The HYC Cruising Group explored far and wide in early June with a wonderful cruise to Scotland. Meticulous planning by Cruising Captain Sinéad Ryan, together with HYC members Cyril Geran and Micheal Carroll, saw six yachts depart Howth Yacht Club in pursuit of Scotland’s magnificent west coast.
Initially faced with unfavorable weather, which disrupted the original departure plans, our determined sailors patiently waited for suitable weather windows before making their way north. Early stops included Ardglass, where Vixen reported an exhilarating 15.5 knots while surfing in the breezy conditions. Most of the fleet then continued to Bangor and some onto Glenarm or Rathlin before making the crossing over the Irish Sea to Port Allen or Campbelltown. Flexit successfully navigated the challenging Corryvreckan before checking in from the beautiful Isle of Mull, enjoying lunch on Ulva along the way.The fleet jollied around the Firth of Clyde to beautiful spots such as Lochranza, Lamlash and Portavadie en route towards East Loch Tarbert for the muster, where everyone enjoyed dinner at The Red Herring, followed by a well-earned dram and plenty of stories from the voyage.
Further adventures included transits through the Crinan Canal, while Arcturus battled three-metre seas and headwinds on the return journey. Not far ahead, Aquarius enjoyed a memorable escort from a pod of dolphins on the final leg back to Howth.
Another unforgettable adventure completed by our intrepid cruising group. Congratulations to all our sailors on a fantastic cruise and a safe return home!
Cruising report by Rebecca McQuarrie
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Meanwhile over in Greece - Yes it’s true! The Greek flotilla holiday is everything our friends in HYC Cruising Group said it would be. From the turquoise and emerald waters of the Ionian sea to delicious food, the unspoilt beauty of the islands, the coastline and golden sandy beaches, the serenity of the small harbours, the warmth of the Greek people.
It was all wrapped up in a camaraderie with our fellow sailors from Dun Laoghaire, Waterford and England fostered through shared anecdotes, Greek dancing, a quiz and a cocktail making competition! Our young lead team were impressive in their skill and professionalism, arranging berths for us each day and guiding us through different docking/mooring manoeuvres so the only challenge facing us was to decide which picturesque cove to drop anchor at for lunch!
With beautiful weather and fair winds we discovered the beauty of Lafkas, Kalamos, Kastos, Ithaka, Meganisi, Corfu, Paxos to name but a few islands and Parga, Sayiadha and Plataria harbours on the mainland.
A big thank you to Orla Clancy for all her work in planning and organising this trip and for helping us to create fun memories we will carry with us until the next big adventure!
Cruising report by Susan McAleese
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Save the Dates
Please note some changes!
Our Annual Awards dinner has changed to December 12th as Santa has had to change his plans and we need to make room for this VIP guest to HYC.
This weekend we will sail to Greystones on June 27th instead of Red Rock which will be on July 11th.
July 25th – National Yacht Club Brunch
August 1st – Loughshinny
August 1st - the Bray Air Show coincides with this outing, which is absolutely fantastic from the water.
August 15th – Skerries
August 22nd – Killiney Bay
September 5th - Three Bridges
Our next Cruising Group meeting will be on July 6th with guest speaker Jeff Verner who will deliver a really super talk on Celestial Navigation. All are welcome so spread the word and come on down. Refreshments served from 7pm.
We will take a summer recess to enjoy all the summer cruising opportunities from our wonder Cruising Committee team and will reconvene in September. Have a fabulous summer everyone!
