Afloat.ie has learned that the National Yacht Club’s pandemic-delayed 150th anniversary gala dinner has sold out in under 24 hours.

The event on Saturday 22 October marks the club’s sesquicentennial some two-and-a-half years late, after COVID restrictions forced the cancellation of the originally scheduled dinner in March 2020.

While the €90-a-plate night is a black-tie affair, the club says “pops of colour” will be “very much encouraged”.

It adds that the evening will commence with pre-dinner drinks, moving onto a superlative five-course meal with wine accompaniment, covering the vernacular of classical and nouvelle cuisine by club chef Cormac Healy, which will be interspersed with and followed by entertainment until late.


“We hope that all who wish to attend can make it to celebrate the past, present and future of the National Yacht Club,” the club says.

“The committees of the National Yacht Club look forward to seeing you there and belatedly ushering in the next 150 years of our exceptional club in appropriate style.”

The National Yacht Club is hosting its annual Davy Junior Regatta in Dun Laoghaire next Wednesday 13 July.

Registration will take place the prior evening Tuesday 12 July from 5pm to 6.30pm and again on Wednesday morning from 8.15am to 9am, ahead of the competitors’ briefing at 9.15am.

Three races are scheduled for the day, Launching for both junior sailing fleets is scheduled to commence at 10am with the first warning signal for the Harbour Fleet at 10.45am and the Main Fleet at 11.15am.

The entry fee for the regatta is €15 for single-handed boats and €25 for two-handed boats.

Meanwhile, the current entry list, Notice of Race and Sailing Instructions can be found on the NYC website.

Click HERE to enter the regatta — entries close at 9pm on Tuesday 12 July.

The National Yacht Club is holding its biennial Regatta presented by main sponsor Davy this Saturday 18 June, and the Notice of Race and online entry are now available.

The Dun Laoghaire waterfront club promises a great programme of entertainment ashore and guaranteed great racing on the water on a date that’s not to be missed.

The National Yacht Club seeks a Head Coach, part time or full time, to lead high-quality learning throughout the club’s general membership, racing yachts, performance sailing, all coaches and instructors, junior section and cadet members.

Based on the Dun Laoghaire waterfront, the club has a membership of around 400 members, including more than 200 junior sailors, taking part in the sport throughout the year. 

The successful candidate for NYC Head Coach should have the following broad aims:

• To uphold and enhance the mission of the NYC.
• To raise the sailing standards of members, instructors and junior sailors of the club.
• To enhance the club’s participation at all levels among junior and adult sailors.
• To drive presentation and performance of the club’s sailors at regional and national sailing events.
• To build an excellent coaching and performance culture and environment.
• To grow the pipeline of youth membership and establish a pathway from junior sailors to adult membership.

The Head Coach should undertake the following activities:

• To lead all sail training and performance coaching programmes for junior and adult sailors: match, team and club racing, WoW, U25s and junior training.
• Develop and implement programmes for all members, including individuals, teams and different cohort.
• Oversee the development of the club’s Performance sailors and put in place a schedule of performance sailing coaching sessions at the club and external events.
• Select, develop and retain all instructors and coaches and provide support with training execution and review.
• Review and ensure compliance with schedules, pathways, standards, protocols, course, infrastructure and processes for all coaching.
• Increase coaching revenue at the club.
• Coordinate and communicate with coaches and sailing stakeholders.
• To work with the boathouse to ensure the club infrastructure, boats, rescue etc required to compete and provide training are maintained to a high standard.
• To work with the sailing manager and administrative team to ensure that all administrative tasks required to manage the course programme are executed in a timely manner.

The Head Coach should have the following skills and competencies:

• Trained in coaching, first aid and safeguarding through Irish Sailing.
• Highly experienced with 10-plus years and expert in sailing and racing as subject matters.
• Excellent interpersonal skills, including coaching and mentoring.
• Effective communication and leadership skills required to manage all stakeholders.
• Proven track-record of working as part of a team in a similar position is desirable.
• Full, clean drivers licence (with trailer).

This role is accountable to the club’s Junior Organiser and General Committee.

