While the focus this week was mostly on the Bay Race, kicking off the Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta, there was also plenty of dinghy action taking place elsewhere on the east coast on Thursday as Bray Sailing Club hosted their annual Junior Regatta.
What initially looked like perfect conditions for a junior regatta with many sailors taking part in their first open event very quickly turned into a scramble to get everyone safely ashore as a fog bank rapidly rolled in from the south, reducing visibility to less than 50 metres and forcing the abandonment of the second race.
After an early lunch break of about ninety minutes ashore, the instruction to relaunch was given, and the regatta continued in improved visibility, delivering four races in total before handing matters over to the protest committee.
Speaking after the prize-giving, Ann Marie Grace, Centre Principal of Bray SC's Training Centre said "I am delighted that we were able to welcome so many visiting sailors to Bray today, and also that we managed to deliver four competitive races despite the delay caused by the fog. I'm very grateful to all the volunteers who gave up their time to make the event such a success, and I congratulate all the participants who took part, whether they ended up with a medal or not."
Bray Sailing Club's Junior Training programme continues for a further six weeks, concluding in the last week of school holidays in August. The club expects approximately 170 juniors to participate in courses over the club's ten week Junior Training programme.
