet. Among many other contributions, he helped establish powerboat training at Howth Yacht Club, training in generations of instructors, and created the procurement, maintenance and replacement programme that keeps our ten-boat fleet operational and ready for service.

Riain passed away before RIB 10 arrived, but its place in our fleet is a symbol of the work he championed for so many years. We have installed a commemorative plaque on RIB 10 in his memory, so that every time it heads out on the water to support training, safety cover, and club activity, it serves as a fitting reminder of the legacy that he leaves behind.