Applications for this role should be sent to [email protected] by Monday 20 June.

Mark Hassett came out on top to win the inaugural National Yacht Club Match Racing Invitational on Sunday 5 December.

With his team of Adam Hyland and Robbie English, Hassett beat an impressive field of national champions and Olympic sailors to come out victorious.

After a postponement on Day 1 due to unfavourable conditions, the fleet of seven teams finally got out in the NYC’s fleet of purpose-built Elliott 6M match-racing boats. After multiple attempts and gusts upwards of 35 knots, it was decided to cancel racing for the day and have an early start the next day instead.

As Sunday rolled around, teams pitched up at 8am to a fantastic sunrise and ideal match racing conditions. Race officer Will Byrne cracked off 21 races to complete the round robin in impressive time. The top four teams — Mark Hassett, Brendan Lyden, Tom Fitzpatrick and Seafra Guilfoyle — proceeded to finals.

As top ranked team after the round robin, Hassett opted to face Guilfoyle in the first semi, leaving Lyden to go up against Fitzpatrick in the other side of the first to two wins in the semi-finals. Hassett had two clean wins against Guilfoyle to proceed to the finals.

Racing in the NYC’s Elliott 6M fleet in the club’s inaugural match racing invitational | Credit: Guy Boggan

Lyden vs Fitzpatrick was not so simple. Fitzpatrick took the first win with Lyden taking the second. Going in to the final race, it was neck-and-neck at the top mark, but a MOB on Fitzpatrick’s boat all but scuppered their chances of making the finals, allowing Lyden to sail to victory.

Then the finals were upon us: Hassett vs Lyden, who were also the top two teams after the round robin.

Hassett got the first Starboard entry start as top seeded sailor and the two locked horns for two very intense final races. Hassett won race one and looked to be trailing in the second but a smart tactical move, gybe setting at the top mark while Lyden sailed in to the lee of the west pier allowed them to regain the lead and sail to a 2-0 victory, winning the event overall.

Diana Kissane and her team of Ellen Cahill and Cliodhna Connolly also came away as top female team of the event.

Organisers offered “massive thanks” to Jones Engineering and Hyland Shipping for backing the evemnt. “Without the generous support of the sponsors, this event could not have been the success it was,” they added.

Online applications are now open for winter dinghy platform parking with the National Yacht Club at Dun Laoghaire Harbour.

However, with space very limited on the platform, the club advises that priority will be given to junior dinghies signed up for club training, and adult dinghies involved in club training and/or the DMYC Frostbite series. All other applications will be reviewed based on the space remaining.

Boats which have been accepted must complete the platform parking payment form made available to them prior to bringing their boats back on the platform.

Members are reminded that platform parking will not reopen before Saturday 23 October as the boathouse still has to lift many keelboats on trailers and position them on the platform after the main lift-out next Saturday 16 October.

Elsewhere on Dun Laoghaire’s waterfront, the Royal St George Yacht Club’s annual lift-out is also scheduled for next Saturday 16 October. More details are available on the RStGYC website HERE.

The National Yacht Club’s Topper winter training programme got under way with its first session today (Sunday 10 October) at the Dun Laoghaire waterfront club.

Training continues every Sunday until the end of November, with sessions for beginner (9.30am-12.30pm), intermediate (1pm-4pm) and advanced youth sailors (1pm-4pm).

The cost for the full programme is €175. Eight club Toppers are available to charter at an extra €90, for a maximum of eight sailors per group.

All sailors and parents are also obliged to sign the code of conduct to encourage good behaviour.

Registration is available online at the NYC website HERE.

The National Yacht Club has signed up to the 20×20 initiative to encourage more women and girls to get involved in sport.

Increasing the visibility of women in sport is the focus of 20x20, and so far over 600 clubs across Ireland have signed up to the initiative.

The NYC says it is “thrilled to celebrate the longstanding achievements of its women members and to encourage more women to get involved in sailing at all levels”.

