Over 50 Juniors Participated in the HYC J80 Junior Evening on Monday 15th July!
  Author: Laura Dillon      Posted on: 15/7/13



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We had a great turn-out for the J80 junior evening held on Monday 15th July from 6.15-9.00pm in HYC. Over 50 juniors came sailing in the J80s and a fantastic evening was had by all!

Howth Yacht Club's junior sailors were treated to an evening of race training in the ISA Sailfleet J80s on Monday evening, 15th July - winds were south-easterly in direction and 5-10 knots. Fifty-four juniors took part in the event run by Laura Dillon and the HYC junior sailing team. A host of support vessels and RIBs facilitated the running of the evening which saw all the children (ranging in age from 8 to 18) taking part in 2 short windward-leeward 'races', assisted by two senior volunteers on each of the eight J80s.

The moderate south-easterly wind facilitated exciting conditions in the waters off Howth Sound and gave many of the children their first taste of one-design keelboat racing. More than twenty five volunteers escorted the exhilarated sailors back to Howth Yacht Club where they enjoyed a great evening!

Thanks very much to all the people who made the event possible - we won't name everyone, but a few special mentions to Eleanor Cahill and Sarah Toomey for helping to organize the shore side and the changeovers. Thanks to Kieran and Daire Jameson for taking their yacht, Changeling out to act as mothership and also to Daire for making all the goodie bags. Thanks to Patrick Cruise O'Brien, Geraldine Mahony, Ronan Walsh, Paul Walsh and Karl Brady for taking ribs out or loaning their ribs. And of course thanks to Graeme Grant for helping organize the kids before we went sailing. Plus a huge thanks to all the adults who went sailing on the J80s. Thanks also to John Deane for taking the photos.

Hopefully we'll have many more successful junior events like this later in the season and beyond!

Very best of luck and good sailing to all the HYC junior members in 2013 and beyond! Cheers to a great 2013 junior sailing season!

Laura