LoughSwillyYC

Melmore Rally

2009-07-03T17:24:00.002+01:00

Click to enlarge

Sailing School

2009-07-03T17:22:00.001+01:00

2009 Summer Sailing Programme Rathmullan
Get sailing this summer with the Rathmullan Watersports School. Our ISA certified instructors will be offering three levels of courses designed to get you on the water and up to speed in our fleet of new Laser Pico dinghies. The Rathmullan Watersports School is run by the Rathmullan and District Resource Centre in association with the Lough Swilly Yacht Club. All of our instructors are fully ISA certified. The Centre is currently applying for full ISA Centre recognition and hopes to have achieved this by programme begin.
For more information and a booking form, go to www.rathmullan.info or contact the Rathmullan Watersports School at rathmullanwatersports@gmail.com

Tory Island

2009-06-27T17:14:00.000+01:00

The race to Tory took place on 13 June from Fahan under glorious sunshine. Winds remained fairly constant until the fleet reached Swillymore when conditions were flukey and some Yachts getting caught up in fishing lines. Chilli Paddi with only 2 on board were a victim and one crew member had to deploy diving gear to free a line caught under the keel.The winds turned light towards the end with a number of boats retiring. Faustina drifted yards from the finishing line for 47 minutes before finally crossing it. Chilli paddi persevered to win Class 1 with the elated team on Magic Spell taking honours in Class 2.
Festivities on the Island were some what toned down as a sign of respect for the passing of an Islander. The Dutiful King obliged in the presentation ceremonies were a large crowd gathered in the local Hotel for the prize giving. A good weekend was had.

2009-06-23T19:24:00.000+01:00

The dinghy season opened after the opening day lunch on Sunday with 8 boats on the water. It was encouraging to see a new generation of young sailors taking the helms of their own vessels as well as members new to the club taking part. Winds were light and flukey, making for some tactical sailing in the first race. Not all persisted in the taxing conditions but the winners were - 1st Weeble, Laser II (Caoimhe McKenna & Robert Nicholls), 2nd Stephen Doherty in a Topaz Uno, 3rd Jack Hutton in a Topper. The 2nd race was abandoned by popular consent in favour of capsize drills. It is good to see that the young generation take safety seriously. All in all it was a good start to the season and I look forward to the continued growth of dinghy sailing at the club. Paul McSorley
Vice Commodore

Dinghy Sailing

2009-06-16T18:42:00.002+01:00

The LSYC dinghy sailing programme kicks off this weekend on Sunday 21st June from 4pm-7pm

Dinghy group meet at slipway at 4pm, club boats available for use by club members

Opening Day Lunch

2009-06-16T18:38:00.001+01:00

The opening day lunch will take place this Sunday 21st June in the newly refurbished clubhouse at 1pm
Price €15 Adults, €5 Kids

Topaz Nationals

2009-06-08T16:41:00.002+01:00

When most club members are on their way to Tory Island for the weekend, Stephen Doherty will be competing at the Union Chandlery Topaz Nationals at Malahide Yacht Club, wish him luck on the 13th and 14th of June!!!
more info available at www.topazclass.com

Club Flags and Burgees

2009-06-08T16:28:00.003+01:00

Thanks to Tarla for ordering new Flags and burgees which are now available, the prices are:
Ensign 18x24 inch €38.00 / £33.00
Ensign 24x36 inch €48.00 / £42.00
Burgee €15.00 / £13.00

They can be bought by sending a cheque made out to the Lough Swilly Yacht Club to the following address:
Tarla MacGabhann
Ballaghderg
Letterkenny
Phone Number: 074 9129440 or 086 699 4525

Congratulations Richie!

2009-05-19T17:58:00.003+01:00

Derry sailor to lead Irish entry in Clipper 09-10 Round the World Yacht Race

Derry man Richie Fearon, 28, is ecstatic about his appointment to skipper the Irish entry, Cork, in the Clipper 09-10 Round the World Yacht Race. “It’s a dream come true!” he says. “It’s the boat I really wanted and I can’t wait to meet my crew, get going and get out there to showcase the Cork region and Ireland around the world.”

