Galway Bay Sailing Club

Galway Bay Sailing Club is based in Renville Oranmore, approximately 7 miles from Galway City. The club is renowned for the warm welcome it extends to its members and visitors alike. It organises and facilitates the racing and sailing of dinghies, cruisers and multihulls for adults and junior members. The club also offers training and instruction to adults, juniors and non-members. The clubhouse with bar and catering facilities opens on Sundays afternoons and also Tuesday and Wednesday nights from April to September to facilitate the various racing fleets During the remaining months it opens on Sundays for dinghy racing and on Wednesday nights for talks and social events.The club has played host to many successful Regional and National Regattas with racing taking place against the backdrop of beautiful Galway Bay.  

The panorama photograph topping the website was taken in the early afternoon of the 4th May 2013 on the pier during the Sail Spree event and exemplifies various club activities including acknowledging the support from the Galway RNLI. Link to more detailed image.

This is the new GBSC website - a fresh start - a fresh look. Contributors required. Comments and suggestions welcome. 

New website is now 1 month old as of 31 May. Traffic during the month was a significant 177 Gbyte, up from an average of between 6 GByte per month over the previous year. Approx. 200-230 people visiting site per day. Of particular interest is the Junior and Youth Course details approaching 200 downloads during the month. Racing results, PRO articles and the weather being the most popular pages. Hope you like the new look !

Click here for latest PRO update. 

 Well it is nearly here ! Dart training takes place this coming weekend. Brian Phipps is over from the UK for two days of professional training. This is in association with the Irish Multihull Association (IMA) and GBSC. The purpose is to raise the level of Dart 16 sailing and handling in the fleet even further than it is today.

Please be at the club at 9:00 on Saturday morning.

Brian Phipps - talking about the downwind tell tale ...

Full report and video on dart16.ie.

Video compilation of Brian coaching the Dart 16 fleet on Satuday afternoon.

As you know last weekend we were looking for volunteers to help tidy up the flower beds.

We would especially like to thank all of those who helped: Eamonn, Amy, Julieanne, John, Walter and JP for all of their hard work and to Patrick not only for his hard work but also for his discourse on Darwin and the evolution of the species during our mid-morning break!! And the sun shone all day!

There is still a lot of work to do around the club for the event and a BIG CLEAN UP/PAINT JOB is planned for next weekend so please come and help out, its the last weekend before the event and volunteers are needed. You will be hearing more about this during the week.

And the before and after pictures ...

Before ...	After ...

Impressive !

We have 2 weeks left to get organised for connachts but let's not forget our own kids..... And their boats.

Great to see them improving so much every week.

A couple of bits you must have or it is considered not safe to go sailing. At event they are compulsory.

1. 2 bailers... There must be 2.
2. Mast clamp or equivalent. This is to stop the mast falling to ocean shore if the boat capsizes.
3. Centreboard must be tied in for same reason. 
4. Quick release clip where main sheet attached to boom. This is important for rescue and also coming ashore.

The regatta fleet will have 2 full days sailing... That is of coarse If it is not howling or dead flat calm!! They will do coaching in small groups in morning and racing in the afternoon. There are 2 coaches sent by iodai and we are providing local coaches for remainder. The regatta fleet is capped at 40 participants

Also...
In spares box there are a few handy items

1. Spare corner ties, thicker than sail ties, 3mm and
2. Spare sail ties, thin 1mm or close to that.
3. Toggles for top of mast.
4. Spare trailer clips (tripart or any car shop has them). Stainless steel ones ideal but harder to get and not essential. By the time they rust they will be lost. 
5. spare burgee

Ackie in Galway maritime may have some of these items and cud definitely order them in time. Otherwise Viking marine in Dun laoighre or Sutton dinghy supplies will post them.  Also there are lots of websites eg IBI sailing, optiparts.

We are planning 2 days next weekend 10 til 3, sat and Sunday to get kids up to speed. More later in week.

As you all know the GBSC is hosting the Connaught Optimist Championships on the weekend of the 29th & 30th June and with a view to making this a specially memorable event we need to spruce up the Clubhouse and the Club grounds. There is a big clean up/paint party being organised for the weekend of the 22nd & 23rd June but, this weekend Grace Denny and I hope to make a start on the flower beds outside the Clubhouse and we will need all the help we can get so, if you have an hour or two to spare on Saturday morning, anythime from 10.00am onwards we would appreciate the help. We hope to finish by lunchtime.

Greally's in Maree have donated plants & shrubs but, if you want to bring some along that would be great too.

Now all we want is for the sun to shine !

Who let these guys out ?

Saturday Morning got off to its usual start, a mad flurry of text messages, what time is it?, where are you going?, who are your going with? and have you got the milk?

Then Tony arrived and entertained us all as his Dinghy broke loose not once but twice, luckily Captain RoN in his Tweeds, fresh from his International Adventures was on hand to lend assistance as the fleet headed off on their trip to the docks…

Reminiscent of that Bond movie where the bold baddy got hold of the GPS clock and changed its setting and so our fleet was lead helplessly and Innocently away toward Black Head and beyond, 7 boats in all were affected by the uncontrolled technical diversion.

