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Displaying items by tag: Cumann Seoltóireachta An Spidéil

Two long-standing members of Cumann Seoltóireachta an Spidéil (CSS) have been presented with the annual Hannan trophy for their outstanding services to the Co Galway club.

Dave Cahill and Tom McHale were presented with the trophy by current commodore Eoin Ó Conghaíle in recognition of their “sár obair” to secure two new rigid inflatable boats (RIBs).

Ó Conghaíle said the two RIBS were vital assets to secure safe sailing from An Spidéal in Co Galway for years to come.

Cahill and McHale, both active sailors and past commodore and committee members, managed the new RIB project from commissioning to delivery in 2023.

2023 Hannan trophy joint winner Dave Cahill with 2022 winner and offshore sailor Cathal Mahon at the Cumann Seoltóireachta an Spidéil winter gathering.2023 Hannan trophy joint winner Dave Cahill with 2022 winner and offshore sailor Cathal Mahon at the Cumann Seoltóireachta an Spidéil winter gathering.

The John and Stephanie Hannan Award, which was commissioned by Cumann Seoltóireachta an Spidéil (CSS) in 2020, is an annual prize in memory of the late John Hannan.

The presentation was made at the club’s 2023 winter gathering, when the 2022 Hannan trophy winner, offshore sailor Cathal Mahon, was also present to congratulate Cahill and McHale.

Mahon, an award-winning 420 dinghy sailor with Rob Talbot at CSS, is now competing offshore.

Both Mahon (skipper) and Talbot (bow) were part of the Galway Bay youth crew that sailed the Green Dragon to line honours runners-up and second in class zero in the 2022 Round Ireland Yacht Race.

Mahon has just completed the RORC Transatlantic from Lanzarote to Grenada, and is currently preparing for the Caribbean 600 which starts in mid February.

CSS, founded in 2002, has no clubhouse, but was dubbed the "coolest place to sail" by Irish Olympic contestant Sean Waddilove.

Published in Galway Harbour

Galway Bay Sailing Club (GBSC) swept the boards at the annual Cumann Seoltóireachta an Spidéil (CSS) regatta at the weekend.

Conditions proved promising for the event off An Spidéil, Co Galway, with light winds for the Oppie fleet picking up to a westerly force of ten to 12 knots in the afternoon for the mixed fleet.

This allowed race officer Stephen O’Gorman to run three races for both Oppies and the mixed fleet.

Roisin Mitchell Ward and Killian Mathieu of GBSC, overall winners of the mixed fleet, with Cumann Seoltóireachta an Spidéil (CSS) commodore Eoin Ó ConghaíleRoisin Mitchell Ward and Killian Mathieu of GBSC, overall winners of the mixed fleet, with Cumann Seoltóireachta an Spidéil (CSS) Commodore Eoin Ó Conghaíle

A total of nine Oppies competed, with GBSC’s Edward Fitzmaurice coming first, club mates Jake Molloy second, and Rossa Mitchell Ward taking third.

Liam Riggott was first CSS sailor in the Oppie class, and both he and Seán Ó Conghaíle competed in the mixed fleet in the afternoon.

Rossa Mitchell Ward of GBSC was third in the Oppies at the CSS regatta 2023Rossa Mitchell Ward of GBSC was third in the Oppies at the CSS regatta 2023

Roisín Mitchell Ward and Kilian Mathieu of GBSC were first overall, sailing a 420, in the mixed fleet, and were closely pressed by Charlie Donald and James Harvey of CSS, who came second overall.

Kate Barry and Eilí McMahon of GBSC, also sailing a 420, were third overall in the mixed fleet.

The first Pico home was sailed by Niamh Kearns and Diarmuid Canavan of CSS, followed by Sarah Donald of CSS (first junior in the Pico). Rory McHale and Sean Ó Conghaíle sailed the first Topaz home.

Niamh Kearns and Diarmuid Canavan of CSS, first Laser Pico home in the CSS regatta 2023 with commodore Eoin O ConghaíleNiamh Kearns and Diarmuid Canavan of CSS, first Laser Pico home in the CSS regatta 2023 with commodore Eoin O Conghaíle

Liam Riggott of CSS, first club Oppie home at the CSS regatta 2023, with commodore Eoin Ó ConghaíleLiam Riggott of CSS, first club Oppie home at the CSS regatta 2023, with commodore Eoin Ó Conghaíle

James Harvey and Charlie Donald of CSS who were second 420 and second overall in the mixed fleet at CSS regatta, with commodore Eoin Ó ConghaíleJames Harvey and Charlie Donald of CSS who were second 420 and second overall in the mixed fleet at CSS regatta, with commodore Eoin Ó Conghaíle

Edward Fitzmaurice of GBSC was first in the Oppies at the CSS regatta 2023Edward Fitzmaurice of GBSC was first in the Oppies at the CSS regatta 2023

Jake Molloy of GBSC was second in the Oppies at the CSS regatta 2023 Jake Molloy of GBSC was second in the Oppies at the CSS regatta 2023 

Galway City Sailing Club is hosting its junior regatta next Saturday, September 16th.