Cork is one of the ten internationally-sponsored entries in the Clipper Race, the only event in the world where people from all walks of life step out of their comfort zones and onto a stripped down 68-foot racing yacht for the 35,000-mile race around the globe. Cork is sponsored by a joint partnership between Fáilte Ireland, Cork County Council and Cork City Council with the aim of driving tourism and business investment. The region will host a stopover in June 2010.

“It goes without saying that arriving in Cork at the end of that last Atlantic crossing will be the highlight of the race!” says Richie, who has been sailing since he was a child and has combined a love of the ocean with a career in business. His role as a project manager with a property development company and as business coordinator with the Londonderry Junior Chamber will see him in good stead for the task that lies ahead: managing a team of people whose backgrounds include carpenters, chief executives, nurses, lawyers and even clergy.

“I think one of the biggest challenges will be bringing up guys who are relative novices. It will be great to see the joy that I once got when I learned to sail - I sometimes wish I could go back and learn how to sail again, just for the pure pleasure of it! But it’s great to have the opportunity now to pass on my knowledge to my crew. It’s certainly a challenge but there’s a big reward at the end.

“A successful race would certainly be crossing the finishing line in first place at the end, but a successful race for me would also be to get Cork around the world safely with everyone enjoying it and hopefully we can get some podium finishes on the way around.”

Derry-born Richie is itching to get started on building a winning campaign for Cork and will discover who is in his team when the crew allocation for all ten yachts is announced on 30 May. “I really can’t wait to get started but first we have a long summer ahead of us getting the boat ready and formulating a winning team,” he says.

The first edition of the Clipper Race was run in 1996. It was established by legendary yachtsman, Sir Robin Knox-Johnston who, in 1969, became the first man to sail solo and non-stop around the world. He wanted to make ocean racing available to everyone, regardless of nationality or background, and since that first race almost 2,000 ordinary people have taken the opportunity to step outside of their comfort zone and do something truly extraordinary by taking on nature in the raw and racing around the world under sail. More than 5,000 more have been introduced to sailing through the Clipper Training programme.

Richie says, “I applied to be a skipper on the Clipper Race because it’s a burning desire I’ve always had – not only to sail around the world but to race around the world. I think the organisation at Clipper for the race, the training, the management is spot on and they’ve got the right formula. That’s what attracted me in the first place.”
Sir Robin comments, “Leading a team in a race around the world is one of the hardest and most challenging jobs that any skipper could ever undertake and we’re confident Richie and his nine colleagues are up to this challenge. They have all been through a lengthy and rigorous selection process and we have chosen a group of exceptional individuals as our race skippers. They have the ability to draw the line between competitiveness and safety while, at the same time, motivating the crew to retain their focus during races lasting several weeks at a time, whether it be through roaring gales and towering seas or the frustration of tricky calm spells.”

Followers of the race can look forward to some exciting and exhilarating racing when Clipper 09-10 gets underway on 13 September. The race will start from the Humber River, the first time an around the world yacht race has set off from the east coast of the UK, taking the sport to a new audience. During the 35,000-mile race the fleet will stop at 14 ports around the world, including Cork, before arriving back in the Humber in July 2010.

The search will soon be getting underway for suitably qualified men and women to follow in Richie’s footsteps in the next edition of the race which will start in 2011. Skippers wishing to register their interest in applying for one of the most prestigious positions in sailing should email sirrobinknoxjohnston@clipper-ventures.com.

Opening Day Race - by Luke

2009-04-20T15:34:00.006+01:00

The Opening Day Race on Saturday took place in glorious sunshine with a light variable breeze. Ten boats competed, four in the IRC Fleet and a fabulous six in the newly developed Club Fleet. The Sailing Secretary choose an excellent course which was shortened due to the light winds.

