After an absence of over a month, sails made a welcome return to the Dublin Bay horizon this morning after the Coastguard advisory was lifted and Dun Laoghaire marina reopened to boat owners.
Almost as soon as Phase One of the government easing restrictions came into force, four sailing cruisers emerged from Dun Laoghaire Harbour by 9 am this morning. Three headed south on the tide past the Forty Foot bathing place with one anchoring in Scotsman's Bay.
They're the first sailing boats seen on the Bay since April 12th when two visiting UK yachts arrived into Dun Laoghaire Harbour to escape a north-east gale.
Sailing with a crew made up from the same household is now possible subject to the constraints of taking leisure pursuits within five km from a person’s home and returning to the harbour of departure.
Yacht club forecourts at the country's biggest boating centre will also reopen this morning with limited access to boatowners preparing boats for launching at the end of this month.
Also expected to make a return to the water at Dun Laoghaire is household-based sailing crews, solo sailing and the Olympic team from their High Performance base.