A fleet of 28 dinghies took to Galway Bay for the annual Cumann Seoltóireachta an Spidéil regatta at the weekend.
In spite of freshening southerlies and sporadic rain, eight hardy Optimist sailors completed a series of three races over a course set by race officer Stephen O’Gorman.
Winner in the Optimist class was Rian Baynes of Galway Bay Sailing Club (GBSC), while second place also went to a GBSC sailor, Killian Mathieu, and third to fellow club mate Sean Lemonnier.
Niamh Baynes of GBSC took fourth place, and the first CSS club sailor home was Sarah Donald who recorded fifth place overall.
CSS Optimist sailors Realtín Boinnard, Padraic Halliday and Séadhna Ní Thuairisg also braved the conditions, with Boinnard and Halliday taking second and third club placings.
Conditions had freshened further in the afternoon when the mixed fleet took to the water, requiring a series of quick tacks to clear Spiddal’s rock-strewn coastal rim.
A crack shore team assisted visiting dinghies, with the rollercoaster launch off the Sean Céibh beach proving to be quite the spectacle from shore.
Classes for the mixed fleet series were 420/Laser 1 and Pico/Topaz.
There were several capsizes in the testing conditions during three timed races, with a fourth race requiring two laps of the course.
The first boat in overall on corrected time was a GBSC 420 sailed by Adam McGrady and Ally O’Sullivan.
CSS sailors Mac O’Brien and Eoghan Breathnach took second place in a 420, closely followed into third by a Galway City Sailing Club (GCSC) 420 crew of Colm Ó Fatharta and Rian de Bairéad.
CSS boats dominated the Pico/Topaz class, with James Harvey and Charlie Donald coming first, Aoife Ni Choncubhair and Hooriya Awan securing second, and Sarah Donald and Padraic Halliday taking third.
Awards for the first three CSS club boats in the mixed fleet went to O’Brien and Breathnach, Cathal and Méabh Mahon, and Orlaith and Liam Cahill – all sailing 420s.
GBSC Dart 16 sailors Laurik and Killian Mathieu crossed the bay for the racing, while Galway City Sailing Club Topper sailors Ava McCarthy and Ava Halpin also participated - putting in very keen performances.
Last year, CSS initiated a new annual award in memory of late sea kayaker, mountaineer and circuit court judge John Hannan, who died in February 2020.
The Hannan trophy, a piece of glassware in the shape of a sailing dinghy on bog oak, was designed and made by Sue Donnellan’s glass craft design studio in An Ceardlann, An Spidéal.
This year’s award was presented by Marcus Hannan to the CSS 420 duo of Mac O’Brien and Eoghan Breathnach, who were the first club boat home.
Speaking at the prize giving, Marcus Hannan conveyed a special tribute penned by his mother, Stephanie Adams, who was CSS sail training organiser for many years before the family moved back to her native Australia in 2020.
CSS commodore Dave Cahill paid his own tribute to all the sailors, to the visiting clubs, and to the shore and RIB safety boat teams who were essential to the smooth running of the event.
CSS, founded in 2002, has no clubhouse, but was recently dubbed the "coolest place to sail" by Irish Olympic contest Sean Waddilove.