#schull – Commodore of Schull Harbour Sailing Club Tadgh Dwyer set out the details of the 30th Cork Dry Gin Calves Week Sailing Festival from 5 – 8 August 2014 at Blackrock Castle in Cork city.
Dwyer pointed out that Calves Week is one of the largest annual sailing festivals on this island, attracting boats every year from around the island. "The attraction of Cork Dry Gin Calves Week has always been the strong mix of great sailing among and around the islands of Roaringwater Bay and the family entertainment held ashore."
Boats travel to Schull from clubs around Ireland for Calves Week every year to take advantage of sailing conditions not available elsewhere.
Rui Ferreira, who is responsible for delivering the Calves Week programme this year, emphasised that the 1000 Carbery Isles laid out in Roaringwater Bay play a major part bringing sailors back every year. "It is a significant additional part of the challenge for sailors that they have to deal with islands as marks, instead of managing a "round the cans" course. Islands come with rocks, currents, wind shadows and a host of other problems. When you sail in a Calves Week race, you can be competing as much with nature as with the other boats in your class. But a race with the Fastnet Rock as a racing mark is hard to beat."
At the same time the Committee has been focused on ensuring that boats can participate in the Regatta at a reasonable cost. "Entry fees have been maintained at the same rate for some years but more importantly by consolidating the racing days to 4 consecutive days in a single week, it makes it much easier for crews to be available, book houses locally for their families, and so on."
Dwyer added "This is as much an event for families as for sailors and that has been a significant part of the attraction of this sailing festival over the last three decades. This year the ashore programme will be hugely boosted by the local Regatta Committee which is putting together a great programme to celebrate the 130th anniversary of Schull Regatta the Sunday after Calves Week. We will be working closely with the Regatta Committee on their plans for celebrations of what is by any standards a significant sporting milestone. There aren't many sporting traditions in this country that can claim that sort of history. Venerable institutions like the IRFU haven't been around as long, although the GAA was established in the same year – a good year for sport in Ireland!"
Calves Week is proud to have a principal sponsor in Cork Dry Gin. Other Festival Associates are Parnells, Land Rover and Aseco.
