Displaying items by tag: sea scout

11th March 2024

Sea Scout Master Mariner Awards Go to Howth and Malahide

The 2024 Sea Scout Master Mariner competition took place in Dublin on 10 March. This maritime skills event has been running since 1995 and is supported by the Irish Institute of Master Mariners. This year’s event had a focus on communications and coastal ecosystems, as well as testing core navigation and boat handling skills.

The Captain Desmond Fortune “Founders Award” for the highest placing Venture Scout was won by Conor Brosnan from 7th Port (Howth) Sea Scouts.

The Captain Cian Timmons memorial trophy for the highest placing Rover Scout was won by Cormac Eason from 9th Port (Malahide) Sea Scouts. The event included a practical boat handling exercise in Malahide Marina, with Dan Clohessy from 9th Port (Malahide) achieving the highest marks in this section, receiving the Eoghan Lavelle Cox’n prize.

The Sea Scouts maritime skills event was held at Malahide in County Dublin

As part of the event Éanna Gallagher, a former Sea Scout, from the Local Authority Waters Programme conducted a workshop on clean water issues and on how Scouting can contribute to community water initiatives.

The 30th-anniversary edition will take place in Galway in March 2025.

Published in Youth Sailing

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52nd Sea Scout Sailing Regatta Takes Place at Malahide

The 52nd annual Sea Scout sailing regatta took place in testing conditions on Malahide’s inner estuary on 15th October.

Malahide Yacht Club provided the race committee with a warm welcome to its Broadmeadows facility for the day of team racing and seamanship challenges.

Gusty westerly winds made for challenging sailing for Sea Scouts from around Ireland.

While there have been strong showings from Howth and Galway Sea Scouts in recent years, this year it was Malahide Sea Scouts Lir Troop which dominated proceedings.

It won the team racing competition, the seamanship trophy, the Albatross individual trophy (named after the Sea Scouts former training centre on the LS Albatross lightship) and the Centenary Cup for the best scoring boat of the day.

Published in Malahide YC

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Sea Scout Conference In Cork Harbour Attended by 90% of Groups

#seascouts – The 2015 Sea Scouting conference was held last weekend based in the Commodore Hotel in Cobh. Over 90% of the country's Sea Scout groups were in attendance, with delegates from as far away as Donegal, Louth and Galway. Sea Scouting is a branch of Scouting Ireland which concentrates on the development of leadership skills through adventurous activities afloat, having being founded by Baden Powell's brother in the 1910s. Its members make up about 1 in 12 of Scouting Ireland's members.
The weekend's programme was packed with workshops and speakers, with Commodore Hugh Tully, Flag Officer Commanding the Naval Service opening the conference. Lieutenant Commander Martin Brett of the Naval Service gave the keynote speech at the dinner on Saturday evening. Lt Cdr Brett, who also the Venture Scout Leader in the 55th Cork (Carrigaline) spoke about leadership at sea and his presentation was a highlight of the weekend. Workshops included a presentation by Scouting Ireland's new Programme Commissioner for Youth Empowerment Niamh Donnelly, hands-on sessions including an exploration of inclusivity for young people with disabilities led by Ciaran Murphy from the ISA, a session on applying the Leave no Trace principles to activities afloat and talks on adventurous journeys including Finbarr Hedderman who spoke about his swim from Ireland to Scotland.
There was also a presentation from Sail Training Ireland. In conjunction with Sail Training Ireland, Sea Scouting launched an opportunity for all Scouts age 16-26 to join a Scout-only voyage from Falmouth to Belfast as part of the Tall Ships festival this summer.
Chief Scout of Scouting Ireland Michael John Shinnick also attended the gala dinner on the Saturday evening. In recognition of his support over the last 6 years as Chief Scout, he was presented with a framed photo of himself at the helm of Yahtzee, the well-known ISORA campaigner, which acted as committee boat at the 100th anniversary Sea Scout Rowing Regatta last year in Dun Laoghaire.
Programme Commissioner for Sea Scouting Stephen Taylor said about the conference: "We are at very exciting time for Sea Scouting with a number of new Sea Scout Groups opening around the country. We also have some ambitious projects in the pipeline that will see more and more young people enjoying fun and adventure on the water. The level of attendance at the conference and the spirit in which delegates engaged shows a bright future afloat."

Published in News Update

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Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta

From the Baily lighthouse to Dalkey island, the bay accommodates six separate courses for 21 different classes racing every two years for the Dun Laoghaire Regatta.

In assembling its record-breaking armada, Volvo Dun Laoghaire regatta (VDLR) became, at its second staging, not only the country's biggest sailing event, with 3,500 sailors competing, but also one of Ireland's largest participant sporting events.

One of the reasons for this, ironically, is that competitors across Europe have become jaded by well-worn venue claims attempting to replicate Cowes and Cork Week.'Never mind the quality, feel the width' has been a criticism of modern-day regattas where organisers mistakenly focus on being the biggest to be the best. Dun Laoghaire, with its local fleet of 300 boats, never set out to be the biggest. Its priority focussed instead on quality racing even after it got off to a spectacularly wrong start when the event was becalmed for four days at its first attempt.

The idea to rekindle a combined Dublin bay event resurfaced after an absence of almost 40 years, mostly because of the persistence of a passionate race officer Brian Craig who believed that Dun Laoghaire could become the Cowes of the Irish Sea if the town and the local clubs worked together. Although fickle winds conspired against him in 2005, the support of all four Dun Laoghaire waterfront yacht clubs since then (made up of Dun Laoghaire Motor YC, National YC, Royal Irish YC and Royal St GYC), in association with the two racing clubs of Dublin Bay SC and Royal Alfred YC, gave him the momentum to carry on.

