What’s New in the Cruising Group

Lots of activity for cruising class members last month as we look forward to a fantastic summer or cruises and other fun activities...

We'd like to congratulate Susan Kavanagh again on winning recent Irish Sailing Award for her contribution to the cruising community over the years. Well done to Susan and all those in HYC who contributed their time and supported her over the years.

As we look forward to a summer full of fun activities and cruises, many of our members have been busy participating in skills, safety and boat maintenance training and talks organised by the HYC training team.

Our very own Mark Deegan gave a fantastic workshop on Marine Electronics. Mark talked about the importance of having proper back up in the event of a break down in VHF and AIS communications which he and crew members encountered in Holyhead last year when they were dis-masted and lost communications. With his background in engineering and electronics he was able to fix up a system and connect to the coastguard. He demonstrated how your instrument displays could be linked and that all connections should be easily be connected. He is available to talk to any members who want to find out more information on the above topic Mark.Deegan@tudublin.ie.

We will kick off the season with our annual breakfast and raffle in aid of the RNLI which will take place on April 12th at HYC. We are looking for donations for the raffle and you can drop these at the HYC office. Booking event is now open on the HYC website.

Cruising season then kicks off in earnest with armada's running to Redrock, Skerries, Lambay, Greystones and Killiney and lots more including potentially taking an armada to join a maritime festival in Carlingford over the summer. Watch this space. Further information from cruising@hyc.ie.

Some of our members are looking forward to joining flotilla's around the Greek Islands (Ionian and Saronics) in May with Sailing Holidays https://www.sailingholidays.com/.

The competition now consists of three cooks from each of the HYC, MYC and the CAI. There will be nine cooks competing on Sunday May 4th 4.30pm in the Malahide Yacht Club, St. James Terrace. For many this could be a weekend event, with the (CAI) Malahide Muster on Saturday May 3rd. Gathering at the Malahide Land Fall Mark at 13:00hrs (approx) for a cruise round probably Lambay (maybe adding in a short anchorage and a light picnic) returning at high water 17:00hrs for berthing in the Malahide marina. This is followed by a BBQ at 18:00 hours in the Malahide Yacht Club. The Saturday and Sunday is open to all HYC, MYC and CAI members and friends.

No bookings are required for the Sunday "Cook Your Hearts Out", just come along with family and friends, enjoy watching the preparation of the food, taste them and vote for your favourite dishes. All proceeds go to the RNLI.

The Saturday BBQ is open to all and may be booked on the Malahide Yacht Club web site, with a choice of chicken, fish or steak. It is usually accompanied in the background by the resident CAI musicians for a jovial evening of talking the talk and meeting new and old friends.

Members of HYC including Susan Kavanagh, Kevin Monks and many more representatives from HYC participated in the second Cruising Policy Consultation which was also attended by Tim Bourke CEO Sail Ireland. We discussed and problem solved potential solutions around issues such as lobster pots, moorings, safe harbor, marina services, small boat registration and improved pathways to sailing for adults with members of other sailing clubs including National Yacht Club.

At the Cruising Monthly Meet up on May 12th, Padraig Somers and Dermot Cronin from Malahide Yacht Club will give a talk on 'Sailing Encore Azores'. They recently gave this talk at Malahide and was very well received. All are welcome so save the date! Contact cruising@hyc.ie.

In April we had David Lawlor from Green Ocean give us a briefing on the oyster farm projects That Green Ocean have developed in Howth, Dunlaoighre and Malahide marina's. Green Ocean is Not-for-Profit Organisation whose motto is 'Less Climate Talk and More Climate Action'. Oysters filter and clarify the water which improves the quality of the water for other fish species to thrive. Green Ocean started self-seeding oyster stock to improve water quality and rebuild Bio Diversity. Phase 1 was Dublin Bay and Poolbeg location. This proved to be a viable project. Phase 2 was completed in 2024 in Howth and Dunlaoighre. Phase 3 will start in 2025 in be in Dunlaoighre. This will be on a bigger scale seeding between 16,000 and 18,000 oysters. We look forward to hearing future updates on the success of this exciting initiative.

Joining David was Cordula Scherer of Trinity College who gave us an insight into the history of oysters in Dublin Bay. Cordula spoke about Irish oysters and that oysters were one of the oldest known seafoods dating back 8000 years. From the 11th Century they were a food filler before they became a delicacy. Oyster cultivation started in 13th Century. From the 19th Century due to overharvesting and disease the Oyster beds died off. Local fishermen introduced the Portuguese Oyster but it failed. They then introduced the Pacific Oysters which proved successful.

Cordula will also be reaching out to HYC members to participate in another project she is part of in Trinity College Dublin called Coastal Tales.