Well, the summer sailing season was not so much ushered in, as blasted in, by knots in the double digits and one memorable downpour that rendered this writerâs oilies obsolete. No Turkey Shoot or Spring Chicken had doused so deep. And then the fog. A choreography of ghost appearances as sportsboats and cruisers, 29ers and lasers, intersected between pier and committee boats, waiting for the cloud to lift. Ah, but then, the sunshine!
The National Yacht Club Women on the Water enjoyed a full schedule of J80 DBSC racing on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays with coaching on Jay-Z by the inimitable Sam Webb, and robust crews on Jamiroqui. New sailors were welcomed in, and once again this season saw some experienced sailors who had been out of sailing for a while, what with work and kids, return to the National and quickly pick up where they left off. Are you thinking about how to get back into sailing? Fancy the craic on a sportsboat? Contact the NYC office and get yourself on the WoW whatsapp group to hear about whatâs happening.
The summer wasnât all about racing: intrepid crews ventured south and west to deliver boats and gain qualifications. Dara Totterdell skippered her Nepenthe with a WoW crew to Kilmore Quay. WoW headed west to join Sophie of Wild West Sailing on a training cruise around the Aran Islands to qualify crew for their International Certificate of Competence. In glorious weather there were turns in tight harbours, m.o.b. drills and moorings, followed by swims and pints in Aran MĂłr. Bouldering across fishing boats an unexpected add-on (glad the tide was rising not falling that evening). This is just a glimpse of what the NYC WoW sailors got up to this summer.
To cap it all, the NYC was proud to host the SIA Irish Sailing Women at the Helm regatta the last weekend of August. It was a huge success both on and off the water. Well done to Marie Barry and Cariosa Power who competed in the Fireball World Championships in Lough Derg in August. Well done also to Charlotte OâKelly, Louise Dwyer, Antonia ORourke who competed in SB20 Worlds hosted by RIYC in September. We look forward to the Turkey Shoot in bracing winds, a return to laser training, and longer evenings to discuss tactics over drinks by the fire.
Derval Tubridy
