BRAY SAILING CLUB NEWSLETTER April 2015

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1 THE COMMODORE-- COMMITTEE NEWS Since our AGM at the end of January, your new committee has been very busy on a number of fronts. Each committee member has a specific area of responsibility and has been busy working on their own area, with the assistance of many other members who have been keen to volunteer. Membership Following the changes in membership subscriptions and levy contributions agreed at the AGM, our membership renewal invoices were sent out at the start of March. Remember that subscriptions must be paid by 30 th April. If your subscription remains unpaid at 31 st May, your membership will lapse and you will have to apply to join the club as a new member. If you are paying by standing order or a number of payments, remember that your sub must be paid in full by 30 th September. We d like to thank all those who have paid up so far if you haven t paid yet, get in touch with Marie Kavanagh or our Hon. Treasurer Torren Gale now! Sailing Our sailing programme is now complete and has been published on the website if you haven t looked already, take a look and find out if you are on RO or ARO duty and make a note of the dates. Boris Fennema will answer any queries you may have. Harbour Our Harbour subcommittee, under the leadership of Ronan Laffan, has been meeting to decide on a strategy to achieve a reversal in the deterioration of the harbour caused by the flood relief works up river. This is likely to be a long term project but you will be hearing more about this shortly. We are looking forward to engaging with other harbour users with a common objective. Training Under the leadership of Flor O Driscoll, we have completed the important job of hiring our Senior Instructor and are delighted to welcome Colm Moloney to BSC for the summer. Colm has helped us recruit a strong team of instructors for our Junior Training programme and Fiona Cassidy and Jackie Dingle have kindly offered to take on some of the administration of Junior Training. Philip O Reilly is coordinating plans for our Adult Training programme, which is reverting to the format of a week of evenings in late May. Premises Brendan Fegan has agreed to look after our premises and property, with the aid of a team of fellow members. We have recently completed the replacement of the changing room doors and the next project is to replace the deck timbers on the east side of the clubhouse. If you are interested in volunteering to help look after our premises, please talk to Brendan. Social Calendar Our social calendar has been very busy since the clubhouse reopened and we hope that this will continue throughout the summer. If you would like to organise an event, or wish to hire the clubhouse for a private event, please talk to either Mark Henderson or Paddy Lyons. Boat Storage Our Vice-Commodore, Tom Raven, has been busy assembling our printed programme and we are delighted to have received support advertisements from a large number of local businesses. Please show your appreciation by supporting these Special points of interest: CRUSIING IN SCOTLAND ROUND THE WORLD BOG TROTTERS CEOL & CRAIC Inside this issue: CEOL & CRAIC 2 CLIPPER ROUND THE WORLD 3 MULRANEY 4 SCOTTISH CRUISING 6 VERITY ENTWHISTLE 8 DATES FOR YOUR DIARY 11

2 BRAY SAILING CLUB NEW SLETTER April 2015 THE COMMODORE COMMITTEE NEWS Contd from Page 1 SUPPORT THE CLUB BAR advertisers and mentioning the fact that you saw their advertisement in our calendar. Tom has also been working hard on resolving our boat storage crisis and making sure that the rules are applied fairly and equitably to all members. We will shortly be disposing of some unidentified boats and we have also asked a small number of members who are storing more boats than their membership entitles them to, to remove one or boats from the pen with immediate effect. We re pleased to say that some progress has already been seen on this front and we look forward to receiving the co-operation of other members in managing this scarce resource for the benefit of all members equally. WEBSITE Our new website is now up and running and we all owe a huge debt of gratitude to Karl Peck for the massive contribution he has made by developing this first class resource at minimal cost to the club if you haven t seen it yet, please visitwww.braysailingclub.ie! I have been delighted with the renewed spirit of cooperation and involvement from members throughout the club since the AGM and your committee looks forward to working hard this year to make our club a better place for all of us! Please let me or any committee member know if you have any suggestions that might benefit our club. Best regards, COMMODORE S RECEPTION DATE FOR YOUR DIARY Advance Notice! Our annual Commodore s Reception will take place on Sunday 10 th May and we are delighted that Simon Harris TD has accepted our invitation to formally MULRANEY THE BOGBASHERS ONCE AGAIN After a break of a year the Bog Bashers decided to have another go under the Flag of Blaithin O Brien. There was a great turnout of nearly 50 members which ably reinforced open our newly refurbished clubhouse. Marie Kavanagh is leading a small sub-committee (assisted by John Raughter and Flor O Driscoll) to plan this event and you ll be Blaithin s decision and we renewed our acquaintance with the Park Hotel and were once again given a very warm welcome. It was initially planned to organize two walks:- An A Walk covering a circuit of the Glendahurk valley in the Nepins. The planned walk of about 14kms had a climb of 1020metres and hearing more from her soon. We would like members to be present by 1500hrs the official opening ceremony will be at 1600hrs. had excellent views and good underfoot conditions. The B walk was to be on Achill Sound Knockmore Loop. It was also 14 km but only 383 m of climb. Like all of the best laid plans the weather decided it wanted a say. On Friday strong westerly s blew up to gale force and the forecast for Saturday was very heavy rain and stronger winds. Page 2

