West Cork Sailing & Powerboat Centre – 1998 to 2009

In 1998 we discovered an old breezeblock shed next to Adrigole pier and slipway. We thought the location of a building by the edge of a sheltered harbour, surrounded in hills and mountains was perfect for a sailing school.

So, West Cork Sailing Centre was set up and our first 8 dinghies bought.  We operated for two years from the old shed, with no running water. Customers enjoyed the atmosphere, quality of equipment and expert tuition, and recommended us to their friends and family to provide us with more bookings.

In 2000 we got planning permission for our new centre and construction started in December of 2000. Paddy Bat and his team of builders worked hard to complete the building for June of 2001.

The luxury of hot showers, toilets and underfloor heating was wonderful.

The new building has lecture room, offices and cafe area, so The Boat House Cafe was opened for passing customers to enjoy a cappuchino while watching the boats sail by. In 2002 we received our Wine Licence.

2004 was a very busy summer and one of our children was very ill, so we closed the cafe to passing trade at the end of the summer and the comfortable dining area is now for our sailors only. We provide a buffet lunch with lovely home made soup to our sailors every day.

In 2004, the fleet increased to 40 boats and a team of ten instructors working in the summer. The cafe is now known as the Bistro and is now only open to our customers or parties.  This gives our customers their own relaxing lounge room to catch up on the days events at lunch time and at the end of the day.

The local area has taken a great interest in the development of sailing and to try and increase the availability of boats to the area we have linked up with Bere Island Sailing Club with three 20ft Sun 2000's from Jeaneau, which are in our fleet.  We also take care of Beara Community Schools fleet of six Toppers.

2005 and our dream boat joins the fleet – A Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 37 Legende. She is just perfect for comfortable sail training. So, we now offer the ISA Cruising Scheme training courses – Yachtmaster, Day Skipper and Competent Crew. The centre also became RYA approved to provide dinghy, keelboat, powerboat and cruising RYA certificates to our UK customers.

In September 2006 the Commercial Yachtmaster Intensive training course was launched and the centre is now busy throughout each winter training complete beginners to become Yachtmasters on a six-month course.

It is now 2008 and we have a total fleet of 50 boats, kayaks, dinghies, keelboats, powerboats and yacht.

The future is bright, as we plan to build the West Cork Adventure Centre with high ropes, low ropes, indoor climbing, archery, underground mazes, orienteering, climbing and much more. All inconjunction with the development of accommodation designed specifically for the outdoor enthusiast. So watch this space as this new dream develops.

We are open to new projects and ways of developing sailing within the area, so if you have any ideas please get in touch.

We hope to see you on the water with us soon.

Gail and Niall Mac Allister

THE NEW BUILDING HAS:
DINING ROOM- with Balcony overlooking harbour and Hungry Hill
HOT SHOWERS - peel your wet suit off in a hot shower!
HEATED CHANGING ROOMS - luxury
HEATED CLASSROOMS - with French doors out to pier
HEATED DRYING ROOM - dry wet suits

Open Hours: September to June – 10am to 5pm, Monday to Friday, and July to August – 10am to 5pm, every day

West Cork Sailing Centre, The Boat House, Adrigole, Beara, Co Cork. Tel: + 353 (0)27 60132, Email: [email protected] 

History – 1968 to 2009

The Club now based in its clubhouse at 38-40 Shore Road, Portaferry started as Cooke Street Sailing Club in 1968, named after a previous sailing club in the town which ceased operating in 1956. The Club initially provided racing for Wychcraft, a locally designed racing dinghy, and supplied a social base for local sailors and their supporters as well as visiting boat crews from all over the world.

It ran its first Regatta in 1969 and as the years progressed the Club added various classes of boat to its fleet before settling with Flying 15’s as its main and most popular class. In 1970 the Club felt it needed to be more representative of the town as a whole and changed its name to Portaferry Sailing Club

Over the next period of years it developed a junior sailing fleet using optimists and toppers. It also introduced and has developed cruisers racing. This fleet along with the Flying 15’s continues to expand and compete regularly in the Club’s weekly points racing and in local and international sailing events and championships throughout the season.

The Club itself has been responsible over the years for running national and international sailing events and is recognised as an excellent centre for competitive racing in Strangford Lough. Events like the ‘Galway Hooker Regatta’ for traditional boats, run annually at the end of June, have brought worldwide fame and recognition to the Club.

Portaferry Sailing Club was a premier mover and one of the founding organisations in the establishment of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution in Portaferry in 1979. To this day many of our members are on the crew, guild and management committee of the local station. The Club still loyally supports and assists with fundraising.

In 1991 the Club made history when it twinned with Poolbeg Yacht Club in Dublin. This was the first ever twinning of Sailing Clubs and more importantly it was cross border. Close relationships have continued with our friends at Ringsend ever since with many social and sailing visits between the clubs each year.

