You will have seen the ECHO 90 ketch moored in front of the Club since the start of the season, and may be wondering about her purpose.
Well, as a training vessel with disabled access, she has been in use in the Sailability Programme bringing disabled children out for a sail on the Bay. With the able assistance of Damian Quinn, Brian Geraghty and Pau Barrington, she participates in the Sunday morning and Wednesday evening Sailability outings, and on May 17th was a key element of the Sailability Day out of the RIYC.
On the training side, she is also used in the Adult training on Sundays bringing new sailors out on the water. As a ketch, with furling jib, reefable mainsail and mizzen, she has a very flexible sailplan with relatively easily handled small sails. Thus, Thomas uses her to bring the Nippers out for a spin on Fridays. She is also equipped with symmetric and asymmetric spinnakers making her suitable for more advanced spinnaker handling training.
If you are interested in giving her a try, please contact Thomas (headcoach@nyc.ie) and he can arrange a familiarisation session with one of the folks more experienced with handling her.
If you would like to organise a Corporate Charter, Thomas is drawing up a schedule, so you can check availability.
Credit: Paul Barrington
