The group heads put together a small synopsis of this week's junior Summer sailing courses, running Monday to Friday 9am-5pm each day. Here's what each group got up to...
7-10 Years Group
The 7-10s enjoyed a fun filled week. On the first day one group enjoyed a confidence building game of trying to sink the Oppie. We found out that this is easier said than done. The groups enjoyed sailing throughout the week with excellent wind allowing our older group to venture to the main harbour later in the week and both groups sailing passed the harbour’s resident seals. Everyone got the hang of steering a course as the week went on making the most of fine weather. Fun and games on the water rounded Friday off, an excellent week by all accounts.
Aonghus Byrne
Section Head
11-14 Years Beginner Group
What a great week we've had on the beach with the sunny weather making it even better! We started it all off learning the basics of sailing in our 3 beginner groups with everyone taking part in land drills and rigging races. After that it was straight out on to the water practicing tacking and reaching. The students spent Tuesday morning refining their skills further until the afternoon when they moved on to doing follow the leader.
Once everyone had listened to a bit of theory on the 5 essentials and the points of sailing, it was time to do a triangular course on Wednesday. Since everyone showed such great progress by the time Thursday came along, the decision was made to sail all the way up along the west pier and into the harbour. As the week came to an end, the majority of the last day was spent using the kayaks and paddle boards with everyone having a great time in the water including the instructors!
Will Hamilton
Section Head
11-14 Years Intermediate and Advanced Groups
The fantastic weather conditions forecast for the week allowed us to run the groups from the harbor. The aims for the early half of the week were getting all boats sailing a full triangular course and learning how to tack and control speed in the Laser Picos – a new boat for most of the group. Thursday saw us travel to Dalkey Island using the fleet of 1720 Sportsyachts! The fantastic conditions continued and everyone got a chance to drive the big boats.
Niamh Williams & Kirsty Paterson
Group Heads
15+ Years Group
We got off to a flying start this week. Monday kicked off with the usual familiarisation in our laser picos. After a quick briefing we swiftly got out on the water. Tuesday was our first introduction into up wind sailing so we started with a follow the leader exercise to build confidence. The following day there was perfect weather outside the harbour so we explored the bay. Back in the harbour we had our weekly blue mark challenge where not one but TWO students managed to stand up successfully on the mark. Both Eoin and Fiachra managed this feat within moments of each other.
Our weekly day trip was to Dalkey Island, with the group getting involved in the planning for the day. Teamwork was required on our small keelboats as the students were sailing in groups. Lunch was on the Island in the beaming sun.
We rounded the week off with “Cake Friday” with plenty of sweets and treats to be had, but not before we had our quick sail in the morning followed by the weekly “Get the instructors in the water competition”. Overall it was an amazing week with many students improving in leaps and bounds but with plenty of fun had along the way.
Conor Keane
Section Head