Published in Galway Harbour
The 420 Class Connacht Championships took place on the weekend of 18th & 19th September at Cumann Seoltoireachta an Spideil, Spiddal, Galway. In spite of the absence of any of the regular circuit competitors a strong entry of 18 boats makes this the biggest 420 class event in the country this year.

A field of top class visitors and local crews saw former 420 Champion Rob Lehane and crew Tom Mapplebeck, who are currently campaigning a 470 revel in the fresh conditions to take the Connacht title ahead of Patrick Crosbie and crew Thomas Chaix and local father and son team of Stephen & Ronan OGorman.

The silver fleet was hotly contested and CSS Spiddals own up and coming team of Sam Kinirons and Oisin Hamilton took the trophy on a countback from Brendan Gallagher & Rory McAdam of GBSC with a third place overall in the first race.

Racing was cancelled due to strong winds on Saturday and the sailors and supporters enjoyed an evening BBQ hosted by CSS members Carmel & Tiernan OBrien.

4 Races were ran by Race Officer John Leech on Sunday in freshening South Westerlies with at times poor visibility in showers. The fleet and especially the many young 420 crews showed great seamanship in dealing with the testing conditions on this exposed coast, which is no doubt a great encouragement to the 420 Fleet.

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Published in Youth Sailing

spiddal_pier_early.jpg

Cumann Seoltóireachta An Spidéil

Providing sailing to the children and adults of the area since 2003. Hosts an Annual CSS Dinghy Regatta

left: Early morning at Spiddal pier

Páirc báid ag Sean Céibh an Spidéil. Seoladh gach deire eachtain agus trathnóna amháin i rith na seachtaine. Failte faoi leith chuig daoine agus atá taithí seol acu. Cursaí sheoil ar fáil i rith an samhradh.  

Cumann Seoltóireachta An Spidéil, or CSS, Cois n Tra, Coast Road, Spiddal Village, Co. Galway. Tel: 087 279 1095, email: [email protected]

or 

Contact: Billy Keady, Stripe, Furbo, Co. Galway. Tel: 087 263 9308, email: [email protected]

Have we got your club details? Click here to get involved

Published in Clubs

Royal St. George Yacht Club

The Royal St George Yacht Club was founded in Dun Laoghaire (then Kingstown) Harbour in 1838 by a small number of like-minded individuals who liked to go rowing and sailing together. The club gradually gathered pace and has become, with the passage of time and the unstinting efforts of its Flag Officers, committees and members, a world-class yacht club.

Today, the ‘George’, as it is known by everyone, maybe one of the world’s oldest sailing clubs, but it has a very contemporary friendly outlook that is in touch with the demands of today and offers world-class facilities for all forms of water sports

Royal St. George Yacht Club FAQs

The Royal St George Yacht Club — often abbreviated as RStGYC and affectionately known as ‘the George’ — is one of the world’s oldest sailing clubs, and one of a number that ring Dublin Bay on the East Coast of Ireland.

The Royal St George Yacht Club is based at the harbour of Dun Laoghaire, a suburban coastal town in south Co Dublin around 11km south-east of Dublin city centre and with a population of some 26,000. The Royal St George is one of the four Dun Laoghaire Waterfront Clubs, along with the National Yacht Club, Royal Irish Yacht Club (RIYC) and Dun Laoghaire Motor Yacht Club (DMYC).

The Royal St George was founded by members of the Pembroke Rowing Club in 1838 and was originally known as Kingstown Boat Club, as Kingstown was what Dun Laoghaire was named at the time. The club obtained royal patronage in 1845 and became known as Royal Kingstown Yacht Club. After 1847 the club took on its current name.

The George is first and foremost an active yacht club with a strong commitment to and involvement with all aspects of the sport of sailing, whether racing your one design on Dublin Bay, to offshore racing in the Mediterranean and Caribbean, to junior sailing, to cruising and all that can loosely be described as “messing about in boats”.

