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TONIGHT: Alistair Rumball Lecture – A Life in the Irish National Sailing School

18th April 2018
Alistair, (right) Arthur Rumball and Bobo the Dog from the early days of the INSS sailing a Sherrif Day Sailor in Dun Laoghaire Harbour Alistair, (right) Arthur Rumball and Bobo the Dog from the early days of the INSS sailing a Sherrif Day Sailor in Dun Laoghaire Harbour

Alistair will be reliving 40 years of teaching tonight (Wednesday, the 18th of April at 8pm) at the INSS Clubhouse on the West Pier in Dun Laoghaire. As Afloat.ie previously reported, the talk is titled “A Life in the Irish National Sailing School”.

Alistair Rumball will recount the history of Ireland’s largest sailing school, from its humble beginnings on George’s Street in Dun Laoghaire to what it is today. He’ll recant as many of the stories from along the way as possible and talk a bit about his view for the future of sailing.

All are very welcome to attend.

Published in INSS
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The Irish National Sailing and Powerboat School is based on Dun Laoghaire's West Pier on Dublin Bay and in the heart of Ireland's marine leisure capital.

Whether you are looking at beginners start sailing course, a junior course or something more advanced in yacht racing, the INSS prides itself in being able to provide it as Ireland's largest sailing school.

Since its establishment in 1978, INSS says it has provided sailing and powerboat training to approximately 170,000 trainees. The school has a team of full-time instructors and they operate all year round. Lead by the father and son team of Alistair and Kenneth Rumball, the school has a great passion for the sport of sailing and boating and it enjoys nothing more than introducing it to beginners for the first time. 

Programmes include:

  • Shorebased Courses, including VHF, First Aid, Navigation
  • Powerboat Courses
  • Junior Sailing
  • Schools and College Sailing
  • Adult Dinghy and Yacht Training
  • Corporate Sailing & Events

History of the INSS

Set up by Alistair Rumball in 1978, the sailing school had very humble beginnings, with the original clubhouse situated on the first floor of what is now a charity shop on Dun Laoghaire's main street. Through the late 1970s and 1980s, the business began to establish a foothold, and Alistair's late brother Arthur set up the chandler Viking Marine during this period, which he ran until selling on to its present owners in 1999.

In 1991, the Irish National Sailing School relocated to its current premises at the foot of the West Pier. Throughout the 1990s the business continued to build on its reputation and became the training institution of choice for budding sailors. The 2000s saw the business break barriers - firstly by introducing more people to the water than any other organisation, and secondly pioneering low-cost course fees, thereby rubbishing the assertion that sailing is an expensive sport.