SID Newsletter Dec 2009
Welcome to the final (and short!) SID newsletter of 2009. Sailing activities have been winding down somewhat with the onset of winter and the recent bad weather, but will doubtless pick up again in the New Year.
Frostbites
The Frostbite series got off to a shaky start, due to the inclement weather, with 4 of the 9 races being cancelled. Good luck to our Frostbiters in the second half of the series in 2010.
Obsession Sailing
Obsession continues to sail at weekends though the winter, for the
benefit of our more intrepid members. Bryan reports on recent activities.
Several weekend sessions have been proposed to members over the last couple of months; unfortunately several of these had to be cancelled at the last minute due to unfavourable weather conditions. Nevertheless, it's good to see the strong member interest in these sessions which are intended to help in maintaining crew skills over the winter months and also contact between members. The most recent session was on the 12th December where a full crew made the journey over to the Bailey and back in sunny conditions with a South/South East F4 wind. As we headed out well beyond the harbour mouth, we saw a grey hulled vessel coming towards us at some speed. We decided to maintain our course for a while to see what might happen; the grey hull turned out to be a naval vessel, which soon turned sharply to starboard thereby signalling to us very clearly her intention to sail into Dublin port. We also turned away to starboard and then resumed our course to the Bailey. It is always helpful when an approaching vessel clearly indicates her intentions in time which then allows the other vessel to decide on any course change that may be required to avoid a collision or mishap of any kind.
A new GPS system has been fitted and a replacement starboard compass. These will each help greatly in navigation/trip planning in 2010.
Membership
It's time to think about renewing your membership for 2010. The cost is 350 euro per member if renewed before the end of March. There is a discount of 50 euro for members who undertook an approved course in 2009 (or 100 euro for those who managed to take two)
Juliane and Colin are working on a web-based application form which should be ready early in the New Year. Meanwhile, please send your membership form and cheque to
Membership Secretary 49 Woodbrook Hall Castleknock Dublin 15
Container
The saga continues.... There has been some flux in the DL Harbour Company with the recent change in personnel. Details are too complicated to relate here, but suffice to say that we have secured an extension to our Lottery funding until June 2010 (thanks, Georgina) and the Container Committee are working hard to secure a satisfactory outcome.
Extracurricular Activities
Christmas Party
The SID Christmas party took place on Thursday December 3rd in Cafe Boulevard. An eyewitness account from our Chairman:
It was great to see that even in these recessionary times one of the highlights of the festive social circuit went ahead last week. We are of course talking about the SID Christmas Party one of most important social events on the Dublin winter circuit and as usual it did not disappoint. Following aperitifs and pints in the Exchequer Pub the revellers headed for the grub in Cafe Boulevard. The fare was good with everything from pork bellies to traditional fare going down a treat. Santa was particularly imaginative (amazing what you can get for a fiver) and after dinner entertainment was provided by the partygoers themselves under the expert instruction of an energetic dance choreographer-cum-waiter. It was all great fun if a bit scary with more than sailing skills on show. Thankfully Piero was on hand to record the activities. A particular word of thanks to Susan, Claire, Bronagh and all involved in organising.
Ghostbus Tour
A group of SID members went on the Dublin Ghostbus Tour on Nov 4th, organised by Sara Rigney. The coach tour lasted around two hours and we visited many sites associated with true and not-so-true tales of grisliness and gore from Dublin's murky past. Some of these sites are not normally open to the public.
That's it from the last newsletter of 2009.
Happy Sailing in the New Year.
