Displaying items by tag: MG Sailing Club of the Year

1st March 2024

Joint Award Presented to National Yacht Club and Ruffian Association at MG Sailing Club of the Year Ceremony

The prestigious MG Sailing Club of the Year Ship's Wheel was awarded to both the National Yacht Club and the Ruffian Association at a presentation ceremony at Dun Laoghaire Harbour on Thursday evening, February 29th.

As Afloat's WM Nixon announced in early January, the joint award to the club and class 'perfectly expressed the overall mood of all that is best in Irish sailing as the 2024 sailing season begins'.

The event was attended by many NYC Olympians, world champions, and cruising achievers, many of whom received 15 premier awards at the club achievement awards ceremony just a week ago.

During the tea time presentation, Commodore Peter Sherry expressed his gratitude and pride in the spirit and community that underpinned everything the National YC and its members achieved in 2023 and was 'delighted' to have been honoured with the Ruffian 23s.

The presentation was a pre-2024 sailing season high for the Dublin Bay club and class and something the club cherishes, according to Sherry.

Heather Kennedy, the daughter of the Ruffian 23 designer and builder Billy Brown, travelled from Strangford Lough to be present at the ceremony. She gave a brief history of the class, which celebrated its golden anniversary in 2023.

Afloat's W M Nixon will review the award and the night's celebrations in full in his Sailing on Saturday blog tomorrow (March 2) here.

Published in National YC

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Forty Foot Swimming Spot on Dublin Bay

The 'Forty Foot' is a rocky outcrop located at the southern tip of Dublin Bay at Sandycove, County Dublin from which people have been swimming in the Irish Sea all year round for 300 years or more. It is popular because it is one of few spots between Dublin city and Greystones in County Wicklow that allows for swimming at all stages of the tide, subject to the sea state.

Forty Foot History

Traditionally, the bathing spot was exclusively a men's bathing spot and the gentlemen's swimming club was established to help conserve the area.

Owing to its relative isolation and gender-specific nature it became a popular spot for nudists, but in the 1970s, during the women's liberation movement, a group of female equal-rights activists plunged into the waters and now it is also open to everyone and it is in the control of Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council.

Many people believe that swimming in extremely cold water is healthy and good for the immune system.

Is it safe to swim at the Forty Foot?

The Forty-Foot is a great place to swim because there is always enough water to get a dip but like all sea swimming, there are always hazards you need to be aware of. For example, a lot of people like to dive into to the pool at the Forty-foot but there are submerged rocks that can be hazardous especially at low water. The Council have erected signs to warn people of the underwater dangers. Other hazards include slippy granite cut stone steps that can often be covered with seaweed and of course marine wildlife including jellyfish that make their presence felt in the summer months as do an inquisitive nearby Sandycove seal colony.