Gypsy Moth III, the yacht made immortal by the late Sir Francis Chichester, sailed into Galway harbour this week for a very distinguished occasion.
The yacht made the trip from France to mark the 93rd birthday of Commander Bill King. Commander King, who lives with his daughter, Leonie, at Oranmore Castle in south Galway, is the only surviving submarine commander from the second World War.
He sailed around the world single-han- dedly more than 30 years ago on the Galway Blazer and was a personal friend of Chichester, who made his famous solo global passage in 1966-67.
Chichester's circumnavigation was non-stop on Gypsy Moth IV, whereas Commander King had to pull in after an encounter with a whale before completing his passage. Chichester first made headlines on the Gypsy Moth III however, when he won the first Observer single-handed transatlantic race in 1960 in a "half a crown" challenge with Blondie Hassler.
Gypsy Moth III was designed and built by the late Jack Tyrrell in Arklow, Co Wicklow. It passed through several hands before Mr Roland Machin and his brother bought it a number of years ago and based it in Conwy in Wales.
Gypsy Moth IV is on permanent exhibition in Greenwich, England.
Mr Machin was aware of the Chichester-Commander King connection and said it seemed "the thing to do" to sail up to Galway for the commander's birthday this week. The yacht left Crouesy in Brittany just over a week ago and made the passage up to the west coast via Schull, Co Cork, and Dingle, Co Kerry.
Galway harbourmaster Capt Brian Sher- idan waived all harbour dues for the special visit, and Commander King took the helm himself across the bay on Tuesday, his birthday.
"It was just a wonderful experience to be there and to see him enjoying himself, in quite a stiff breeze of force four to five," Mr Machin remarked.
The occasion was followed by a party at Oranmore which ran into the small hours yesterday, hosted by Leonie King and Alec Finn of De Danaan. It is under- stood that Commander King - who marked his 90th birthday on Skellig islands - was dancing until after 4 a.m.
Gypsy Moth III will stay in Galway harbour until the end of next month.