The National Yacht Club's new initiative to encourage more ladies sailing showed the level of its success with its all female crew entry in the 1720 Europeans held recently on Dublin Bay. The team consisted of a group of mums who either wanted to get back into sailing again after a few years break or those who were completely new to racing but wanted to give it a try. They chartered the club 1720 and trained hard coming up to the event competing in the DBSC newly created Sportsboat class on Tuesday evenings. The event, won by Royal Cork's Anthony O'Leary attracted sailing Olympians and the standard of competition is always extremely high in these fast exciting boats, so it was a steep learning curve for the NYC team. They have had lots of fun along the way with new friendships made and a big sense of achievement when those starts and gybes go just right!

The next plan is to travel further afield and enter the 1720 Nationals in Kinsale later this season. As word has spread the club now also has a ladies boat competing in the clubs RS Venture and aims to expand this further as demand among their members grows. By supporting this Women on the Water project the NYC now has a thriving group of new female sailors.