3 FINE TIME TO LEAVE THE WHEEL!The Crew s Lament The wind it is piping, the mains l is gybing, And the shoals are a-lee of the keel, We're trying to go South, but my heart's in my mouth Cause that squall line it sure looks for real. There's a dirty big scow, coming straight at us now, And it is made out of thick, rusty steel. The buoys are confusing, there's lots of boats cruising, And this boat has a sickening heel You picked a fine time to leave me the wheel. That lurch in rudder has a gut-churning feel The current is wicked, the cockpit s restricted, The diesel has just blown a seal. You picked a fine time to leave me the wheel. The wind meter's showing, a gale is now blowing I can't even stand, I must kneel. While you nap in your net, I'm up here getting wet, In oilies that leak a great deal. The waves are a-building, the boat is a-tilting, I m afraid I will lose my last meal, My chart you have taken, you ve left me forsaken, You ve given me such a raw deal MULRANEY THE BOGBASHERS ONCE AGAIN Contd from page 2 You picked a fine time to leave me the wheel. That lurch in rudder has a gut-churning feel The current is wicked, the cockpit s restricted, The diesel has just blown a seal. You picked a fine time to leave me the wheel You picked the right time to take back the wheel. The traffic s all gone, and we ve got a clear field Now the sky looks so clear, and it's time for a beer And the boat has a wonderful feel. You picked the right time to take back the wheel. Shamrocks in the Wind om/lyrics_frolickn.html SEE VERITY ENTWHISTLE S LETTER OF COMPLAINT TO THE EDITOR PAGE 10 A management decision was taken to abandon the original planned walks and to amalgamate both the A and B walks on the low level Lettermaghera and Burrshoole loop walks. An enjoyable walk until it started raining heavily! After a wet lunch in a very ruined cottage we escaped from the rain to Nephins pub to be greeted by blazing fires and cool pints! A number of us stayed on Sunday and we had great walking weather- again we relocated to Nephins Pub to a warm welcome and great rugby ( on the television!!) The pub collects you from the hotel and leaves you back if you want- encourages another pint! The weather was extremely changeable- the Bog bashers who left on Sunday encountered snow from Longford to Dublin, while those who left on Monday had snow all the way to Longford. Despite the weather it was a very enjoyable weekend and all of the 50 present thoroughly enjoyed the walking and the company. Many thanks to Blaithin for organising a most enjoyable event despite the weather. LUNCH!!! Page 3

