News And Announcements
Most recent items are at top. Older items will be removed occasionally.
Boylan 7 O'Regan Win 420 event at Howth
Congratulations to Mark Boylan and Cian O'Regan (Kinsale) who won the 420 end of seasons regional event in Howth YC last week. This is their first regional win in this class and despite the sub zero temperatures and freezing fog on Saturday they snatched victory in a very exciting event by 1 point from Rob Lehan and Iarlaith Kennedy from Cork and a further point behind in 3rd was Timmy O'Laoire and Brian Kelleher from HYC/RStGYC
75th Anniversary Celebrations - Members Day
As part of the 75th anniversary celebrations, a Members Day was held in the Club on Saturday 18th October. The theme for the day was "75 Years of Fashion and Fun", and proved to be a great success. Thanks to everyone who helped with the day or participated in any of the events.
Results of Wayfarer Europeans 2008
The results of the Wayfarer Europeans/Irish Nationals 2008 are now available on the web site. Results for the races are listed here and some photographs courtesy of Shea McGee have been uploaded to our gallery here.
The gallery on the site has been updated with some photos of the recent storm damage to boats, and other racing events. You can take a look at the photos here.
Saturday 6 September we are hoping (weather permitting) to hold our Junior Regatta. As the main fleet optimists competed in the Skerries 75th Regatta held in July they are exempt from this but all regatta fleet optimists and mirror sailors can enter. Sailors who previously entered this regatta (in July) do not need to pay another entry fee but if you haven’t entered and would like to do so its €20 for optimists and €30 for mirrors. We also hope to run a fun race - parents in optimists!! Entry fees will be taken on the day.
We have a growing list of eager newcomers to the club who are available for crewing duties on dinghies and keelboats. Occasionally they may be seen lurking at the gate before racing but they get snapped up fast. If you want to book a crew early e-mail sailing@skerriessailingclub.com. Most will have completed Level 1/2 or its equivalent.
The oppies went to Fenit and the mirrors travelled to Belfast for their Nationals.
In the Optimist class - out of a fleet of 41 in the Regatta Fleet, Megan Parker 4th, Sorcha Donnelly 7th, Patrick MacGabhann 23rd, Niamh McKeown, 29th and Thomas Moore 30th.
Then in the Junior Main Fleet out of 90 competitors – Sean Waddilove 29th and Erica Ruigrok 33rd
And in the Senior Main Fleet results were Paul O’Connor 46th, Peter Moore 54th, Sinead Alcock 59th and Peig Staunton 68th.
For the Mirrors, I don’t have final results but Cian Hickey, KerriAnn & Megan Boylan and Graham Daly with their crews were all doing well.
Well done and congratulations to all.
Appeal for Volunteers to Help With Wayfarer Europeans
TheWayfarer Europeans take place at SSC on 10th - 14th September. The organising members are looking for volunteers to help out in the following areas – Race Office, Rescue Boats, Committee Boats, Yard & Slipway. If you are not sailing then we need your help!
Contact either the Sailing Secretary (sailingsec@skerriessailingclub.com) or the Rescue Co-ordinator (rescue@skerriessailingclub.com) & help out with this special event.
The first SSC RIB driving competition was held on Saturday 23rd August. As well as being a fun event, it was preparation for the regional heats of the ISA RIB handling competition being held in September.
Congratulations to Emma Wilson who won the club's RIB driving competition in a field of 10.
The focal point of this year's sailing calendar, the gala regatta, will take place over the weekend of the 19-20th July. Since this year is the Club's 75th anniversary, the festivities will commence with the Commodore's Dinner on Friday 18th, where the current commodore and committe host a special evening for past commodores of the club.
The sailing events take place over the Saturday and Sunday, with races for dinghy and cruiser classes. The Notice Of Race is available here
Also on Saturday, in addition to the on-the-water activities, there will be entertainment for the young (and not so young)in the form of face painting, the mediaeval stocks, and various other beach activities. Hot food will be available from mid-afternoon through to the evening
A mailing list has been set up for use of the Cruising Section. Please read all about it at the bottom of the cruising section page. In a couple of weeks all further cruising news will be sent only through the mailing list. So ... it's important for you to join!
Appeal for Volunteers to help With SSC Regatta
The 75th Skerries Regatta takes place on 19th & 20th July. The organising members are urgently looking for volunteers to help out in the following areas - Race Office, Rescue Boats, Committee Boats, Yard & Slipway. If you are not sailing then we need your help!
Contact either the Sailing Secretary (sailingsec@skerriessailingclub.com) or the Rescue Co-ordinator (rescue@skerriessailingclub.com)& help out with this special event.
On Tuesday 1st July the following 3 Fireballs from Skerries will travel to Nieuwpoort Yacht Club in Belgium to compete in the Belgium National Championships (3rd -4th July) and the Fireball European Championships (6th -12th July) wishing them all the best of luck. Niall Mc Grotty & Robert Mahon IRL 14938 , Conor O'Toole & Chris Clayton IRL 14983, Simon Mc Grotty & Doire Shiels IRL 14981. Their progress can be viewed on http://www.belfiras.be/. Good Luck to them all!
Results for Mirror Easterns Available
The results for the Mirror Easterns event held in Skerries on 28-29th June have been uploaded to the site and are available here
Results and Photos from Optimist Leinsters, 10-11th May
The results for the Optimist Leinsters held in Skerries on 10-11th May are available on the site here. Some photographs of the regatta fleet races have also been uploaded to the photo gallery here
New Bar Opens
The bar refurbishment is complete and our new look bar and lounge has re-opened. Members are urged to pay a visit soon and appreciate the new bar layout. As part of the work a new intimate "snug" has been added. The furniture has been completely replaced and new carpeting provided. Wide-screen televisions provide ideal viewing for big matches. New look Ladies and Gents rest rooms have been added.
