VARTRY ROWING CLUB NOW IN DESPERATE NEED OF SHELTER
APPEAL FOR HOME AMID FEAR BOATS WILL GET DAMAGED OVER THE WINTER MONTHS
VARTRY Rowing Club is in desperate need of a permanent home to safely store its four fibreglass boats.
The amateur coastal rowing club trains in Wicklow Harbour and specialises in long distance rowing events, charity fundraisers and invitational rowing events.
Club members have achieved a fantastic level of success, including winning the longest open sea rowing race in the world, but the lack of a suitable place to store the boats means they have to be kept outside at Silver Strand, where they are open to attack from the elements.
Vartry Rowing Club Chairman George O’Brien is on the hunt for a building which would be suitable to store the boats, preferably close to the water’s edge.
‘We are really grateful to Harry Webster for allowing us to store our boats at Silver Strand but we need some sort of shelter. Leaving them outside isn’t going to do them any good,’ he said.
‘We train at Wicklow Harbour but Silver Strand is just a bit too far away – we are talking the guts of three miles. It’s not ideal to be towing the boats that distance and back each evening.’
‘I’m from Wicklow town but I live in Bray so I have to leave each evening at 5.30 p.m. It’s usually around 11 p.m. before I get home.
‘Somewhere in Wicklow town, close enough to the water would be an ideal place. It would be great to have somewhere close by where we could store the boats securely and safely, and away from the elements.’
In preparation for the arrival of Storm Ophelia and Storm Brian, the boats had to be staked down to the ground and filled with water to make them as heavy as possible.
‘ The wind still managed to catch a boat and move it, despite how heavy we tried to make it. Thankfully it didn’t suffer any major damage but it does prove just how unsuitable it is to have to keep the boats outdoors,’ said Mr O’Brien.
This year the club won the Celtic Challenge as 13 teams raced from Arklow to Aberystwyth on the Welsh coast, a distance of about 90 nautical miles. The club finished second in their first attempt back in 2014.
Other notable achievements include winning the 2016 All-Ireland Intermediate Coastal Rowing Championship, being runners-up in the 2016 Castle to Castle race and also tasting victory in the 2016 Ocean to City Celtic Longboat Race.
Club members have also embarked on numerous charity rows, raising well over €30,000 for various charities in recent years.
Now the club is in critical need of a permanent base as membership continues to grow.
‘We are a club that is growing all the time. We have over 60 members, with more to come,’ said Mr O’Brien.
‘We have a lot of youngsters involved as well. We will be entering both women and men’s teams in the next Celtic Challenge.
‘We have gone out looking for suitable premises but, so far, nothing really suitable has become available. We would be very eager to hear form anyone who may be able to assist,’ said Mr. O’Brien.
Anyone who may be able to help Vartry Rowing Club in their search for a home can contact George O’Brien on (086) 3116975.