Boating activity returned to Dun Laoghaire Harbour yesterday on Dublin Bay as fine April weather ushered in the start (officially or unofficially) of the 2021 boating season with a range of sailing and boating underway at the country's biggest boating centre.
With lift-in completed a fortnight ago, more and more sailing cruisers are venturing out of the harbour for the first shakedown sail of the season. The yacht club forecourts are now filled with dinghies in anticipation of a return to racing both inshore and offshore, a pursuit attracting over a 1,000 yachts and dinghies in the summertime.
The Government has announced the phased easing of some Covid-19 restrictions during the month of April. They plan to continue this cautious approach, gradually easing restrictions, while a substantial level of the population are vaccinated during April, May and June, after which, it should be safe to reopen society more widely.
Dun Laoghaire's four waterfront clubs expect the country's biggest racing organisation, Dublin Bay Sailing Club will be able to start racing in May and DBSC is launching its race marks in anticipation of this.
Likewise, coastal racing with ISORA whose counterparts on the other side of the Irish Sea at Pwllheli in North Wales, are already underway.
Yesterday's bright sunshine and perfect sailing breezes saw a special launch of the very latest in Flying Fifteen technology, up to a dozen Laser dinghies practising (what they have been learning online this month), along with sailing school activity all being carried out in a socially distant and compliant fashion.
There were also over two dozen sailing cruisers out and about for day sails or sail testing in anticipation of next month's first races.
After three months of lockdown, numerous SUPs, kayakers, divers, snorkelers, jet skis, angling boats, RIBS, coastal rowers and a host of sea swimmers at the nearby Forty Foot all added to the positive healthy picture at the 250-acre harbour.
As Afloat reported previously, sailing and boating is not the enemy at the gate. On the contrary, it is a low risk, non-contact outdoors activity which is what boaters and clubs are keen for the Government's Sport Expert Group to be told.
Such is the extent of the activity in fact it has prompted new owners of the harbour, the local County Council to trial a new Harbour Water Safety Patrol as Afloat reports here.
If the weekend is anything to go by, it certainly looks like that whenever the refurbished Baths site (that has small boat facilities) is complete and the harbour's National Waterports Campus plans are finalised, then there will be plenty of demand for these new waterside facilities.