Fionnuala 

(ex Debbie)

An Invited Friend of The Harrison Butler Association
The IC/R 8 metre built in 1961 to a design by James McGruer

Fionnuala

  
 

Fionnuala : The First Of Two Debbies
This is the first of two IC/R 8 metre boats built for Ninian Sanderson and, confusingly, both called Debbie. This Debbie was built in 1961, has sail number K11, and became Fionnuala in 1966 when Ninian's second Debbie with sail number K22 was built. Ninian Sanderson was a Scottish racing car driver who, with Ron Flockhart, won a sensational victory in the 1956 24 hour Le Mans. To buy one IC/R 8 metre boat and then replace it with another five years later is not without reason; the later boats built to the same IC/R rule proved to be significantly faster than the earlier boats. In the evert, only one came after K22 Debbie, K23 Sunburst, and it proved the best, sometimes called a 'class breaker' because the others could not match its performance. Perhaps because of this the class has dispersed with many of the boats now in various countries around the world.
Fionnuala went on to have a bewildering number of owners, few of whom kept her for more than a year or two, until Sean Corcoran came along. He may well still be her owner.

Ninian Sanderson
Ron Flockhart (driving) and Ninian Sanderson at the
24 Hours Le Mans Race of 1956 which they won
in their team Ecurie Ecosse's D-Type Jaguar.
The revolutionary and distinctive tail fin that Ninian is holding on to
gave added stability and they could reportedly take their
hands off the wheel when going straight at 174 mph.

Fionnuala Statistics
Built : 1961 by Morris & Lorimer Ltd, in Sandbank, Argyll and Bute, Scotland
LOA : 42' 0"
LWL : 27' 4"
Beam : 9' 10"
Draught : 6' 3"
Displacement : 13 tons TM
Lloyd's Register : 302206
Sail Number : K11
Signal Letters : EI3865

Fionnuala Custodians & Home Ports 
Sean Corcoran (?-1983-2009-?) Dúnlaoghaire, County Dublin, Ireland
Percy Boyle (1979-1980-?) Howth, County Dublin, Ireland
Name withheld by Lloyd's (1978) Howth, County Dublin, Ireland
Anley Holdings Ltd (1977)
Brian P Leonard (1975-1976) Dúnlaoghaire, County Dublin, Ireland
Name withheld by Lloyd's (1974) Crosshaven, County Cork, Ireland
Clayton Love Jr (1971-1973) Crosshaven, County Cork, Ireland
RC Courtney (1966-1970) Howth, County Dublin, Ireland
Ninian Sanderson (1961-1965) Gourock, Argyll and Bute, Scotland

Fionnuala Links
• None Found (April 2018)

Page last updated : April 2018

 
  

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