Newsletter -
August 05
South
East Regatta - August
Last
Saturday a gang of dinghy sailors, aided and abbetted by
Marguerite, hijacked the Ruffian and took it to Wicklow for the holiday
weekend. The rest of the crew were Cearbhall, Maireád,
NiamhB, Ralph and our local guide Tom
Lynch.
After the
bad weather earlier in the week, it cleared nicely on Saturday morning. We met
up with three other Dun Laoghaire Ruffians for an infomal race to Wicklow. The wind was a northerly force 4,
so it was a roller coaster ride down in just three hours. We battled with Papillon for third spot untill
Bray, when our decision to "go to Holyhead" as the
opposition later described it, was not the winning move. We raced some
porpoises the rest of the way.
We arrived,
tied up and then retired to the clubhouse for a well earned glass of lemonade.
Martina joined
us later that evening arriving with her new friends on "Red
Cloud".
Sunday was
race day and a slow start.
Marguerite
had escaped to Wexford, and Tom had moved on the better things on
"Ruffage" (runners up in Ruffian Class).
Our re-inforcements were Nigel and
Martina.
We motored
out and anchored for two hours before we finally
getting underway in very light winds.
We had
two exciting and eventful races, although not quite at the business
end of the fleet.
The "Ruffin'it" crew certainly stood out from the
rest in their wet suits & trapeze harnesses struggling to shift,
or even to find, the centerboard.
Aprés
Sail was a Bar-B-Q, Jazz in the clubhouse and then the prize giving. There was
a good buzz in the clubhouse, and a great camraderie
between all our fellow ruffianers.
Nigel
retired after the racing, and on Monday Martina sailed back on "Red
Cloud", so for the trip home we were joined by Trisha and
Helen Mulvin. Unfortunately it proved to be more of a
motor than a sail which took about 5 hours. Back to base and the sun finally
broke through to welcome us home after a most enjoyable trip.
Next
years regatta will be in Arklow, so mark it
in your diary.
Pictures http://uk.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/cearbhalld/album?.dir=f41f
Ruffian
Refit
Damien has
fitted a new VHF Radio and also a Log and Depth-Sounder in the Ruffian. If you
sail on the Ruffian, you should understand how to use these, especially how to
use the Radio in case of an emergency. If you would like a demonstration
just ask the captain the next day you are sailing.
Marina
Extension
The
T-Shirt
Challenge
There is
only one T-Shirt not yet collected Susan. Thanks again to Eamonn for organizing.
It's up to
you now an step up to the mark...we need pictures of
the T-shirts being modelled in any exotic locations for the club website.
So far we've been promised shots from the Taj Mahal,
Membership
Currently
our membership is 55, that's still five less than last
year. There is still plenty of sailing to be done, so spread the word.
Our
Recruiting Officer Rory is leading crack team of agents (Cearbhall, Colm, Niamh, Ralph, Sabina
& Susan) to Collanmore for
the week after next. Also Damien & Pascal have been dispatched to
There will
be a group of us going back to Collanmore for
the October bank holiday weekend (Oct 28'th)
so make a note of the date. Long weekends usually book out, so plan ahead.
Cearbhall
Chairperson