All fleets started together and Faustina was first out of the traps with a perfectly timed run up to the line, however the hot afternoon sun must have affected concentration when they misinterpreted the course change, a mistake that cost them two places.

Drama Queen set the pace however winning by 10 minutes and beating Faustina over the line by a mere 16 seconds after 2 hours of racing. Desperado, desperate to win the opening race took second place with Hi Spirit fourth.

The honors in the Club Fleet went to a newly arrived boat, Tempo, winning by an incredible 50 minutes, I can see a split in the Mac Gabhann camp. Second place was a tighter contest, the also newly arrived H Boat, Wildcat, sailed singlehandedly by Paul Mc Sorley getting the better of John Lawrance and his crew on board Panache. The Racing was followed by prize giving in the clubhouse where crews cooled down to chilled Chardonnay in the afternoon sun.

Club refurbishment / Drinks sale

2009-04-14T21:44:00.003+01:00

The 2009 sailing season kicks off this weekend with the opening day race on Saturday at 12noon.
In order to clear the clubhouse bar area to prepare for the planned refurbishment work, all stock of beers, wines, spirits and soft drinks will be sold off after the race at reduced prices with additional offers for orders over €10.

Info on VOR Galway stop over

2009-04-12T09:36:00.001+01:00

Galway and the Volvo stopover:
The calender of events is:
Volvo: Boats leave Boston 16th May.
Boats arrive in Galway around 23rd May (could be earlier or later)
Boat practice for the inshore events on Fri 29th. This is generally very worthwhile to watch.
In-port racing Sat 30th May and Sun 31st May (the sat one counts for points and the sunday is a Pro-Am race)
Boats leave Sat 6th June. Start yet to be decided but not likely until 14:30 or 15:00.

GBSC:23/24 May 420 Western's. Will likely be run from Salthill.
29th May, GBSC 40th Birthday party launch in Radisson. Also Optimist Parade of Sail.
Sun 31 May/Mon 1 June GBSC Invitational. (Run on the ISA J80 fleet). Sponsored, by special invite .
Wed 3rd - Sat 6th June GB09 cruiser regatta. NOR is on http://www.gbsc.ie/index.php?option=com_jdownloads&Itemid=120&task=viewcategory&catid=3

Brian O'Sullivan is planning on running the O'Sullivan Marine 100 Mile race from Galway to Fenit probably on the Saturday (6 th June), starting in the late afternoon to get boats to move to Fenit for the ICRA nationals the following week.
Please apply for a mooring for the event poste haste. Booking form is at http://www.letsdoitgalway.com/visitorinfo.php?id=67

Outside of the activity on the water, there is a huge festival being planned for the 2-week stopover, with live music by well-known musicians, etc. It will be one hell of a party!

2009-04-10T15:14:00.004+01:00

The 2009 season is fast approaching i'm sure everyone is looking forward to the first race on sat 18th, 2009 tides are available from this link:
2009 tides
Also a reminder that the Racing Rules of Sailing have been modified this year, details are available here from the ISAF:
www.sailing.org/documentation
Do you know anyone under 25 interested in taking part in the Tall Ships Races 2009?
Cremyll Sailing or check out facebook:Cremyll on facebook

2009-03-18T21:22:00.000Z

In 2009, your committee will be working with the Irish Sailing Association to develop a strategic plan for the future of the club, and an important strand of this initiative is to seek the views of the current members. A short survey has been developed and is available from the link below:

We would be most appreciative of your time to let us know your views.

http://ecustomersurvey.com/dsm/ViewSurvey.do?id=81af2594-e5ee-4a88-89bc-67b39f746de0'

Carrickfergus boat jumble

2009-03-01T16:40:00.002Z

Click to enlarge image

AGM

2008-11-24T20:25:00.000Z

AGM WILL BE HELD ON TUESDAY 9TH DECEMBER IN THE CLUBHOUSE, FAHAN

Portsalon results

2008-09-09T18:56:00.002+01:00

Well done and thanks to Sailing Secretary, Richie Fearon and OD, Gerry Fearon on the organisation of the persuit race last week.