The thought of sunshine and fair winds we soon dismissed as we beat our way westward against a lumpy sea, having past Black Head and the thought of endless more hours of the same , one by one the sound of little Yanmar Engines been started up could be heard across the bay, well except for one poor unfortunate.

Hats off to Eammon on Jonty who did not have the same experience when he went to start his Donkey, just an eerie quite, so he sailed until dawn, the winds dropped while he was about 3 mile off Straw Head, so he took advantage of the opportunity to check the Donkey and found a loose connection, power was restored, the Donkey started and he engined into Killronan at 6:30 in the morning, what an adventure.

Blazer and Sea Loin were in ahead of the Fleet to welcome Rassy , Galypso and Inish B. Ti Joey Macs provide the focal point of the night, talk of a pod of Dolphins that accompanied Rasputin and plans for the coming day passed the night away. Had it not been for the video images of the Dolphins, we may have though that it was something that the Big Fellow put in the tea on board that caused these illusions.

The Following morning was greated by the the smell of frying rashers wafting deliciously from Innish B as it set off a frenzy among the local population of Sea Gulls, Galypso soon followed. For further entertainment the Big Fellow acquired some Pollock and proceeded to gut and fillet same while recanting his days as a Cabin Boy on a local trawler as the Gulls took lumps out of each other for the scraps to the amusement of some frozen American onlookers.

We soon departed heading for Inish Mean with 5 boats in tow and some 400 Sea Gulls, we waved goodbye to Eachtrai (best pronounced ACT3) who headed back to Galway early. The Big Fellow guided us across the inside of Straw Island on the rising tide and as the mist rolled down we snuck past the Customs & Excise and with little to declare except our genius we tied up in Inis Mann.

Once moored up a full assault of the island was undertaken. The main platoon went on a direct path to the village, while Eammon , Connor and Kowalski (our newest recruit to the NN’s) undertook a pincer attacking from each side. All military manoeuvres were successfully executed and the entire brigade was reunited in the local (and only) public house on the island, a great nigh of craic agus ceol was had by all and the entire fleet was serenaded to sleep as Big Fellow belted out a tune or two on the old harmonica accompanied by the MidHicMan on lead guitar.

Very quietly the following morning Jonty snuck of on her way northward to Roundstore and beyond. Inish B headed for the Vintage Car rally in Ballyvaughn while Rassy, SeaLion and Galypso took advantage of the early morning sun and headed to Innis Sear.

We all anchored off in the glorious sunshine. We were invited on board Rassy for Morning Tea (I has some suspicions, more Dolphins..) and a full demonstration of the “Twin Dinnete with Unimpeded Access” was given by the Master of the vessel. Once ashore it was time for the annual Cold Shower as we all tool a dip in the warm Alanticcccccc Gulfffffff Streammmmmmmmm, Burrrrr it was fecking cold.

We slowly warmed up and worked our way up to Ti Ruraidhi where we were given a full and private recital of CHANTAL DU CHAMPIGNON , we headed back to Galypso for the Brunch and soon the conversations were turning to where are we doing next, any plans for July the 7th, how about Roundstore as we drifted back under the shadow of Black Head and reality.

For this and and many other sailing related topics , photos and videos, keep an eye on the Galway Afloat forum at http://galwayafloat.freeforums.org

We held the IMA Westerns over the weekend just gone – and had great weather … for sunbathing. Not for sailing I am afraid, as the winds were very light or non-existent. I think the visitors who attended did enjoy themselves though and at least they can go away from Galway with a suntan, which is not something that happens very often. We did manage to get one official race in during the weekend, and had a laugh on the Friday evening with Dart match racing off the slipway.

I would like to sincerely thank all those who helped out at the event, without whom it would not have been possible. Fidelma Gallen looked after the registration. Darragh Conboy, Lisa O'Brian and Thomas Mills did a great job with the catering and behind the bar, happily (for us) staying open until the very early hours. Phillip Comerford, Stan and Aaron O’Reilly, John and Donal Collins, Mark and Pierce Purcell, Mox and the civil defence crew were doing the essential RIB support, laying and moving marks and inevitably a lot of towing! Erin Killeen and Dee McGrath assisted Dave Vinnell who was the race officer.
So thanks again to everyone who gave up their time to support the event, it is very much appreciated.

The next Irish Multihull Association event is our home event. It is on the 8th and 9th June.

NOR and SI's are in the downloads section.

Report at dart16.ie.

Dinghy Summer Series starts this evening. NOR is in Dinghy downloads area. 

The good news and the bad news.

Two of our Regatta team have received good news recently, work and study wise.

The bad news is they cannot now do the ICRAS/WIORA in Fenit 12th -15th June on' Discover Ireland' aka 'Lynx'.

We now have room for a handy kite trimmer and a pit person.

If interested please give me a shout. As always, we prefer to keep it local.

Don't forget the GBSC Dinghy Regatta 2013 this coming Monday 3rd June. NOR in downloads section. 

