Members Section

We have just completed Wave Regatta, one of the biggest sailing events in Howth Yacht Club’s recent history and in a very very successful manner.

It was a tremendous success on the water and on land and I think it is incumbent on me to thank Brian Turvey and the organising committee for the tremendous work and organisation that they put in to the event. 

We have to thank Principal Race Officers David Lovegrove and Jack Roy for ensuring top-class racing for the 161 boats that took part. The support we received from Fingal County Council, the Department of the Marine and Harbourmaster Harry McLoughlin also ensured the success of the event .

I believe that the event truly showed the capacity of our club in that it catered for so many age groups. A highlight commentary  has been the numbers of young people participating on the water which is critical to the future of the sport.

The feedback from the general community has been exceptionally positive and has once again ensures that the club becomes a focal point of the locality.

There are too many individual people to thank and no doubt I would miss somebody, nevertheless to all the volunteers who helped make Wave Regatta such a resounding success, thank you on behalf of all the members of Howth Yacht Club.

In particular we need to thank the sponsors, who without their support the event could certainly not have taken place. Thank you to the Michael J Wright Hospitality Group, Fingal County Council, Euro Car Parks, McPeake Auctioneers, E-Light, WD-40 and Cassidy Travel. The generosity and support of these sponsors and passionate club members funded more than 60% of the costs of the event, with the balance raised through entry fees.

A big thanks to all the staff who worked on the event and put in such Trojan efforts to ensure its success.

 

Quest Sailing School

We have begun to roll out the new sailing school under the brand of ‘Quest Howth’. This will provide a platform for increasing participation in sailing within the club through the use of sailing courses for all age groups. We have already begun to see the fruits of this, even though it is only at the early stages of being rolled out. In particular, there has been an increase in the number of junior participants in sailing courses this summer thanks to the Trojan efforts of the junior sailing team headed up by Sara Lacy. We will see the numbers treble on last year.

Sailing courses through French have a waiting list to join and we will host sailing courses partnerships with two language schools later in the summer. We have also number of corporate bookings. This is the start and is the base from which we need to build greater participation in sailing within the club.

 

Finance

Again we continue to trade in a positive fashion and have focused on controlling our costs but also seeking to develop the core activities of the club which will incur additional costs. These are necessary if we are to invest in the future.

 

Summer sailing season

Club racing continues and no doubt following the success of the regatta there will be greater participation in the club racing. I hope everybody enjoys their summer season.

 

Autumn League

Planning continues to ensure that the autumn league maintains the momentum of last year. Eddie Bourke and his team are working hard. We are delighted to announce that KBC Bank will sponsor the event.

 

Commodore’s Ball

This will be held on September 1st. It will be a black-tie affair with all the glitter that the club will be famous for. It will be limited to 150 tickets. Please contact the office if you wish to book tickets for this event. More details on this will follow shortly.

 

Finally..

To all the volunteers, staff members sponsors and participants a big thank you to ensuring that our club paves the way for a successful future for the sport of sailing. Your support, experience and energy is vital to the future of the club. We will continue to reinvigorate and make some fundamental changes to the existing structure to ensure the club is properly structured and financed for the medium to long term future. Further discussions in this area will take place in the autumn.

 

Thank you.