4 Ceol & Craic Preparations commenced at a group steering committee meeting on 20th January with best wishes from Uachtarain na heireann, the Pope, Chief Rabbi, HRH and the Commodore. Auditions were held under the auspices of the R.I.A.M. who checked for vital signs, reading and writing ability. Menfolk left their fishing smacks tied up on shore, womenfolk left their chores in the fields and students abandoned their studies to rush to the weekly/twice weekly rehearsals. Choir preparation was led by a wellknown conductor who took time off from his busy schedule at Covent Garden. During his time in Bray, so as not to appear too exotic to the natives, he allowed himself to be addressed as Brendan. Musical accompaniment was provided by renowned multi instrumental musician on loan from La Scala Milan who agreed to take the name Pat so as not to challenge the Company with Italian. The unseemly rush for tickets for the event was managed by Liz with the aid of an AK47 and her assistant on the night Larry The Enforcer. Food on the night was delivered via many hands reportedly from the kitchen of Patrick Guilbaud and served on the night by the ever charming waitresses Denice, Doreen, Mary, Maureen, Roz all on loan from Dromoland Castle. The dazzling display on the `night was designed and orchestrated by leading Juris down in the basement with bullfrogs and an old cow going "moo". JJ had us swimming with shoals of herring while Kate and Anna had us out on the ocean with Brian Boru where we met Marian on Galway Bay with Pat battling with the Wheel, and Michael letting us know what was really on his mind. Emma, Sanne and Afric (in wonderful Philip Treacy hats) even out-performed Neil Diamond (no connection to our Liam), with Sweet Caroline. Kate and Anna played a piece about dinosaurs - I wonder did they have the male section of the Choir in mind! Then they tootled off to Wendel's Wedding. Ray was lost, trying to find his way to Gibraltar, Flor had spotted an old fishing boat that was sinking, while Carl was getting all the survivors into a lifeboat. While all this was going on, poor John B was trying to get an old steam train from Ennis to Kilkee. (The court case may be appealed.) note with Angela's rendi- choreographer Denice, tion of Danny Boy, one of the best flown in from New York at known Irish songs and so appropriate on enormous expense and the layout of the theatre was ably put in place with the assistance the legionaries of morning coffee. New York Times critic present on the night wrote: What a journey we all went on. It started with John L and the Wild Rover were out Ghost Riding in the Sky. The soloists finished on a really high the day and not an eye was left dry in the audience. Keeping an eye on it all, and keeping the company in tune was Liz, pulling all the strings. It is reported that members of the cast enjoyed themselves before during and after the performance. However some of the elderly ladies in the audience were reported to be shocked by the exuberance of the celebrations that followed the show. Well done to all and many thanks to camp followers and supporters. Page 2

5 Clipper Round the World Yacht Race Marie Kavanagh The Clipper Round the World Yacht Race is the world's longest ocean adventure and is also regarded as one of the toughest endurance challenges on the planet. At 40,000 nautical miles long and taking almost a year to complete, it consists of twelve amateur teams competing against each other on the world's largest matched fleet of 70-foot ocean racing yachts. Not all the crew are RTW Racers, some of the team will consist of Leggers crew who will do one or more Legs of the race. 0n the 3 rd June 2015 I flew to New York and joined Clipper yacht, Derry- Londonderry-Doire as a Legger I had signed up for Leg 8 New York Derry Holland and finish UK. We were skippered by Sean McCarter and a us had been through the rigorous Clipper training, but I remember my stomach churning as I climbed aboard the Derry Bus!! But things settled down, a few busy days preparing the boat for the North Atlantic, getting used to life onboard and making friends with my crewmates. It took us sixteen days to reach Derry, with varied conditions, some champagne sailing in sunshine and then freezing cold in huge seas at the Grand Banks, where we did iceberg 'watch'. But when the Race Office announced we had taken First Place on the North Atlantic, the party started!! was just brilliant. The race to Holland and on to the UK was quite difficult, it certainly sobered us up, with gales and we really got a trashing. But again, a great welcome as we sailed up the Thames to the finish of the 13/14 Race. I won't forget, the cold, the exhaustion, the physical and emotional hardship, but I'll mainly remember the laughter and craic with the people I shared this remarkable experience with. Derry-Londonderry- Doire 4 th Place overall!! Congratulations to Máire from all at Bray Sailing Club Nothing will ever compare with the welcome the people of Derry extended to us and I was so delighted to see family, Skipper John and Rosemary, sure the exhaustion just melted away and life Page 3