The Club’s social activities/events have always tried to support and complement events on the water and without the associated financial support the Club could not operate as effectively as it does. In this respect our clubhouse is quite unique and famous for its welcome to visitors to the area. The addition of a restaurant to the bar facilities over ten years ago has made the Club one of the best equipped clubs to cater for its members and visitors in Strangford Lough and indeed Northern Ireland.

Since its establishment the Club has always supported and taken part in the development of sailing in Ireland. It has also helped the local community develop and has added to the social and economic wellbeing of the town and its people.

Location

By road follow the A20 from Newtownards, there are local bus connections from Belfast and the nearest airport is Belfast City.
From the sea Portaferry is 4 miles from the Strangford Fairway buoy, position 54 22 72'N, on the east shore of the narrows position 05 32 85'W, 100 meters south of the ferry slip.
Chart 2156 gives details on Strangford Lough, chart 2159 gives details on the Strangford narrows. High Water Portaferry is + 02 00 hrs Dover / + 01 50 Belfast.
There is a strong tidal flow in the narrows 7.5 Knots Spring.

Club House

Our clubhouse provides changing and showering areas. We have a full range of bar facilities, food is also available from our restaurant. For more information please click on this restaurant link.
To contact the club write to: 38 Shore Road, Portaferry, Co. Down BT22 1JZ, N. Ireland, tel: 028 4272 8770, email: [email protected]

Portaferry Marina

The Marina is managed by Portaferry Development Committee and is situated right outside our clubhouse. It has berths for up to 30 boats, on site water and electricity.

To contact the Marina Office write to: John Murray, Marina Manager, Barholm, 11 The Strand, Portaferry BT22 1PF, tel: 028 4272 9598, mobile: 077 0320 9780, fax: 028 4272 9784.

Additional launching and berth facilities are available at Cook Street Jetty.

(Details courtesy of Portaferry Sailing Club) 

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Newtownards Sailing Club was founded in 1964, following a public meeting in the Town Hall, chaired by Stanley Woods, JP and ex-Mayor of Newtownards, who became the first Vice Commodore, with Lady Mairi Bury as Commodore.

The late Angus Jardine, and Dr David Park who is still a member today, were Rear Commodore and Hon Secretary respectively. Life membership in those days cost a mere £50 – a really good investment!

A site for the clubhouse was leased on the east coast of Strangford Lough about four miles south of Newtownards, and the Mount Stewart Estate, which owned the foreshore, agreed to the lease of a slipway. The original clubhouse, which was in use until 2001, consisted of two post-war prefab asbestos clad bungalows with a central entrance hall between them. The prefabs were bought second-hand in Donaghadee and erected at the Club site entirely by volunteer labour of the members.

A slipway was laid and the clubhouse officially opened on 15th August 1964. The club started with a collection of dinghies racing on handicap, mainly Scorpions, Enterprises, Mirrors and Cadets. Regattas in those days were well attended, with on one occasion nearly 200 entrants – River class, Glen class, Flying 15s, Lightnings, Dragons as well as the dinghies.

Over the years the mix of dinghies and cruisers has varied; today the club has one of the largest and most active GP14 fleets in Ireland, lots of windsurfers, and a dozen or so cruisers.

In 2001 the changing room facilities were modernised with the aid of a helpful grant from the Ards BC. In 2006 the prefab function room was demolished and a fine new two-storey function room and bar with kitchen and and office was built, again with the assistance of a useful grant from the Ards BC. This was officially opened by the Mayor of Ards, Cllr Angus Carson and attended by many invited guests on 7th October 2006.

The eagle, an interpretation of which appears on the club burgee, is that of the de Courcys who invaded Ulster in the twelfth century. John de Courcy built the castle round which Newtownards developed. The eagle appears within the crest of the town of Newtownards.

Newtownards Sailing Club, 161 Portaferry Road, Newtownards, Co. Down BT22 2AJ, N. Ireland

(Details courtesy of Newtownards Sailing Club) 

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Newcastle Yacht Club, South Promenade, Newcastle, Co. Down BT33 0EY, N. Ireland. Tel: +44 (0)28 4372 6515

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The Club premises were formally leased ot the Club in 1954 by the Allen family, together with the rights to all relevant sailing activities in Kircubbin Bay. 

Kircubbin Sailing Club, Ards Peninsula, Strangford Lough, Co. Down, N. Ireland. Email: [email protected], tel: Clubhouse 028 427 38422, Secretary 028 427 98050, post: The Secretary, Kircubbin Sailing Club, 106 Shore Road, Kircubbin, Co. Down BT22 2RP, N. Ireland

(Details courtesy of Kircubbin Sailing Club) 

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Holywood Yacht Club is a Recognised Teaching Centre (RTC). As such it is permitted to run RYA Courses using qualified RYA Instructors and standards are maintained by regular inspections.
Qualifications gained on RYA courses are widely recognised.

