Summer sailing makes its return to Courtown Harbour
YACHTS and boats have returned to the marina at Courtown Harbour after a tough time away from the water during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The long wait for the summer season to begin is now over, but things look set to be a little different for the local sailors.
Advice from Harry Hermon, CEO of Irish Sailing is for sailors to ‘sail smart’ and respect government guidelines.
He said that the focus for water based sport activities such as sailing will be to maintain physical distancing where possible, and to put in place effective measures, such as contact tracing and face masks.
Local, regional and national competition has been given the go-ahead to resume and multi-household groups will be able crew on boats.
In the interest of maintaining regular crew as much as possible, committee boats and safety boats are encouraged to use a ‘pod’ system.
Training for all age groups will also be encouraged to use such a system, which will see the same groups working with the same instructor for the duration of the course.
Support from Irish Sailing is available still, with a Covid-19 toolbox free to view online.
Forms for risk assessment are also available to download from www.sailing.ie.