Winds light and variable for the day. First gun at 11am.

Gary, followed by Eric/Tom and Kevin - race 1 Dinghy Regatta ...

Race conditions were at near zero knots wind. As from Mox's photo, above taken a few minutes after the race start, you can see the reflection of the boats.

Results below.

Thanks to Tony Collins and Barry Heskin for photographs from GB13 over weekend. See Gallery for more.

Tomas and Barry ...

There has been great interest from the youth squad in going to the parade of sail this Sunday. We have 10 confirmed sailors and we may be joined by some Oppie, 420 and Dart Sailors - All are welcome.

Weather
At the moment the weather looks favourable with moderate westerly winds,temperature in the mid-teens, no rainfall and HW at 13.30 (Neaps).

Met Eireann Sea Area Forecast
Met Eireann 5 Day Forecast
Met Office UK 24 Hour Synoptic Chart
Windguru - Rusheen Bay
June Tides for Galway

Follow the action here - 10 sec refresh

Timetable

The teens are required to meet at the club at 11.00 am on Sunday and the provisional timetable is as follows:

11.00 Meet at club and rig Fevas
12.30 (or before) Assemble flotilla and depart for docks
1.30 Arrive docks.
2.00 Parade of sail.
4.00 Depart docks.
5.00 Arrive back at club.

Safety cover of up to 3 support boats will be provided for the outbound & homebound journeys by a combination of club rib, parental support and friends.

Food
Please provide €5.00 per child for a Pizza snack to be provided in the Docks.

Important
Although the weather looks fair, it will be important for the sailors to dress warmly and appropriately. Too much clothing is no problem, as they can take it off, - too little and they could get too cold. We recommend:

1. Wet/Dry suit.
2. Neoprene boots/booties.
3. Over-trousers/Salopettes.
4. Wind proof smock.
5. Thermal base layer or t-shirt.
6. Woolly hat/neck warmer
7. Buoyancy Aid (Not optional - Compulsory)
8. Don't forget the suncream and sunglasses.

For anyone leaving their dry clothing in the club changing rooms for the day. Please ensure that there are no valuables left there as there will be a lot of activity around the club and the clothing will be there for a good few hours. We will make arrangements on the day to transport any important and necessary items such as: medication or other (please notify me of any special requirements).

From dart16.ie

Files are quite large - so be patient.

This video from a head mounted GoPro illustrates Junior Tom Cullen crewing on a Dart 16. No Fear !

Event is Carlingford IMA Northerns, Race 1 finishing for 3rd (before plunk fizz), 12th May.

Click on image to download ...

From dart16.ie

Files are quite large - so be patient.

This video from a head mounted GoPro speaks for itself. Weather was wild ! No problem !

Tuesday May 14th, Race 1. Northerly 22 knots. Gusting 32-34 knots. Otherwise Wild !

Click on image to download ...

Well it seems to have gone on for ever but the Tune your Tackle finished on Tuesday. With 14 different competitors and accounting for over 100 entries. Series saw a number of helms and crew swapping over sharing a race each on a race evening. 

Anyway it finished with Tony and Kevin drawing level on nett points. Tony took the series having notched up a couple of first places.

Next series (Summer Series) comes up fast next Tuesday following the Dinghy Regatta. NOR and SI's will be available shortly.

Beginner and Improver courses starting this Tuesday and will run for 5 consecutive Tuesdays between 6 pm and 8.30 pm

If interested, please contact Thomas Mills for further details.

As advised during our announcements last night, we are facilitating any boats that cannot make tomorrows briefing at 16.30 in the Harbour Hotel by accepting registrations by return email to me before 16.00 tomorrow. The fees for 3 days racing are :

White Sails €60
Boats < 30’ €100
Boats > 30’ €130

Fees must be paid before results on Friday.

For those that are making their way directly to the start line, the only race on Friday evening will be a ‘coastal (round the cans) race’. The wind is expected to be light ( 8 – 10kts) from the NW and the course may start with a windward leg from a startline somewhere close to the centre of the triangle formed by Leverets, Mutton Outfall and Cockle.

It is hoped that the course can be called out on channel 8 as well being displayed on the committee boat before the start.

Skippers will need to nominate one crew member to act as a protest committee member in case they are needed.

Some photos from last night. Great turn out, great weather, and great sailing.

Blazer ...	Preparing to race ...

'I can do that too ...', Yannick.	Tribal ...

Hello, my name is Cathal Mahon and I sailed in the Ulster Regionals in Belfast last weekend. This was my first racing event and I was in the senior silver fleet. I travelled to Belfast with my friend Robert. We stayed in a guest house about a mile away from the RNIYC. There wasn’t much wind for the weekend and on Saturday we only sailed two races but on Sunday we sailed four races. My favourite part of the weekend was the last race on Sunday because there was a lot of wind and it was fun going fast. My least favourite part of the weekend was the first race on Saturday because my tiller extension broke and I had to retire from the race but overall I had a great time and I am looking forward to the Connachts next month!