Lough Swilly Yacht Club

All,
Since we left the water last December it has been a time of great turmoil in the world generally. First we had Brexit and how this would impact us as border community. That conversation has well and truly disappeared into the abyss that Covid-19 has become. For most of us work to boats has not been possible. For others there has been an opportunity to get most if not all work completed.
Following consultation with ISA and in keeping with government guidelines the possibility of getting on the water could come soon. Current guidelines post 18th May would allow a boat to be returned to its home port as long as this is done with a solo helm or with a crew who live in the same household. On or about 8th June there may be the possibility of sailing either as a solo sailor or with crew who all live in the same household. On or about 20th July we could see a return to racing.
NOTE: This is all highly speculative at the moment. As this is a crucial time in the development of a plan to move away from social isolation and enable some form of social interaction we need to listen to the experts and follow guidelines.
As more details are available we can plan some form of racing but until then we can only hope and pray for a safe return of members to the club and onto the water.

Yours in sailing

Fergal

Unfortunately, due to the ongoing Government restrictions in the fight against the Corona Virus, it will not be possible to offer our young sailors the opportunity to develop their skills on Lough Swilly this summer.

The safety and wellbeing of the junior sailors and staff is of paramount importance and with this in mind we cannot safely offer any courses this year.

It is my sincere hope that circumstances will allow us to meet again on the water in summer 2021.  In the meantime KEEP SAFE!!

Martin Coyle.

Irish Sailing launches Ireland’s eSailing National Championship

Irish Sailing have teamed up with World Sailing and Virtual Regatta, the leading digital sailing platform, to launch the Irish eSailing National Championship.

“Virtual Regatta Inshore” is a free-to-play game available online or as an app, and at 10am this morning we launch the Irish eSailing National Championship on it. You can now register as an Irish sailor and aim for the top of a new Irish Leader Board. You can play against friends, fellow sailors and members of the Irish Sailing Team including Olympians Annalise Murphy, Ryan Seaton and Finn Lynch. All Irish registered players will be automatically put into the Ireland rankings, and entered into the Irish eSailing National Championship. The top 10 ranked Irish sailors on 1 September 2020 will automatically represent Ireland at the eSailing World Championship Finals Playoff.

Full text here

All,

For this coming year (2020) we will move from IRC & Progressive based (Club fleet) handicap system to VPRS.  VPRS is similar to IRC as a boat will have a set of measurements based on the hull and sails.  The advantage of moving to VPRS is where we have a small number of boats for a race we can race as a single fleet.  More information can be found at http://vprs.org .  The fee for the cert is £20 for the year.  You can still apply for an IRC cert but LSYC will not sail an IRC fleet and all not require this before the start of the season.

If possible / necessary I would like to hold a skippers meeting to discuss concerns.

It may be possible for some skippers to measure their boats on the water before hauling out. All boats will require some degree of measuring to complete the form. Its not complex but does require some time.

Please let me know your views.

Fergal