Welcome to the GBSC Update

Boatyard Clean up discovers lost fleet of Optimists

An abandoned fleet of Optimists

A big thank you to all the volunteers who helped fill the skip at the boat yard cleanup last weekend.

During the process these Optimists were unearthed in a lost corner of the yard. Do you know who owns any of these? If so please let John Barry (secretary@gbsc.ie) know.

GBSC Photo of the Year Competition

Once again we are looking for your best photos from 2020 about anything sailing or boating related. Please send your best photos to pro@gbsc.ie and we will put them onto a special 2020 Competition gallery on GBSC.ie. Closing date for entries is 31st October.

Award Winning photographer Neil Warner FBIPP, FMPA, FIPPACr, Mqep has kindly agreed to judge the entries and the winners will be announced in December.

GBSC 2021 Calendar

To celebrate GBSC's 50th anniversary and to raise some much needed funds we will be launching a 2021 calendar. If you would like to sponsor a 'Best Wishes' style or other advertisment in the calendar please contact Johnny Shorten (commodore@gbsc.ie).

Swimming Buoys and General Pier Safety

Please be aware of the number of swimmers that now use Renville as a bathing location, we have placed yellow marker buoys to denote a safe swim area along the north shore. All boats should stay away from this area. Keep a watch in that area out as far as the perch.

Please keep the slipway clear of all cars and trailers. This includes the area near the waste oil tank. Do not reverse any trailers down the slip way when there are people on the slip.

Cruiser Lifting Out - Saturday 17th

Cruiser Lifting out - Saturday 17th Several of the cruiser fleet will be lifting out for the winter on Saturday 17th October. Weather forecast looks good so far, forecasting a dry day with light Easterly breeze, which should help everything go smoothly on what is often the 2nd of the 2 most stressful days in the cruiser owner's calendar.

Sailability

A perfect October day for sailing
As the winter approaches each opportunity to sail in 2020 may be the last sail of the season. Last Sunday was a day of light winds and sunshine. Only two of our sailors could make it but four boats took to the water, Mark and Tom in Hansas, Jack in a Topaz and Frances took the opportunity to sail her own Pico. Loraine and Liz manned the safety rib.

It was an enjoyable, Zen like, day for light wind sailing. In moderate winds sails are easily filled and a boat will move no matter how badly sails are set. Light winds make you focus on correct sail trim and searching for ripples on the water is always fun if your fellow sailors are becalmed. Sunday was a fun day to be on the water.

Dinghy Sailing

In light of further restrictions to onshore gatherings and competitive activity in the latest Sailing Ireland Covid Plan update, along with the worsening Covid trends locally, dinghy sailing will cease until further notice.

Dinghy Park

It is the time of year to secure boats down in the dinghy park. It is the responsibility of owners to tie down boats and to hold adequate insurance cover. Please take the time to check your dinghy to avoid storm damage.

Boats For Sale

Anyone selling a dinghy can post an ad with pics on the For Sale section of the website. Feel free to get in touch with details. No charge.

Training Courses coming up:

All in person training is suspended at present due to Covid restrictions.

Powerboat: Powerboat courses will be run at GBSC when restrictions permit.

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VHF: John Roberts of WEST GALWAY SCHOOL OF NAVIGATION will be running VHF courses in the clubhouse. Due to current restrictions these are limited to just 5 participants each session.

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GBSC are delighted to introduce Wild West Sailing as a new training partner to offer sail training in Galway on their new training vessel (Beneteau Oceanis 37.3) based in Rossaveal from September 2020 to June 2021.

Wid West Sailing are running practical & navigation courses from Competent Crew & Day Skipper up to Yachtmaster Offshore.

Wild West Sailing are offering all GBSC members a 10% discount on Practical Courses. WWS will teach RYA Shorebased Navigation Courses in Galway this winter, starting January 21st with Day Skipper Theory & January 23rd with Yachtmaster Theory.

All the details can be found here.

Please contact rctraining@gbsc.ie or our training partners above to register your interest in any of these courses.

Dates for the Diary

1. Fridays at 20:00: Zoom in for a chat

2. November 18th: Annual General Meeting

3. November 27th: Fireside talk with Yannick

4. December 4th: Vera Quinlan on Danu's voyage

5. December 14th: GBSC Awards Ceremony

The rescheduling of events will be reviewed in line with the guidance of the ISA and HSE. Further information will follow in due course.