Hilary Lister - Solo Quadriplegic Sailor

  Wicklow Harbour welcomed an exceptional sailor into its bosom today, 16th June, in the person of Hilary Lister, who has no use of her body below her neck. She is doing a solo sail around Britain and Ireland in an Artemis 20 - specially kitted out for her. She sailed up from Arklow in a combination of fog and fresh F5/6 southerly winds and it was very impressive to see how she handled the boat in the fresh breeze off Wicklow - remarkable.  WSC, in association with the local Lions Club and Town Council, hosted a fundraiser for her charity, Hilarys Dream Trust on Weds pm 17th June in the clubhouse, raising €500, which was matched by the Lions. Thanks to our generous members and friends.

   On Friday 19th June, the Committee decided to confer WSC Honorary membership on Hilary and she was presented with a Certificate and Burgee, to take on her travels. We will look forward to seeing her sometime in the future to regale us with tales of her great adventure. Read this extract from her blog.

1st Hughes Grandchild

   John and Anne Hughes became grandparents on Monday 22nd June on the birth of Samantha to their daughter Sinead and her husband James. Congrats.

East Coast Regatta

   Our Rear Commodore Sail, David O Gorman, has been playing a blinder with our Sailing section since his appointment in February. He has now turned his attention to the August Bank Holiday regatta, now known as the East Coast Regatta, and has found willing sponsors in East Coast FM and Yacht Agencies of Ireland. With the secure knowledge of our costs being mostly covered, we can now set out to attract a bumper number of sailing boats to what we hope will become a must do annual fixture for all east coast sailors - spread the word. Details here. It will be a major feature in the Wicklow Regatta Festival.

Virtual Round Ireland Yacht Race

   Tied in with the Volvo start from Galway next Sat 6th June, Pat Flynn is organising a Virtual Round Ireland Yacht Race - it will be using the Volvo servers and if you don't already have a boat in the Volvo Ocean Race Game (VORG - over 200,000 boats competing), you will have to register your boat before taking part. If you aspire to doing our wonderful race and want to test your skills as a navigator, then this is an armchair opportunity for you. You might even break ICAP Leopards record if you get it right. Due to some technical issues, it won't be fully live for a few days - it starts at the same time as Leg 8 of the Volvo Ocean Race Game (VORG). Check this link  --  http://virtualroundireland.wordpress.com/2009/05/25/the-challenge/

Hot off the presses

  WSC has acquired the services of a new dynamic sailing correspondent to keep the water borne activity side of our club up to date. Brian Sinnott of Asgard II and Round Ireland fame is taking on the task of updating all matters relating to Cruisers, Dinghies, Events and Powerboats on our website. Any news, results or titbits, pass them along to Brian, please.

Wicklow SC does Galway

   A group of our hot shot young sailors are pulling on the WSC jersey in Galway Bay to compete in the J80 Galway Challenge, kindly sponsored by Ray Mc Keon's Yachting Agencies of Ireland. Jason Moran will spearhead a group of his peers, Brian Sinnott, Gerrit Toennies and Sean Doyle to show the Irish sailing public that we can hold our own against the best on the June Bank Holiday weekend during the Volvo RTW Stopover. On day one (Sun 31st), our gallant 4 scored a 2nd, last and 1st to qualify them for the final on day 2 (Jun 1st) - the best wishes of all in WSC go with them.

ISORA -The Next Resurrection

 ISORA had 10 boats on its Pwllheli to Wicklow race which finished in Wicklow on 23rd May 2009, with most boats making it in time to catch the Heineken Cup final between Leinster and Leicester. See the race report and results. Sadie Phelan and her team played a blinder yet again, drawing glowing compliments from the skippers and crew participating for her hospitality. Several boats stayed over until Sunday, generating a good turnover at the bar for WSC. See 2009 schedule.

Arklow SC Round the Turbines Race

   The Metmasts.ie offshore race around the turbines will take place in Arklow Sailing Club, the 31st May 2009. The bank holiday weekend will hopefully attract as many people as possible. Metmasts.ie and Arklow Sailing Club are hoping to make this an annual race event attracting racing yachts not only from Ireland but the UK also. Contact:-
   Commodore: Paul Barrett 087 2597010   - http://www.arklowsc.com/

WWU Open Day

   WSC, like many of our fellow sporting clubs, will suffer from this recession and with this in mind, we ran a very successful joint WWU Open Day, Sun 3rd May, 1-5pm in the hope that we might encourage new members to join us.

  

(all photos compliments of Fred Drew)

  Richard Nairn did a fantastic job promoting the event with posters, newspapers, radio slots and window displays resulting in a fabulous turnout on the day. David Ryan and his team did sterling work cleaning the boatpark, setting up stands, organising dinghy and regular RIB trips, while Susan Hill co-ordinated the Cruiser trips - 15 in all with c.60/70 lucky individuals trying out big boat sailing with from 7  to 70 year olds giving it a go. Obliging boat owners were John Harte, Brian Malone, Mick Mulvihill, Fergus O Conchobhair and Charlie Kavanagh in perfect sailing conditions. In the club house, Christiana Norton and Catherine Malone with helpers made sure all were welcome to WSC. Several members helped out crewing, manning the barrier, fetching bits etc to make this a wonderful success and a huge PR boost for WSC.

     

  In the Round Ireland room, various local clubs and organisations mounted their own stands generating a lot of interest in their respective activities. Again, the feedback from these was very positive and fully justifies the new co-operation being promoted through Wicklow Waterfront Users, an ad hoc organisation representing all shades of boating and water based leisure activities and interests around Wicklow Harbour.

WSC Entertainment Activity    

 40 Thieves descend on Wicklow SC

   Ali Baba (aka Chris Norton) hitched a lift on a Turkish Carpet (Kilim) and arrived in WSC on Sat 16th May with 40 thieves in tow. Loads of bargains at knock down prices were snapped up by those lucky enough to find their way there. Eyes were popping at the luscious young ladies who bared their bellies and shook their tushes for the benefit of the revellers - beautiful belly dancers wowed the thieves.