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Displaying items by tag: Leinster Colleges and Schools

The Royal St George Yacht Club in conjunction with Leinster Colleges and Schools are commencing a new team racing league to be held over three Saturdays in March and April.

The ethos behind the league is to provide youth sailors with a more regular schedule of racing in between their clinics, which in turn will enhance their team racing skills and sailing experiences.

It will provide an opportunity to hopefully encourage teenagers to remain in sailing and perhaps assist clubs in expanding their junior sailing programmes.

As part of the league, coaching is permitted between racing at the changeover area to enable competitors to improve on their team tactics.

The races will be umpired and at the end of racing there will be a debrief regarding calls made on the water and an explanation of the rules.

As there is a limited number of Irish Sailing-accredited umpires, the league will also provide opportunities for those that have completed the Local Umpires course to gain on-the-water experience.

The Royal St George hopes that by providing these opportunities, it will whet the appetite for people to come forward to qualify as Umpires and go forward to attaining Regional or National status. Anyone interested is invited to contact Eunice Kennedy at [email protected].

Going forward, plans are in place to roll out this type of event in the other provinces for five to eight racing days between autumn and spring in order to enhance the experience of college and school team racing programmes.

The debut league will race on 11 March, 25 March and 1 April. The Notice of Race and entry form are available HERE.

Published in Team Racing

Every Year Ireland's Search & Rescue Services deliver emergency life saving work on our seas, lakes and rivers.

Ireland's Water Safety Agencies work hard to provide us with the information we need to keep safe, while enjoying all manner of water based activities.

There's no better fun than getting out on the water but being afloat is a responsibility we all need to take seriously.

These pages detail the work of the rescue agencies. We also aim to promote safety standards among pleasure boaters, and by doing so, prevent, as far as possible, the loss of life at sea and on inland waters. If you have ideas for our pages we'd love to hear from you. Please email us at [email protected]

Think Before You Sink - Wear a Lifejacket

Accidents can happen fast on water and there may not be time to reach for a lifejacket in an emergency therefore don't just carry a lifejacket - wear it; if it's not on you, it can't save your life.

Irish Water Safety's Safe Boating Alert:

Check condition of boat and equipment, hull, engine, fuel, tools, torch.

Check the weather forecast for the area.

Check locally concerning dangerous currents and strong tides.

Do not drink alcohol while setting out or during your trip.

Carry an alternative means of propulsion e.g. sails and oars or motor and oars.

Carry a first aid kit on board and distress signals (at least two parachute distress rockets, two red hand flares).

Carry a fire extinguisher, a hand bailer or bucket with lanyard and an anchor with rope attached.

Carry marine radio or some means of communication with shore.

Do not overload the boat - this will make it unstable.

Do not set out unless accompanied by an experienced person.

Leave details of your planned trip with someone ashore - including departure and arrival times, description of boat, names of persons on board, etc.

Wear a Lifejacket at all times.

Keep an eye on the weather - seek shelter in good time.

In Marine Emergencies, call 999 or 112 and ask for Marine Rescue.

Lifejackets Checklist

Ensure Cartridges have not been punctured and are secured firmly.

Ensure all zips, buckles, fasteners and webbing straps are functioning correctly and adjusted to fit the user.

Check that fitted lights are operating correctly.

Ensure that Automatic Inflation devices are fully serviced and in date.

Check that the valve or lifejacket is not leaking.