As of November 2020, the Commodore of the Royal St George Yacht Club is Peter Bowring, with Richard O’Connor as Vice-Commodore. The club has two Rear-Commodores, Mark Hennessy for Sailing and Derek Ryan for Social.

As of November 2020, the Royal St George has around 1,900 members.

The Royal St George’s burgee is a red pennant with a white cross which has a crown at its centre. The club’s ensign has a blue field with the Irish tricolour in its top left corner and a crown towards the bottom right corner.

Yes, the club hosts regular weekly racing for dinghies and keelboats as well as a number of national and international sailing events each season. Major annual events include the Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta, hosted in conjunction with the three other Dun Laoghaire Waterfront Clubs.

Yes, the Royal St George has a vibrant junior sailing section that organises training and events throughout the year.

Sail training is a core part of what the George does, and training programmes start with the Sea Squirts aged 5 to 8, continuing through its Irish Sailing Youth Training Scheme for ages 8 to 18, with adult sail training a new feature since 2009. The George runs probably the largest and most comprehensive programme each summer with upwards of 500 children participating. This junior focus continues at competitive level, with coaching programmes run for aspiring young racers from Optimist through to Lasers, 420s and Skiffs.

 

The most popular boats raced at the club are one-design keelboats such as the Dragon, Shipman 28, Ruffian, SB20, Squib and J80; dinghy classes including the Laser, RS200 and RS400; junior classes the 420, Optimist and Laser Radial; and heritage wooden boats including the Water Wags, the oldest one-design dinghy class in the world. The club also has a large group of cruising yachts.

The Royal St George is based in a Victorian-style clubhouse that dates from 1843 and adjoins the harbour’s Watering Pier. The clubhouse was conceived as a miniature classical Palladian Villa, a feature which has been faithfully maintained despite a series of extensions, and a 1919 fire that destroyed all but four rooms. Additionally, the club has a substantial forecourt with space for more than 50 boats dry sailing, as well as its entire dinghy fleet. There is also a dry dock, four cranes (limit 12 tonnes) and a dedicated lift=out facility enabling members keep their boats in ready to race condition at all times. The George also has a floating dock for short stays and can supply fuel, power and water to visitors.

Yes, the Royal St George’s clubhouse offers a full bar and catering service for members, visitors and guests. Currently the bar is closed due to Covid-19 restrictions.

The Royal St George boathouse is open daily from 9.30am to 5.30pm during the winter. The office and reception are open Tuesdays to Fridays from 10am to 5pm. The bar is currently closed due to Covid-19 restrictions. Lunch is served on Wednesdays and Fridays from 12.30pm to 2.30pm, with brunch on Saturdays and Sundays from noon to 3pm.

Yes, the Royal St George regularly hosts weddings and family celebrations from birthdays to christenings, and offers a unique and prestigious location to celebrate your day. The club also hosts corporate meetings, sailing workshops and company celebrations with a choice of rooms. From small private meetings to work parties and celebrations hosting up to 150 guests, the club can professionally and successfully manage your corporate requirements. In addition, team building events can utilise its fleet of club boats and highly trained instructors. For enquiries contact Laura Smart at [email protected] or phone 01 280 1811.

The George is delighted to welcome new members. It may look traditional — and is proud of its heritage — but behind the facade is a lively and friendly club, steeped in history but not stuck in it. It is a strongly held belief that new members bring new ideas, new skills and new contacts on both the sailing and social sides.

No — members can avail of the club’s own fleet of watercraft.

There is currently no joining fee for new members of the Royal St George. The introductory ordinary membership subscription fee is €775 annually for the first two years. A full list of membership categories and related annual subscriptions is available.

Membership subscriptions are renewed on an annual basis

Full contact details for the club and its staff can be found at the top of this page

©Afloat 2020

RStGYC SAILING DATES 2024

  • April 13th Lift In
  • May 18th & 19th Cannonball Trophy
  • May 25th & 26th 'George' Invitational Regatta
  • July 6th RSGYC Regatta
  • August 10th & 11th Irish Waszp National Championships
  • August 22- 25th Dragon Irish National Championships / Grand Prix
  • Aug 31st / Sept 1st Elmo Trophy
  • September 6th End of Season Race
  • September 7th & 8th Squib East Coast Championships
  • September 20th - 22nd SB20 National Championships
  • September 22nd Topper Ireland Traveller Event
  • October 12th Lift Out

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