This begins at the earliest stages, where the junior section “keeps a keen eye on ensuring that girls get involved”, while the Women on the Water network “has been encouraging beginners and rusty sailors back into dinghy and keelboat sailing for over six years, generating a vibrant and supportive community across the club”.

The NYC adds: “Across all levels and ages, women members are valued boat owners, helms and crew members, and are involved in leadership roles in sailing, including race management in the club and in DBSC.”

Highlights include NYC’s involvement in running the Irish Sailing Pathfinder Women at the Helm regatta in 2019 and being selected to run it a second time in 2020, while the NYC’s women are also represented in ISORA racing and the recent Dun Laoghaire to Dingle Race.

“Strength, fitness, inclusion, respect, leadership: these are key values of 20×20. What better role models than NYC members, Olympic silver medal winner and Tokyo 2020 competitor Annalise Murphy and Commodore of the Dublin Bay Sailing Club, Ann Kirwan.”

Women on the Water J80 crews are back in action in Dun Laoghaire from tomorrow, Tuesday 25 May, the National Yacht Club has announced.

Sailing will be on Tuesday and Thursday evenings and Saturday afternoons, in two series of one week each to prepare for DBSC racing which is planned to run until 25 September.

Interest is high so the NYC encourages anyone who wants to sail to act quickly. Sailing is organised by Women on the Water but is open to all members and new crew are always welcome.

Coaches are on board but some sailing experience is required in order to race. If you’re interested in joining up, text Caitriona O’Brien on 087 232 7748.

In other NYC news, the U25 section will also be a part of this summer’s DBSC programme, not to mention weeknight match racing in Elliot 6s.

The U25s will also be entering J80 teams in the Sovereign’s Cup in Kinsale, Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta, ICRA Nationals and Women at the Helm regatta — with coaching and team building opportunities for all skill levels — while the HYC will play host to an inter-club U25 J80 regatta, details to come.

The Notice of Race and online entry form are now available for the Irish Cruiser Racing Association’s National Championships 2021 later this year.

As previously reported on Afloat.ie, the National Yacht Club in Dun Laoghaire is the host for this year’s event — scheduled for the weekend of Friday 3 to Sunday 5 September.

The three-day Championships being held in Dun Laoghaire will comprise fleets accommodating offshore, traditional and white sail racing.

Each fleet will get its own race areas with race management. Three fleets will be accommodated at the event covering:

• Fleet 0 Class 0
• Fleet 1 Class 1 and 2
• Fleet 2 Class 3 and Corinthians Cup White Sails classes

Fleet 0 will be provided with a combination of Coastal courses and Windward Leeward races, while Fleets 1 & 2 will have a mix of inshore races covering both Round the Cans and Windward Leeward courses.

The Irish Cruiser Racing Association’s National Championships 2021 is on Dublin Bay this September

Courses will be managed by International PROs Jack Roy and Con Murphy from the NYC.

Back on shore, possibly for the first big Irish regatta of the year, the renowned National Yacht Club will welcome and provide full hospitality for all, subject to prevailing COVID 19 regulations.

Regatta Director, Paul Barrington commented, "The National Yacht Club is delighted to be hosting the ICRA National Championships and to welcome sailors from around the island of Ireland following a very difficult 18 months. Together with ICRA and a large team of National Yacht Club volunteers, we look forward to creating an environment for enjoyable and competitive racing for these prestigious Championships."

The National Yacht Club in Dun Laoghaire is the host for this year’s event

ICRA Commodore, Richard Colwell added, "We are delighted to launch the ICRA National Championships 2021 in conjunction with the NYC and our sponsors. It is fantastic to be launching an event that looks very likely to go ahead, and now looks certain to be one of the biggest and most competitive events of the year. We will have great racing and fun for all cruiser racers at the Championships, from J24s to Sunfast 3300's, and both furling and non-furling white sails classes. We recommend completing your entry as soon possible to ensure your place."

Entries can be made on-line here before 20 August 2021

The Entry Fees are as follows: 

Before 11th June

Boats rating 0.895 and under €165
Boats rating between 0.896 and 0.985 €195
Boats rating 0.986 and above €225

After 11th June

All Boats €245