CHRISTMAS 2008 IN WSC
'Tis the season to be jolly! as the song says and if 2009 is half as good as this jolly Christmas period, then Wicklow Sailing Club will be a happy place for all its members and friends. Starting off with a party to celebrate Charlies new Degree, followed by a little remembrance for Arthur Ingram, a vibrant and uplifting first Committee meeting where the energy was jumping out from the members, Frank Murphys wonderful Christmas Party with the Singing Santas making an appearance and finally, the long awaited arrival of a very welcome visitor from the North Pole to keep our youngest members happy - surely a boon for any old Scrooge of a miserly Treasurer to smile about.
The newly resurrected Christmas Party was driven by our new Entertainments Secretary, Frank Murphy, ably assisted by Catherine Malone (the Friendly Face of Wicklow) and Aishling Carroll (expectant mother) was a huge success with close on 100 revellers making the most of our newly redecorated and very comfortable clubhouse. Starting with mulled wine and mince pies accompanied by piped seasonal music, the atmosphere was jovial and friendly from the off. The Singing Santas made their appearance after visiting the pubs for the Annual Meals on Wheels collection, having netted €1443 and the rest of the evening kicked into gear.
A few leftover little duties from the 2008 Season took place on the night also. After discounting other possible candidates, the award of the Osiris of Menai Pillocks Pot and Loo Seat went to the crew of Calypso for some start line shenanigans with L'Autre Dame. Brian felt he was hard done by but he did say that his mast (un)erecting skills deserved honourable mention. The outgoing Commodore had the cheek to win his own race (which he couldn't collect!) so Henrik commissioned a special Horseshoe Trophy for him. One of the most coveted awards in the club is the Danny Cleary Trophy for the person deemed Clubperson of the Year - John Johnson made the presentation to new member David Ryan, who despite being hardly a wet week in the place got stuck in and was a major influence with the dinghies, powerboats, Junior Training and also during the Round Ireland - well done David, Dannys' spirit is alive and well in WSC.
Our annual Christmas Raffle was held close to the witching hour and c.15 prizes made their way to members and friends who had supported it. A very notable feature of the raffle was the selection of the late Arthur Ingrams three sons, Garth, Mark and Ross from the hat - surely statisticians will be grinding the computers into 2009 to come up with the odds for that to happen. The night ran into the small hours with pleasant music and chat - Stan and Phyllis were almost last to leave, party animals to their fingernails.
Not to be outdone, our younger members had a special visitor of their own from a colder region away north of here, who arrived by boat towed by Rudolf Gillespie. Word had it that they were all very good and got due reward from Santa, who even met the first O Sullivan grandchild who had winged her way in from Paris. Being the genial old man that he is, Santa even had the pleasure of Yvette O Gorman on his knee before leading all his young fans on the dance floor.