170 adults and children took to the waters of Dun Laoghaire Harbour and Dublin Bay last Sunday 5th May to try sailing, kayaking and paddleboarding at the Irish National Sailing & Powerboat School Open Day.

New sailors got to grips with the schools 1720 fleet exploring the bay while kayakers and paddleboarders traversed the sheltered inner harbour areas. The school held its annual open day in partnership with the Irish National Sailing Club, established to allow graduates of the courses to continue sailing in a relaxed and friendly manner. Many club members joined sailors out on the various boats, sharing information about a simple continuous pathway for the new sailor to follow from an introductory course through to regular participant.

"The model developed by the school and club has proved successful in getting adults who have never sailed before to become regular sailors"

The model developed by the school and club has proved successful in getting adults who have never sailed before to become regular sailors. This was on show in force and everyone is hopeful for new this year's latest batch of new regular sailors to come from the initiative. 

Speaking about the event Glyn Williams, Marketing & Communications Manager from the INSS was delighted with attendance. “With 170 people out enjoying Dun Laoghaire Harbour and Dublin Bay, we’ve had our busiest open day ever. It was brilliant to see so many people meeting instructors from the school and INSC members, who were in the exact same place as them recently”.

All participants will now be encouraged to keep up their newfound skill, with the objective to have a new group of regular water users out before the end of the Summer.

“We’ve reoriented all our programmes to provide the most simple and streamlined route for both adults and children to become regular participants on the water. We’ve had no choice but to respond to potential sailors needs, and that’s the secret of the success”.