Displaying items by tag: Sailing School

14th March 2018

Tonight at the INSS: From Sailing an Optimist to an Offshore Racing Yacht & Running a Sailing School

Kenny Rumball (above) will chat about his dinghy sailing and youth racing which was where he learned his skills

As part of the Irish National Sailing School 40th Birthday Celebrations the country's leading sailing school is hosting a series of free talks and events starting tonight when School Principal Kenneth Rumball will share tales about his background and the pursuit of his hobby including the story of the 2017 Rolex Fastnet Race Campaign and how the lessons learned can be used to encourage more people to try sailing in Ireland.

One of the topics Rumball will cover will be the inside story of the INSS's 2017 Fastnet Race Campaign.

Rumball will chat about his dinghy sailing and youth racing which was where he learned his skills. This section of the talk will be of particular interest to parent of young sailors who may like to get involved in this in the future.

The final section of the talk will deal with what is involved with running the largest training centre in Ireland and the UK and some of our plans for the future. We've a few new announcements planned for those in attendance!

The talk is open to all, please do let INSS know if you're coming along, by email to [email protected] or pop along to the INSS centre on the West Pier at 8pm today March 14th 2018.

Published in INSS

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30th March 2015

Dun Laoghaire Sailing School Dinghy Charter Scheme Benefits Winter Sailors

#dinghycharter – At the end of the 2014 summer sailing season as we started to look towards the winter racing series and talk of the 1720s racing in the Dublin Bay Sailing Club's Turkey Shoot and Spring Series writes Kenneth Rumball. Our dinghy sailors started to ask what was for them? A bit of head scratching and it was decided that the INSS would charter out our fleets of Lasers and double-handed dinghies to both our junior and adult sailors. Not only would these sailors benefit from having access to a boat to race in but we also supplied an INSS support boat manned by Glyn Williams to give that extra bit of security and also to act as a coach boat giving feedback to our sailors and helping them to progress their sailing. The support boat was also there to support some of our 'own boat' sailors also giving them an extra helping hand.

The 2014-2015 series has been a huge success for our sailors, a shaky start last October where a lot of our sailors who had never raced before all of a sudden were thrown in the deep end and on a race track before they knew where they were. Kenneth and Alexander Rumball who raced in the Fireball and RS400 classes respectively were initially on hand to give helpful hints and advice after races and encourage all sailors along.

It has been fantastic to watch the progress of all our sailors throughout the series which culminated today in the final prize giving of the 2014-2015 series. There were some claims to Silverware from the INSS team with Lorcan Tighe claiming the first Feva trophy in the PY class, Alexander Rumball claiming third in the RS class and Kenneth Rumball and Brian Byrne claiming the overall Fireball trophy.

Plans are already a foot for the DBSC summer racing series, with our fleet available for charter.

Alexander Rumball who claimed third overall in the RS Class

Loran Tighe of the INSS claims the Feva Trophy

Published in DBSC

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28th July 2014

Where to Learn to Sail in Ireland Without Being A Member of a Yacht Club?

#howtosail – This page is prompted by a suggestion by Dingle Sailing Club in County Kerry for a listing of places where you can learn to sail in Ireland without the need for club membership.

Making people aware of the opportunity to learn to sail without the need for boat ownership and/or club membership fees was highlighted by Afloat.ie's Tom MacSweeney as an important part of growing the sport of sailing. The point was clearly illustrated when MacSweeney was approached by a man who wanted his son to learn to sail in Cork but could not afford the relevant club membership fees.

If you offer learn to sail tuition in dinghies, keelboats, kitesurfers or windsurfers without the need for club membership fee please add your details in the comment box below:

Published in How To Sail

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28th June 2013

Irish National Sailing School (INSS), Dun Laoghaire, Co. Dublin

The Irish National Sailing School (INSS) is based at the West Pier in Dun Laoghaire, and it is the largest sailboat training provider in Ireland.

INSS has been introducing people to sailing and boating since 1972.

READ ALL THE LATEST NEWS FROM THE INSS HERE

The school provides all the essential gear, boats and buoyancy aids, while wetsuits can be hired by the week.

Instructors are very experienced, and are fully insured.

The school has a long tradition of teaching children in a pressure free, relaxed environment and works a lot with local community groups and schools.

