Bray Sailing Club to mark 60 years
BRAY Sailing Club will celebrate 60 years as a modern sailing club with a day of celebration activities on Saturday, September 15 from 10 a.m.
While there has been recreational sailing and racing organised in Bray since the second half of the 19th century the modern club is based at the harbour since 1958.
Announcing the celebrations, Commodore Declan Lavelle said: ‘We are not only delighted to celebrate a great and successful past 60 years but we are also looking forward to being an important part of the Bray community for many years to come.’
Declan said that it is hard to comprehend the amount of change the club has gone through since it started in a timber hut near the railway line in 1958.
‘Back then we had at most three nationalities represented in the club. Today we have 12. Back then only people who could afford to buy or build their own boats could fully participate.
‘ Today due to the generosity of our members and grants from Sports Capital Programme and Wicklow County Council we have been able to buy boats and equipment that enables us to make sailing available to all.’
He said that Bray is one of the few sailing clubs growing its adult membership and most of that growth is coming from the local community.
‘We provide a range of training courses to introduce adults to sailing and to develop their ‘skills.
‘We are particularly pleased with the growth in interest by young people. Each year we deliver approximately 1,500 days of training to hundreds of 9 to 18 year olds in our junior training courses. In addition from May to September we have our Pico club in which up to 50 juniors participate every weekend.’
The club has also been able to extend its reach in the community in recent years by supporting Bray Lakers.
‘ This is done through the generosity of our young instructors who give their time to organise events for Lakers,’ said Declan.
Trustee and PRO Mark Henderson said that the success of the club is based on being a family club run by volunteers. ‘ This is underscored by the fact that we have a number of families where three generations are involved in the club,’ he said. ‘ The club has always aspired to achieving the highest standards and we are the nursery where many sailors learned and honed their skills on their way to national and international renown.
‘In 2017 we were awarded the accolade of East Coast Training Centre of the Year by the Irish Sailing Association which is a recognition to our commitment to high standards and the enthusiasm of our trainers.’
Declan said that they are very heartened by a commitment by the Municipal District Council to devel- oping the harbour facilities.
‘We see this development as having very positive benefits not only for harbour users, but also for visitors by land and sea and very importantly, the total community.
‘We welcome new members to join us in taking advantage of these new developments.’ To enquire about training or membership, email info@ braysailingclub.ie.