Click to enlarge

2008-09-04T09:17:00.001+01:00

The race scheduled for 18th Sept will now take place tonight (4th Sept) at 7pm

Regatta report

2008-09-02T09:02:00.000+01:00

Saturdays dinghy regatta was a great success, with a good turnout and some fine sailing. In a fresh southerly breeze we assembled a fleet of 15 boats. The senior fleet was comprised of club members and visiting boats- 3 laser II's, a laser, an Enterprise, a Phantom, a Wayfarer, a 505, a JY15 and a mirror dinghy. It was a pleasure to welcome new members Robert Nichols & Caoimhe Mckenna sailing their Laser II. It was also encouraging to see members from Lough Foyle YC taking part and enjoying the excellent sailing resource that Fahan Creek offers.
The junior fleet was almost one class racing with 4 Toppers and 1 Laser PICO. They were sailed by 3 young members and 2 viistors who had taken part in the sailing school this year.
Over the short courses racing was tight and highly competitive. We managed 3 races and just made it ashore ahead of the now familiar rain storm. I trust everyone enjoyed the event and hope that dinghy racing will become firmly re-established in the LSYC sailing calendar. Many thanks to all those who helped with the organisation of the event, both afloat and ashore.
The winners were:
Senior fleet
1) James Eyre (LSYC), Helly Hansen, Laser II
2) Bill Johnson (LFYC) Apollo 3, Wayfarer
3) Kieran & jenny McAllister (LSYC) Mirror

Junior
1) Stephen Doherty (LSYC), Topper - LSYC Junior Dinghy Trophy
2) Aoife McSorley (LSYC), Topper
3) Ronan Lawrence (LSYC), Laser PICO.

Keep sailing- the season is short!
Paul McSorley
Rear Commodore

Dinghy Regatta update

2008-08-28T13:02:00.002+01:00

Sailing instructions, courses and entry form now available on the
dinghy page

Volvo Ocean Race

2008-08-25T12:31:00.004+01:00

PICTURES OF THE GREEN DRAGON TEAM DEPARTING IRELAND HEADING TO

ALICANTE TO PREPARE FOR THE START OF THE VOLVO OCEAN RACE

2008-08-22T08:27:00.001+01:00

LSYC Dinghy Regatta -OPEN EVENT-

Saturday 30 August 4.30-7 pm

2-3 races (triangular or windward/leeward courses) for dinghy trophy

Junior (u16) & senior fleets.

BBQ (burgers) & presentation in clubhouse after.

Entry €5

Club boats available for LSYC members & participants of sailing school 2008.

FAIRLEY 3 IS THEREFORE RE-SCHEDULED TO SUNDAY 31ST AUGUST @1730

Railway Tavern / Lifeboat

2008-08-20T19:10:00.006+01:00

The Lifeboat and Railway tavern Regattas take place this Saturday and Sunday.

Saturday RACE START 1030 One long race starting from Fahan
Saturday evening: Reception in Railway Tavern from 4.30pm
Sunday RACE START 1100 One long race starting from Fahan
Sunday evening: RNLI Reception in Clubhouse from 3pm

Dinghy Sailing Group

2008-08-15T08:31:00.003+01:00

Dinghy Sailing Group meets this Friday night on the Slipway in Fahan at 7.00pm

A reminder also that all members have been invited to Lough Foyle Dinghy Regatta this weekend

VHF radio course

2008-08-15T08:28:00.001+01:00

A Short Range Radio (VHF) course will be held this coming Saturday & Sunday (16th&17th Aug.) at Bow Waves, Galway. The course runs for two days from 9am to 6pm. The completion of the course will entitle you to legally use VHF channels for marine transmission. The cost of the course is 295 euro.
Mark Bowler
Bow Waves
Galway Sailing and Powerboat School
Harbour Enterprise Park
Galway
091 560560
086 8077177
info@bowwaves.com
www.bowwaves.com