6 A Family Adventure to the Isle of Skye and Back Many thanks to Karen Hurley for such a great log Other Skippers and crew please copy Editor Tom, Karyn, Arthur (aged 13) and Massey (aged 8) slipped Inniu s lines in Bray on July 2 nd 2014 and set off with a plan to reach the Isle of Skye. Having had our radar reconnected and some electrical work completed in Howth overnight, we continued on, stopping in Skerries, Ardglass, Bangor and Glenarm before finally making the crossing to Craighouse on the Isle of Jura in perfect sailing conditions on July 10 th. We picked up a swinging mooring and rowed ashore to dine in the small local hotel and to pick up a bottle of Jura whiskey. We continued on our way the next day up the Sound of Islay where, with no fender board, we were unable to stop at port Askaigand with the extremely strong northflowing tide, stopping was a task in itself anyway. We did stop at Bunnahabhainn distillery where we anchored and rowed ashore to find a solo cellist on the pier playing Bach. We made our way to Loch Tarbert on the West of Jura where with a forecast of strong southerlies we planned to lie low. Navigating to inner Loch Tarbert, we dropped anchor and despite the all-round protection, constantly shifting winds meant poor anchor holding and we were glad to head off again two days later along the coast of Colonsay and across the rough sea to the Sound of Iona. At the top of the sound, we headed east to the protected Bunnessen Bay on the Isle of Mull where local lobster fishers provided us with lobster that evening. Massey rowed to one of the tiny islands in the bay, making friends with a playful seal on the way and stunned us all when he brought back a piece of coral! In good conditions and calm seas we passed close to Staffa and continuing north along the Coast of Mull we were then escorted into Tobermory by a pod of dolphins. We got the last marina berth and revelled with access to facilities such as shore power, radio reception, warm showers, laundry facilities and a trusty Cooperative supermarket. This picturesque distillery town was hosting the West Highland Yachting Week and boats were rafted up in fives. We bumped into Tom Cunliffe who remembered well his recent talk in Bray sailing Club. After a few days we headed north, rounding Ardnamurchan Point and heading for Arisaig on the mainland. Arisaig has many protected moorings and a host of tiny islands, each made entirely of coral. The Jacobite Express train from the Harry Potter films stops at Arisaig and we were all happy to have a daytrip by train to Fort William Page 6

7 BRAY SAILING CLUB NEWSLETTER APRIL 2015 A Family Adventure to the Isle of Skye and Back Contd page 6 We left Arisaig with a great forecast for the week ahead and headed West around Skye stopping first in Carbost in Loch Harport, the home of Talisker whiskey. The moorings in Carbost have stunning views of the Cuillín hills and with a tall ship taking the next mooring we rowed ashore to the local inn where we tested the Talisker and ate to the sounds of a trad session. As we headed for Dunvegan the next day we knew we were far from home when a sea eagle flew right in front of our boat. A short while later we saw a small minke whale closely followed by a basking shark who swam alongside for about fifteen minutes and even under our boat at one point. After a peaceful overnight in Dunvegan, we headed north for Staffin Bay and under sail in perfect conditions, a minke whale about 10 metres long surfaced without warning about 10 metres from the boat, blowing air. It really seemed as if it was surfacing just to take a look-perhaps it hadn t seen too many bilge keels before! Those very bilge keels were then our saving grace when upon arrival in Staffin Bay, we fouled our propeller on a woven coal bag. Anchoring close to shore we were able to dry out and Tom un-fouled the propeller without too much difficulty. With crystal clear waters, the boys spent the evening jumping off the side of the boat. The following day, we started our journey back south, anchoring for breakfast in the stunningly picturesque Acairsead Mór on the Isle of Rona before moving on to Portree on the east coast of Skye. We hired a car while there enabling us to take a proper tour of the Island with highlights including climbing the Quairaing and the Old Man of Storr-both of which featured in the film Prometheus. Further stops included the Kyle of Lochalsh, Isle Oronsay and Mallaig and from there our onward journey to Oban brought us another whale sighting. Firmly now on the home stretch, we made a further stop at Crinan before overnighting in Ardminish on Gigha and dining like kings in the local restaurant. Departing the following day, we made use of our newly-connected radar and safely navigated through pea-soup fog before crossing to Rathlin Island. With the remains of hurricane Bertha fast approaching, we made haste with a short overnight stop in Glenarm, a tidal break in Bangor and we caught a few hours sleep in Ardglass before making the final passage to Dun Laoghaire on August 9 th in one hop. Scotland is a country with lots more to see for us and we look forward to future trips and some return visits from good friends made along the way. Page 7