Death of Liam Cullen
The death occurred recently of Liam Cullen, a former Commodore of Skerries Sailing Club and who dedicated many years of his life to developing the club and improving our facilities. A guard of honour of former Commodores was provided for his funeral. Our sympathies go to his widow and family.
AGM
The Annual General Meeting takes place on March 13 at 8.30. Only fully paid up members may attend and only Ordinary or Family members may vote.
Intervarsity Winners
Conor Byrne of SSC captained the Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT) team racing squad to victory in Killaloe at the recent Intervarsities, the national championship of college team racing. Emer McNally of SSC crewed for Conor. Byrne and McNally of SSC were also competing on the winning DIT1 team at the recent 'DIT Invitational' team racing event held in Firefly dinghies at Cullaun Sailing Club, Kilkishen Co. Clare. They beat 8 of the top college teams over two days and 56 races in total, drawing with Trinity in the end but winning as DIT1 had beaten Trinity each time they met in the leagues.
Web Site Glitches
A series of technical glitches interrupted display of this web site recently for which we apologise. The site is now running normally again and includes a new cruising section (see below).
Skerries Link to Clipper Round the World Race
Pat Daly reports that The Clipper Round The World Race is currently on the leg from Singapore to Qindao. The boat Jamaica is leading on this leg and on board is Mick Moran who has sailed in Skerries on board Moonraker. His progress can be followed at www.clipperroundtheworld.com.
Sailing for people with special needs
Donal Carty is interested in organising a sail for people with special needs (Clontarf do this regularly and like Skerries use punts to get to their boats) and the C.R.C. people were able to manage the transfer from punt to boat with a little help. If you would be willing to help with this effort please contact Donal Carty at <mailto:donalcarty@eircom.net>
An Appeal
The Events Committee urgently need volunteers for our Junior Optimist event in May and a Mirror event in June. We reckon that we need up to 100 people to help out from (wo)manning rescue boats and committee boats, helping boats launch and return, catering, race office, stewarding traffic etc etc. Everyone will be skilled enough to help in some way. Just reply to this email with a "yes" in the subject and I will email you a form (we need this to make sure we have the right people in the right roles!) If you a are new member this is a great way to get to know people (and see over 100 boats in the bay). The dates are: Optimist Leinsters: May 10th and 11th 2008; Mirror Easterns: June 28th and 29th 2008.
New Cruising Section Formed
A recent meeting in the club decided to form a new section representing members who are interested in cruising. Boatowners, crews, aspiring crew-members and those who are just interested can be involved. The group represents those with an interest in cruising, under sail or power, our coast, the offshore islands and even further afield. It hopes to plan courses, meetings, talks, and trips. Suggestions include regular cruising nights, maybe once a month over the winter months. Meetings of a Cruising Section could offer members a chance to exchange ideas about forthcoming trips or reminisce about past voyages. A presentation by Garry Owens on his recent cruise around the Western Islands of Scotland kicked off the new section in the club recently. To help launch the new section a new cruising section has been attached to the Club's website. Go to www.skerriessailingclub.com/cruising. If you had an interesting cruise recently suitable for inclusion on the new website e-mail Brian Lennon at redisle@gmail.com.
Winter Parking
All dinghy owners with boats parked but not paid for, please settle ASAP as boats with unpaid accounts will NOT be allowed to park this Summer.
ISA Junior Courses
The dates for ISA junior sailing courses are as follows:
Level 1: One week courses commence 30 June, 7 July, 14 July and 21 July (Choose any week).
Level 2: One week courses start 30 June, 7 July, 14 July & 21 July.
If your children want to do Levels 1 & 2 they can choose any 2 weeks, they don't have to be 2 consecutive weeks although obviously a Level One course must be taken first.
Level 3 (One course only) starts 7 July and runs for 3 weeks
Our Fun Levels 2+ and 3+ dates are yet to be confirmed, but they will probably run for 2 weeks each. more information over the next few weeks. For course details and to book contact Siobhan Boylan at skerriesframeworks@gmail.com.
Sailing Talks in the Club
A short season of talks about sailing for newcomers will take place on Thursday nights in Skerries Sailing Club from March 20 to April 17 at 8.15 pm.
The talks are ideal for people who have just taken up sailing, or hope to do so. They are free and are also open to non-members. People attending the majority of the talks will be invited to go afloat in May on practical sailing demonstrations where they can see what they have learned put into practice.
The first talk (which took place March 6) on The Theory of Sailing and included a short film on learning to sail will be repeated at a later date.
Talks on other Thursday nights will deal with issues such as:
Cruising
- Understanding the Tides and the Weather in Skerries
- Starting to Race
- Understanding The Flags
- Understanding Racing Rules
- Sailing in Windy Weather
- Sailing in Light Winds
- Sailing with a Spinnaker
(Some talks may deal with more than one topic)
For further information contact Gerry Byrne at 01-8411190 or e-mail info@skerriessailingclub.com
Cruiser Craning In
The date for "Craning in" is 19th April (HW 12:42 BST 4.0m). This is two weeks before the trip to Carlingford. We will try to organise a race around the cans on the Sunday 27th to give everyone a chance to check their boats.
Offshore Programme for 2008
For a copy of the offshore program please email David Jackson on dgj1@eircom.net
Broadband Link in the Bar
Access to the Internet is being provided in the Bar. A broadband wireless link is being installed so you can bring your laptop down and do some work while enjoying a pint. Access is free. The access code will be provided by the bar staff.