The Club welcomes new members of all ages and is well known for being family-friendly and down-to-earth. Throughout the year members organise an entertainments programme which centres around the club-house bar and hall with their fabulous views over Belfast Lough. Events have included barbecues, lectures, live music and quiz nights. Everyone is welcome.

For further information email: [email protected]

Holywood Yacht Club, The Esplanade, Holywood, Co. Down. Email: [email protected]

(Details courtesy of Holywood Yacht Club) 

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Left: Sunday Juniors at Greystones SC, 2009

Founded in 1968, Greystones Sailing Club has established a reputation as one of the top dinghy sailing clubs in Ireland. Its sailors have competed successfully in many open events over the years, both nationally and internationally. With over 300 members sailing a variety of dinghy classes, Greystones Sailing Club offers exciting and enjoyable dinghy racing for all ages and abilities and looks forward to welcoming keel boat members when the harbour facilities in Greystones are upgraded.

The club has an active training and sailing program providing sailing instruction for about 100 local children and 30 adults every year with on going class specific training for other members. Powerboat, VHF, First-Aid and Sailing Instructor courses are also run on an ad-hoc basis and are open to non-members. GSC also offers St David's Secondary School transition year students introductory Sailing courses.

Greystones Sailing Club has played host to a number of prestigious sailing events at International, National and Regional levels. It has organised and run Championship events for the Mirror, Enterprise, GP14 and Wayfarer classes. Greystones has been at the forefront of modern dinghy racing, introducing the RS dinghy classes into Ireland and for three of the last five years, hosting one leg of the internationally renowned RS Eurocup circuit.

(The above information and image courtesy of Greystones Sailing Club) 

Greystones Sailing Club, Club Secretary, North Beach, Greystones, Co. Wicklow. Email: [email protected] 

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East Belfast Yacht Club was founded by workers from the Belfast Shipyards in 1904, and has enjoyed both the high and the low years through its existence. From the high points through the 1920s/30s/40s and '50s when the Club hosted many sailing races and entertained the owners and masters of the massive J-Class yachts down to the more plentiful and massively supported Belfast Lough one designs through to the Flying Fifteens and Dragons and others of the various periods.

The Club was previously situated at the head of Belfast Lough near the now defunct oil refinery on the South shore but has been based on the present site in Sydenham Embayment between The Belfast City Airport and Victoria Park since 1939.

More recent activities have been more towards the Cruising side of Yachting with boats being built and refurbished at our base at Sydenham Embayment and used to cruise the Inland Loughs, the Irish Sea, The Med and indeed through Europe and across to the America's.

We have become established as the main non professional producer and knowledge base for boats built from Ferro-cement in Ireland, and have had visitors from many countries in Europe who wished to avail of our knowledge on the subject. A past Member and his good lady were the first to introduce the method to Sydenham around 1970 and through a system of trial and error and the study of other builders down through the years we have had boats built by our members using just about every method known. Current build numbers are somewhere in the 30s, some of which have been own designs and some modifications of existing designs.

As a Club we have always been proud of our working class roots and welcome prospective new members who wish to pursue their dreams of building from scratch or renovating existing hulls, be they Ferro, Wood, Steel or GRP. We are now more associated with 'traditional' type boats and building rather than the modern GRP types, although we have members also experienced in this type of construction.

East Belfast Yacht Club, Sydenham By-Pass, Belfast, Co. Down BT3 9HR. Tel: 028 90 812658/077 597 81281

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Down Cruising Club is a small, friendly club of approximately 100 members, who are interested in all aspects of boating and cruising on Strangford Lough. The club is fortunate to be based at Ballydorn, on Strangford Lough, and to enjoy the unique facility of club headquarters in the form of the lightship "Petrel". A short history of the club and of the Lightship can be accessed. In addition the club enjoys the facility of Ballydorn Quay, constructed in the mid 19th century, and its associated historic quayside store, the 'Black Shed'.

Club members participate in a wide range of social events on board "Petrel", and water-based activities, including cruises both within and beyond Strangford Lough. An important feature of membership of the club is maintenance of the lightship itself, through regular work parties. The general ethos of 'hands-on' involvement transfers to all activities, and to regular duties in assisting the club's bar.

Down Cruising Club, c/o Clubship Petrel, 52 Ballydorn Road, Killinchy, Newtownards BT23 6QB. Tel: +4428 9754 1663

Located on the edge of Larne Lough in East Antrim Northern Ireland, we believe our club to be situated on some of the best sailing waters in the UK.

With members of all ages and ambitions, we have a healthy mix from cruising yachts through to competitive dinghies. 

The focus of our sailing is on Tuesday and Thursday evenings and weekends throughout the season. 

East Antrim Boat Club, Curran Point, Larne, Co. Antrim BT40 1AU, N. Ireland

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