Antrim Boat Club (ABC) in Northern Ireland has taken a step towards bringing back dinghy sailing after a long absence with the purchase of five RS Zest dinghies to develop a new training centre.
Training has already started.
The Club lies on the northwest corner of Lough Neagh at the mouth of the Six Mile Water River. That river had been used for fishing boats, industrial navigation, and even sports sailing as it was at the start of the 20th century, the home of a sailing club for about six boats.
In the 1960s, the club enjoyed an upsurge in sailing with the launch of the Mirror dinghy, and one such boat made locally was on display at the launch of the present Antrim Boat Club in 1966.
The RS Zest dinghies sailing on Lough Neagh as part of an Antrim boat Club initiative to revitalise dinghy sailing on the Lough
The club quickly established a fleet of about 12 dinghies, and along with some GP14s and National 12s, racing started with a twice-weekly programme.
Other dinghies popular at the club were Scorpions and Finns. The club was careful to include motorboat and canoe enthusiasts in the original charter, but it was the sailors who drove the formation of the club.
The winter series became very popular when the coastal venues closed at that time of year, which is hard to imagine now, and Squibs and Puppeteer 22s were racing regularly.
Although sailing at the club suffered when the modern marinas developed, the fact that the club sits on private land and has an excellent clubhouse should ensure its future.
The five Zests are part of the new training centre development to be built next to the clubhouse, which will hopefully open next season.
Planning started during Covid, aiming to attract younger people and have them more active on the water, aiming to improve their skills and those of the current sailors.
In 2020, PGM Training established a base at Antrim, BC; Paul Magee is an experienced RYA Instructor and Yachtmaster.
Last year, Eagle Divers NI became involved, offering paddle boarding, kayaking and water bikes.
ABC Commodore Charlie McAllister and Jeff Harrison researched the best dinghy to start with, and the RS Zest seemed to cover a wide range of sailing and different types of sailors. Jeff is pleased with the progress “So far, we are very pleased with the boats. We have been running a training course for members, and the boats seem popular with the sailors”.