8 My Disastrous Weekend with the Bog Bashers in Mayo day, they decided to cancel both the A and B walks - any excuse will do, of course - and we all just sort of meandered round for three hours or so on some sort of loop walk that someone had found on a leaflet. Talk about lack of planning! They were meant to be following a red walk but it turned out to be a purple walk and no one seemed to know what they were at. First of all they went off in the wrong direction, then they came to a T junction and didn t know where to go. Then we went wandering over this boring old bog and then two of them went off the wrong way and got lost (but they found their way back to the pub... needless to say). After that there was this sort of flat tarmac track, I went along all unsuspecting on this weekend in Mulraney because I had been told that only a select few would be invited, but if you ask me, it was just the usual old BSC crowd, forty or so - much more interested in stuffing themselves and swilling drink than walking. No change there, all just out to have a good time and this during the holy season of Lent! As for walking! What a joke - just because there was a bit of wind and rain forecast for the afternoon on the Saturit looked to me to be much more suited for cycling than walking, totally boring. We were meant to be going to look at an interesting old castle but then they couldn t find it couldn't find a big castle - incredible! Then, because it had started to rain a bit, they decided to eat lunch in a derelict cottage - with no roof! Can you believe it!? It was such a relief to get back to the cars and I presumed I d be driven straight back to the hotel for a hot shower followed by a nice cup of tea. Not a chance! To my total disgust, what did they all do only but go direct to the nearest pub to swill back pints and hot whiskeys and watch some dreadful football or rugby or something on a huge TV. There was a log fire blazing - talk about the heat and everyone steaming away in their walking gear - do I need to say it B O!! Page 8

9 Verity Entwhistle More!! Anyway, after hours and hours I eventually got back to the hotel - I nearly walked back, I was so fed up. At least after all that, we were served dinner, the crowd organising this outing had nothing to do with the preparation of that, thank goodness. And then someone stood up and actually thanked Blaithin O Brien and Larry McCarthy for organising this shambles! Talk about the effects of alcohol I just hope that that pair will have learnt the lesson - there s no point organising fancy walks if it s going to be blowing a gale and pouring rain. Just try and think ahead, that s all that s needed. I don t mind telling you that I ll think long and hard before I ever go on another BSC Bog Basher s weekend after this disaster. Verity Entwhistle (Miss) You will note the above letter from Verity Entwhistle (Miss) Verity is a long standing member of the club and I understand that she travelled a very long distance to give us the benefit of her company. We are fully aware the Verity is used to the finer things of life 5 star hotels, butler service etc. Maybe Verity forgot the name Bogbashers does reflect the type of walking /mud slogging the Bogbashers like to experience Editor Page 9

10 Dates for Your Diary Singalong at BSC BSC is delighted to announce the introduction (on a trial basis) of Song/Performing Nights on the 2 nd and 4 th Fridays of the month. The events will be organised and facilitated by the ladies and gentlemen of the BSC Choral Group. The sessions will begin at on the following dates: Date Hosts 24 th April 2015 Pat Morrissey and JJ O Dwyer 8 th May and 22 nd May 2015 John Lundberg and Flor O Driscoll 12 th and 26 th June 2015 Liz Walshe and Barbara Robinson The format is informal and impromptu singing/performing and all genre are welcome. There will be an MC on the night and accompaniment. If you play an instrument, bring it along and join in. The objective is to have fun and to give members an opportunity to display their talents. Come along, sing along, sing a song, play an instrument, do a recitation or just enjoy a drink and entertainment. Sailing Supper Saturday 23 rd May Mary O Dwyer and Maureen McCarthy will be running a sailing supper on Saturday 23 rd May 18 per head. Numbers are limited so Early Bookings are advised to:- Maureen McCarthy Mobile Landline mtmccarthy78@gmail.com Page 10