Busy Halloween Week at Irish National Sailing & Powerboat School

5th November 2022

Great pirate fun and some intensive sailing in the 7-10 years age group with Optimists and the 11-14 years age group with RS Zests, RS Fevas and Toppers at Halloween Week at Irish National Sailing & Powerboat School in Dun Laoghaire Harbour Credit: INSS

The Halloween Sailing course took place this week at the Irish National Sailing & Powerboat School.

Great pirate fun was had by Sea Explorers, aged 4 to 6, from venturing along the seashore towards Seapoint to trying out their sea legs on the "pirate ship" in the harbour, while the weather was favourable!

Sea Explorers, aged 4 to 6, enjoy time afloat at Halloween Week at Irish National Sailing & Powerboat School Photo: INSS

Meanwhile, the older age groups managed some intensive sailing in the 7-10 years age group with Optimists and the 11-14 years age group with RS Zests, RS Fevas and Toppers, weather being moderate to fair for the majority of the days, allowing for plenty of sailing experience within the safe confines of the harbour.

Squibs are prepared for some harbour sailing at the Sea Explorers at Halloween Week at Irish National Sailing & Powerboat School Photo: INSS

Conditions were to worsen mid-week, but didn't stop the two older groups from venturing out onto the water for a quick paddle in their boats. Later on, that same very wet day saw for some good marine and boat theory work take place indoors in the recently renovated clubhouse. Thankfully the much-improved weather on Thursday and Friday allowed for dinghy and keelboat sailing.

The school was generally abuzz this week with the 22 trainee dinghy instructors in for the week practising in the RS Quests.

Practising in the RS Quests at the Halloween Week at Irish National Sailing & Powerboat School in Dun Laoghaire Harbour

1720

As the Juniors were heading afloat, the school’s fleet of 1720s were coming ashore and the maintenance crew got to work on the annual winter jobs.

One of the 1720s was also prepared to participate in the DBSC Turkey Shoot starting on Sunday.

RS21

School instructors onboard this 1720 will be joined next weekend by the new RS21 keelboat currently competing at the World Championships in Croatia skippered by Kenny Rumball. Demonstrations of the RS21 are available on Sunday mornings and interested sailors should contact [email protected].

Shanahan Cup School’s Team Racing Event

Between the maintenance jobs, preparations continued for the school’s RS Feva fleet in advance of the Shanahan Cup School’s Team Racing Event hosted by the Irish National Sailing & Powerboat School in conjunction with Gonzaga College next Wednesday, 9th November. 72 sailors are signed up to compete, and the event is supported by the Irish RS Sailing agent MarineServices.ie.

Now, as the school looks forward to next Saturday's Sailing Junior Club series before the Christmas break, they hope to see the Halloween campers put into practice their new and enhanced sailing and seamanship skills learnt this week.

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History of the INSS

Set up by Alistair Rumball in 1978, the sailing school had very humble beginnings, with the original clubhouse situated on the first floor of what is now a charity shop on Dun Laoghaire's main street. Through the late 1970s and 1980s, the business began to establish a foothold, and Alistair's late brother Arthur set up the chandler Viking Marine during this period, which he ran until selling on to its present owners in 1999.

In 1991, the Irish National Sailing School relocated to its current premises at the foot of the West Pier. Throughout the 1990s the business continued to build on its reputation and became the training institution of choice for budding sailors. The 2000s saw the business break barriers - firstly by introducing more people to the water than any other organisation, and secondly pioneering low-cost course fees, thereby rubbishing the assertion that sailing is an expensive sport.

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