There is no doubt that sailors have also responded with their support from all four coasts. Running for four days, the regatta is (after the large mini-marathons) the single most significant participant sports event in the country, requiring the services of 280 volunteers on and off the water, as well as top international race officers and an international jury, to resolve racing disputes representing five countries. A flotilla of 25 boats regularly races from the Royal Dee near Liverpool to Dublin for the Lyver Trophy to coincide with the event. The race also doubles as a RORC qualifying race for the Fastnet.

Sailors from the Ribble, Mersey, the Menai Straits, Anglesey, Cardigan Bay and the Isle of Man have to travel three times the distance to the Solent as they do to Dublin Bay. This, claims Craig, is one of the major selling points of the Irish event and explains the range of entries from marinas as far away as Yorkshire's Whitby YC and the Isle of Wight.

No other regatta in the Irish Sea area can claim to have such a reach. Dublin Bay Weeks such as this petered out in the 1960s, and it has taken almost four decades for the waterfront clubs to come together to produce a spectacle on and off the water to rival Cowes."The fact that we are getting such numbers means it is inevitable that it is compared with Cowes," said Craig. However, there the comparison ends."We're doing our own thing here. Dun Laoghaire is unique, and we are making an extraordinary effort to welcome visitors from abroad," he added. The busiest shipping lane in the country – across the bay to Dublin port – closes temporarily to facilitate the regatta and the placing of six separate courses each day.

A fleet total of this size represents something of an unknown quantity on the bay as it is more than double the size of any other regatta ever held there.

Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta FAQs

What is Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

Dun Laoghaire Regatta is Ireland's biggest sailing event. It is held every second Summer at Dun Laoghaire Harbour on Dublin Bay.

When is Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

Dun Laoghaire Regatta is held every two years, typically in the first weekend of July.

Where is Dun Laoghaire Regatta held?

As its name suggests, the event is based at Dun Laoghaire Harbour. Racing is held on Dublin Bay over as many as six different courses with a coastal route that extends out into the Irish Sea. Ashore, the festivities are held across the town but mostly in the four organising yacht clubs.

How big is Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

Dun Laoghaire Regatta is the largest sailing regatta in Ireland and on the Irish Sea and the second largest in the British Isles. It has a fleet of 500 competing boats and up to 3,000 sailors. Scotland's biggest regatta on the Clyde is less than half the size of the Dun Laoghaire event. After the Dublin city marathon, the regatta is one of the most significant single participant sporting events in the country in terms of Irish sporting events.

How old is Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

The modern Dublin Bay Regatta began in 2005, but it owes its roots to earlier combined Dublin Bay Regattas of the 1960s.

How many boats compete at Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

Up to 500 boats regularly compete.

How many yacht clubs are represented at Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

Up to 70 different yacht clubs are represented.

Where do the yachts come from to compete at Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

The Channel Islands, Isle of Man, England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, Ireland countrywide, and Dublin clubs.

How many boats are visiting boats at Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

Nearly half the sailors, over 1,000, travel to participate from outside of Dun Laoghaire and from overseas to race and socialise in Dun Laoghaire.

What type of yachts race in Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

21 different classes are competing at Dun Laoghaire Regatta. As well as four IRC Divisions from 50-footers down to 20-foot day boats and White Sails, there are also extensive one-design keelboat and dinghy fleets to include all the fleets that regularly race on the Bay such as Beneteau 31.7s, Ruffian 23s, Sigma 33s as well as Flying Fifteens, Laser SB20s plus some visiting fleets such as the RS Elites from Belfast Lough to name by one.

What famous sailors race in Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

Some sailing household names are regular competitors at the biennial Dun Laoghaire event including Dun Laoghaire Olympic silver medalist, Annalise Murphy. International sailing stars are competing too such as Mike McIntyre, a British Olympic Gold medalist and a raft of World and European class champions.

How much does it cost to enter Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

There are different entry fees for different size boats. A 40-foot yacht will pay up to €550, but a 14-foot dinghy such as Laser will pay €95. Full entry fee details are contained in the Regatta Notice of Race document.

Where can spectators view Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

Spectators can see the boats racing on six courses from any vantage point on the southern shore of Dublin Bay. As well as from the Harbour walls itself, it is also possible to see the boats from Sandycove, Dalkey and Killiney, especially when the boats compete over inshore coastal courses or have in-harbour finishes.

How does Dun Laoghaire regatta compare to international regattas?

Very favourably. It is often compared to Cowes, Britain's biggest regatta on the Isle of Wight that has 1,000 entries. However, sailors based in the north of England have to travel three times the distance to get to Cowes as they do to Dun Laoghaire.

Why is Dun Laoghaire Regatta so unique?

Dun Laoghaire Regatta is unique because of its compact site offering four different yacht clubs within the harbour and the race tracks' proximity, just a five-minute sail from shore. International sailors also speak of its international travel connections and being so close to Dublin city. The regatta also prides itself on balancing excellent competition with good fun ashore.

Who organises Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

The Organising Authority (OA) of Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta is Dublin Bay Regattas Ltd, a not-for-profit company, beneficially owned by Dun Laoghaire Motor Yacht Club (DMYC), National Yacht Club (NYC), Royal Irish Yacht Club (RIYC) and Royal St George Yacht Club (RSGYC).

What does Dun Laoghaire Regatta contribute to the local economy?

The Irish Marine Federation launched a case study on the 2009 Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta's socio-economic significance. Over four days, the study (carried out by Irish Sea Marine Leisure Knowledge Network) found the event was worth nearly €3million to the local economy over the four days of the event. Typically the Royal Marine Hotel and Haddington Hotel and other local providers are fully booked for the event.