Courses are either RYA (Royal Yachting Association) or ISA (Irish Sailing Association) certified.

Published in How To Sail

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1st April 2013

Sailing Instructors Pass RYA Dun Laoghaire Exam with Flying Colours

#sailinginstructors – 16 instructor candidates have successfully passed an intensive one week Royal Yachting Association (RYA) Dinghy Instructor course at the Irish National Sailing School (INSS) in Dun Laoghaire.

The new instructors have been working hard since last October to to successfully complete this course.

The three RYA trainers looking after the group were 'hugely impressed with the standard of these instructors and declared them to be a fantastic group', accroding to Kenneth Rumball of the INSS.

The instructors have a well earned break before commencing careers at the Dun Laoghaire Sailing School.

Published in Marine Trade

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20th May 2010

Sailing West for Round Ireland

The rule is simple; Keep Ireland and all her islands to starboard. For the captain and crews undertaking the Round Ireland Yacht race this summer with Sailing West on their Sunfast 37 and Reflex 38, one can add the following rules: Keep everyone safe, Keep to the Rhumb line and Get back on the Rhumb Line!

The sailing school - based from Dun Laoghaire - aims to include up to 20 Irish sailors in the key event. The crews will be made up of sailors from all backgrounds and disciplines who have a passion for sailing.

More on the Round Ireland Yacht Race:

Round Ireland Yacht Race 2010 Review

Round Ireland Yacht Race, Ireland's top offshore fixture

A Round up of 80 stories on the 2010 Round Ireland Yacht Race

Published in Round Ireland

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Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta

From the Baily lighthouse to Dalkey island, the bay accommodates six separate courses for 21 different classes racing every two years for the Dun Laoghaire Regatta.

In assembling its record-breaking armada, Volvo Dun Laoghaire regatta (VDLR) became, at its second staging, not only the country's biggest sailing event, with 3,500 sailors competing, but also one of Ireland's largest participant sporting events.

One of the reasons for this, ironically, is that competitors across Europe have become jaded by well-worn venue claims attempting to replicate Cowes and Cork Week.'Never mind the quality, feel the width' has been a criticism of modern-day regattas where organisers mistakenly focus on being the biggest to be the best. Dun Laoghaire, with its local fleet of 300 boats, never set out to be the biggest. Its priority focussed instead on quality racing even after it got off to a spectacularly wrong start when the event was becalmed for four days at its first attempt.

The idea to rekindle a combined Dublin bay event resurfaced after an absence of almost 40 years, mostly because of the persistence of a passionate race officer Brian Craig who believed that Dun Laoghaire could become the Cowes of the Irish Sea if the town and the local clubs worked together. Although fickle winds conspired against him in 2005, the support of all four Dun Laoghaire waterfront yacht clubs since then (made up of Dun Laoghaire Motor YC, National YC, Royal Irish YC and Royal St GYC), in association with the two racing clubs of Dublin Bay SC and Royal Alfred YC, gave him the momentum to carry on.

There is no doubt that sailors have also responded with their support from all four coasts. Running for four days, the regatta is (after the large mini-marathons) the single most significant participant sports event in the country, requiring the services of 280 volunteers on and off the water, as well as top international race officers and an international jury, to resolve racing disputes representing five countries. A flotilla of 25 boats regularly races from the Royal Dee near Liverpool to Dublin for the Lyver Trophy to coincide with the event. The race also doubles as a RORC qualifying race for the Fastnet.

Sailors from the Ribble, Mersey, the Menai Straits, Anglesey, Cardigan Bay and the Isle of Man have to travel three times the distance to the Solent as they do to Dublin Bay. This, claims Craig, is one of the major selling points of the Irish event and explains the range of entries from marinas as far away as Yorkshire's Whitby YC and the Isle of Wight.

No other regatta in the Irish Sea area can claim to have such a reach. Dublin Bay Weeks such as this petered out in the 1960s, and it has taken almost four decades for the waterfront clubs to come together to produce a spectacle on and off the water to rival Cowes."The fact that we are getting such numbers means it is inevitable that it is compared with Cowes," said Craig. However, there the comparison ends."We're doing our own thing here. Dun Laoghaire is unique, and we are making an extraordinary effort to welcome visitors from abroad," he added. The busiest shipping lane in the country – across the bay to Dublin port – closes temporarily to facilitate the regatta and the placing of six separate courses each day.

