Exciting Times Ahead for Disabled Sailing in Dun Laoghaire.

Special Needs Sailing

The Club kindly financed the purchase of two 2.4m international boats to provide a greater challenge for our sailors who are getting into racing and improving their skills. Seven of them took part in the Presidents Cup last year (a provincial team competition in 4 different types of boat) and won it convincingly.

So this year, we hoping to move things along and have the 2.4s afloat on Sunday mornings with the six Hansa Dinghies. With the benefit of two coaches, Rosy Gibbons and Clare Lambert, financed by D/L Sailability, who will be there on Sundays, our team should be in good shape for this year’s Presidents Cup in Kinsale. Two training weekends have already been held in Carrickfergus and we hope to hold two other day sessions in April and May. Sunday morning sailing starts on 19th June and continues as usual until the end of August.

We also intend to start an adult course for the adult physically and sensorially disabled. Alain Deladiennee has kindly agreed to organise this. There will be an Open Day on Sunday 19th June for this course, which will run for four Sundays.

If you know of anyone who would be interested in taking part, please contact any of the email addresses below.

With the adult course in mind particularly, the Club is installing a hoist to help to get people in and out of the boats. Many thanks to Frank O’Beirne and the Flags for supporting and facilitating this essential piece of equipment.

Please come down on a Sunday morning or afternoon to see what is going on and if you could see your way to helping us, it would be greatly appreciated.

We are making great strides, but none of this will happen without the voluntary effort of Members.

If you are interested, please contact any of us:

Ian French: ianafrench@eircom.net
Maeve O’Brien: smallacreholdings@gmail.com
Alain Deladiennee: deladiennee_alain@yahoo.com

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