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INSS Launch Irish Sailing Dinghy Instructor Courses and Training Support

1st August 2023
Children sailing an RS Quest dinghy during an Irish National Sailing & Powerboat School sailing course at Dun Laoghaire Harbour
Children sailing an RS Quest dinghy during an Irish National Sailing & Powerboat School sailing course at Dun Laoghaire Harbour

Irish National Sailing & Powerboat School Chief Instructor Kenny Rumball is joining the Irish Sailing Instructor Training Panel, and to get the ball rolling, the school has scheduled a series of Pre-Entry Dinghy Assessments this August.

The assessments are in response to a demand from candidates this Summer for additional opportunities, and the school and Kenny Rumball are only too happy to oblige, with assessments taking place on the following dates:

  • Friday 18th August (9 am-5 pm)
  • Monday 21st August (9 am-5 pm)
  • Friday 25th August (9 am-5 pm)

The school’s booking team are available to chat about the requirements for these assessments and assist in any way they can. Full information on these programmes can be found here.

Assisting with Training and Pre-Requisite Qualifications

The Irish National Sailing & Powerboat School are ambitious in seeking to provide assistance to prospective instructor candidates with a variety of courses within the Irish Sailing framework. Operations Manager Glyn Williams discusses the school’s plan “We’re recognised to provide training that aspiring instructors need, from the National Powerboat Certificate to First Aid and Coastal Navigation for Small Boats as well as for advanced and senior instructors including Safety Boat Courses. Over the next six months we’ll be launching a dedicated training portal to assist candidates and parents”.

This enhanced assistance will include scheduling courses more in line with Irish Sailing’s drive to get Pre-Entry Assessments completed in August/September when candidates' sailing skills are at their best. For now, the school have a range of National Powerboat Certificate courses running mid-week before the end of the Summer, as well as a schedule of Coastal Navigation for Small Boats Courses in September and October. To assist currently aspiring advanced instructor and senior instructor candidates the school have added a Safety Boat Certificate Course on Saturday 19th and Sunday 20th August.

Dinghy Instructor Courses

The school are also calling for interested candidates for the 5-day Irish Sailing Dinghy Instructor courses to get in touch. Although they’ve not got courses scheduled yet, they plan a programme at Halloween and again during the February Mid-Term break.

Published in INSS
Kenneth Rumball

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Kenneth Rumball

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Kenny Rumball is the Principal of the Irish National Sailing School in Dun Laoghaire Harbour. He is a multi dinghy champion and offshore sailor. In 2018 he was awarded the Royal Ocean Racing Club's Seamanship Trophy for a Man Overboard Rescue in the Round Ireland Race. In May 2020 he embarked on a mixed offshore doublehanded keelboat campaign with Pamela Lee.

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The Irish National Sailing and Powerboat School is based on Dun Laoghaire's West Pier on Dublin Bay and in the heart of Ireland's marine leisure capital.

Whether you are looking at beginners start sailing course, a junior course or something more advanced in yacht racing, the INSS prides itself in being able to provide it as Ireland's largest sailing school.

Since its establishment in 1978, INSS says it has provided sailing and powerboat training to approximately 170,000 trainees. The school has a team of full-time instructors and they operate all year round. Lead by the father and son team of Alistair and Kenneth Rumball, the school has a great passion for the sport of sailing and boating and it enjoys nothing more than introducing it to beginners for the first time. 

Programmes include:

  • Shorebased Courses, including VHF, First Aid, Navigation
  • Powerboat Courses
  • Junior Sailing
  • Schools and College Sailing
  • Adult Dinghy and Yacht Training
  • Corporate Sailing & Events

History of the INSS

Set up by Alistair Rumball in 1978, the sailing school had very humble beginnings, with the original clubhouse situated on the first floor of what is now a charity shop on Dun Laoghaire's main street. Through the late 1970s and 1980s, the business began to establish a foothold, and Alistair's late brother Arthur set up the chandler Viking Marine during this period, which he ran until selling on to its present owners in 1999.

In 1991, the Irish National Sailing School relocated to its current premises at the foot of the West Pier. Throughout the 1990s the business continued to build on its reputation and became the training institution of choice for budding sailors. The 2000s saw the business break barriers - firstly by introducing more people to the water than any other organisation, and secondly pioneering low-cost course fees, thereby rubbishing the assertion that sailing is an expensive sport.