A fleet total of this size represents something of an unknown quantity on the bay as it is more than double the size of any other regatta ever held there.

Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta FAQs

What is Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

Dun Laoghaire Regatta is Ireland's biggest sailing event. It is held every second Summer at Dun Laoghaire Harbour on Dublin Bay.

When is Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

Dun Laoghaire Regatta is held every two years, typically in the first weekend of July.

Where is Dun Laoghaire Regatta held?

As its name suggests, the event is based at Dun Laoghaire Harbour. Racing is held on Dublin Bay over as many as six different courses with a coastal route that extends out into the Irish Sea. Ashore, the festivities are held across the town but mostly in the four organising yacht clubs.

How big is Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

Dun Laoghaire Regatta is the largest sailing regatta in Ireland and on the Irish Sea and the second largest in the British Isles. It has a fleet of 500 competing boats and up to 3,000 sailors. Scotland's biggest regatta on the Clyde is less than half the size of the Dun Laoghaire event. After the Dublin city marathon, the regatta is one of the most significant single participant sporting events in the country in terms of Irish sporting events.

How old is Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

The modern Dublin Bay Regatta began in 2005, but it owes its roots to earlier combined Dublin Bay Regattas of the 1960s.

How many boats compete at Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

Up to 500 boats regularly compete.

How many yacht clubs are represented at Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

Up to 70 different yacht clubs are represented.

Where do the yachts come from to compete at Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

The Channel Islands, Isle of Man, England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, Ireland countrywide, and Dublin clubs.

How many boats are visiting boats at Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

Nearly half the sailors, over 1,000, travel to participate from outside of Dun Laoghaire and from overseas to race and socialise in Dun Laoghaire.

What type of yachts race in Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

21 different classes are competing at Dun Laoghaire Regatta. As well as four IRC Divisions from 50-footers down to 20-foot day boats and White Sails, there are also extensive one-design keelboat and dinghy fleets to include all the fleets that regularly race on the Bay such as Beneteau 31.7s, Ruffian 23s, Sigma 33s as well as Flying Fifteens, Laser SB20s plus some visiting fleets such as the RS Elites from Belfast Lough to name by one.

What famous sailors race in Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

Some sailing household names are regular competitors at the biennial Dun Laoghaire event including Dun Laoghaire Olympic silver medalist, Annalise Murphy. International sailing stars are competing too such as Mike McIntyre, a British Olympic Gold medalist and a raft of World and European class champions.

How much does it cost to enter Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

There are different entry fees for different size boats. A 40-foot yacht will pay up to €550, but a 14-foot dinghy such as Laser will pay €95. Full entry fee details are contained in the Regatta Notice of Race document.

Where can spectators view Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

Spectators can see the boats racing on six courses from any vantage point on the southern shore of Dublin Bay. As well as from the Harbour walls itself, it is also possible to see the boats from Sandycove, Dalkey and Killiney, especially when the boats compete over inshore coastal courses or have in-harbour finishes.

How does Dun Laoghaire regatta compare to international regattas?

Very favourably. It is often compared to Cowes, Britain's biggest regatta on the Isle of Wight that has 1,000 entries. However, sailors based in the north of England have to travel three times the distance to get to Cowes as they do to Dun Laoghaire.

Why is Dun Laoghaire Regatta so unique?

Dun Laoghaire Regatta is unique because of its compact site offering four different yacht clubs within the harbour and the race tracks' proximity, just a five-minute sail from shore. International sailors also speak of its international travel connections and being so close to Dublin city. The regatta also prides itself on balancing excellent competition with good fun ashore.

Who organises Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

The Organising Authority (OA) of Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta is Dublin Bay Regattas Ltd, a not-for-profit company, beneficially owned by Dun Laoghaire Motor Yacht Club (DMYC), National Yacht Club (NYC), Royal Irish Yacht Club (RIYC) and Royal St George Yacht Club (RSGYC).

What does Dun Laoghaire Regatta contribute to the local economy?

The Irish Marine Federation launched a case study on the 2009 Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta's socio-economic significance. Over four days, the study (carried out by Irish Sea Marine Leisure Knowledge Network) found the event was worth nearly €3million to the local economy over the four days of the event. Typically the Royal Marine Hotel and Haddington Hotel and other local providers are fully booked for the event.