1985 TT Race Bikes Lost at Sea – the Dunlop Brothers & Brian Reid | Season 4 - Episode 95 скачать в хорошем качестве

1985 TT Race Bikes Lost at Sea – the Dunlop Brothers & Brian Reid | Season 4 - Episode 95

👋 Hey followers! In this video, we are featuring an unusual story from back in 1985 when the Dunlop brothers, Joey and Robert and their friend Brian Reid had a close call on a former Royal Navy ship that sank in Strangford Lough. We are Ireland Made® the Irish transport archive. Our mission is to collect and preserve stories of Irish transport past and present for the benefit of our future generations. If it has wings, wheels or it floats and there is an Irish connection, you will find the story here. ++++ Every week we produce two video stories on Irish transport past and present and work to preserve Irish transport heritage. Please show your support for our work with a €2 monthly subscription (less than the price of a cup of coffee) via www.irelandmade.ie ++++ ⬇️ Motorcycle News reported the incident at the time, and a photograph was taken of the sunken MFV Tornamona Lass resting on the seabed. If anyone can share a copy of that photograph with us, it would be greatly appreciated. Comment below ⬇️ In May of 1985, motorcycle racing legends Joey and Robert Dunlop decided to break from their usual travel routine for the Isle of Man TT. Typically, they’d hop on a plane each June and have their race bikes transported by road, but this time they opted for a different approach. Along with fellow rider Brian Reid and a handful of others, the Dunlop brothers chartered a former Royal Navy target-towing vessel the 60-foot Tornamona Lass—to ferry them from Strangford in County Down to the Isle of Man. AGROUND On the evening of May 23rd, the MFV Tornamona Lass set sail, skippered by Archie Lappin, carrying twelve passengers and crew, along with seven race bikes and equipment. After passing through the Strangford Lough narrows and overcoming the notorious seven-knot (4 m/s) currents at its mouth, the former Royal Navy vessel set a southeasterly course for the Isle of Man. Powerful currents soon drove the vessel onto St. Patrick’s Rock near Killard Point, County Down, where its rudder became wedged in a crevice and snapped off. Swept back into the lough by the currents, the Tornamona Lass struck Angus Rock and began to take on water. SINKING A radio call and signal flares alerted authorities on shore, prompting the launch of the Portaferry D-class inshore lifeboat. Powered by twin 40 HP Mariner outboards, the lifeboat arrived swiftly to find seven people in a life raft and four still aboard the sinking Tornamona Lass. Assisted by the vessel "Cuan Shore," the lifeboat crew rescued the passengers and crew. Shortly afterward, the Tornamona Lass went down in 32 ft of water, taking its valuable cargo of racing motorcycles with it. MFV Tornamona Lass Specifications: Commissioned by: Royal Navy Laid down: October 1942 Launched: December 1943 Boatyard: Ouvery at Oulton Broad, Norfolk, England Class: target towing vessel/ mine sweeper Number: MFV.110 Hull material: wood Length: 64.6ft SALVAGE With the TT races set to begin on 1st June, a new race suddenly took shape: salvaging the seven submerged race bikes and getting them ready to compete. On the morning of 27th May, divers went to work at Angus Rock in the middle of Strangford Lough, while Joey Dunlop and his friends watched anxiously from the shoreline. Fortunately, the Tornamona Lass had settled in only 32 feet of water onto a gravel seabed, making the bikes relatively easy to recover. Once ashore, the bikes were taken back to their workshops, stripped down, rebuilt, and then trucked via car ferry to the Isle of Man, arriving just in time for the start of the TT. THE RACE BIKES Of the seven race bikes on board the ill-feted MFV Tornamona Lass a number of them bought up by collectors over the subsequent years and given a full restoration. One of these was Brian Reid’s 1985 Spondon Yamaha RD500 F1 built at a cost of £25,000 for the world championship. Restored by its current owner in 2011, it now makes appearances in parade laps at the Classic TT. If you have a story to share, please email Kevin Reid info@irelandmade.ie Sources of Information and Photo Credits: Belfast Newsletter Canmore – National Record of The Historic Environment (UK) Carole Nash Flicker: teamheronsuzuki Irish Wrecks Online – photos by Jack Noble & Jay Johnston Isle of Man Races website Isle of Man TT Races – Facebook page More Bikes Portaferry Lifeboat website Portaferry RNLI Facebook page ProBoards – peddrotzr Shipwrecks of the Ulster Coast – Ian Wilson Tri-City Cycle & Sport TT Race Pics #irelandmade #ad #irelandmadestoriesofirishtransport #tt #motorcycleworldchampion #joeydunlop #robertdunlop #brianreid #strangfordlough #portaferrylifeboat #rnli #shipsalavage #irishwrecksonline ++++++++++ This video post is copyrighted© to Ireland Made® not to be copied or reproduced without permission.