Rathmullan Sailing & Watersports School

Summer, its nearly over. The season has been an extraordinarily busy one, with classes and boats on the water most days of the week, and most days for 12 hours a day. We’d like to take the opportunity to thank everyone who has supported us during the summer, and all those who have chosen to take courses here. We hope to see you with us again soon.

We’d also like to take the opportunity to thank Neil and Andrew for all their hard work and dedication. Job well done.

This being only the second season of the school, it was still very much a learning experience for us. As many people out there are aware, the school is a community initiative run on a shoestring by local volunteers. We still aim to offer the best programme of courses we can, but occasionally know that our ‘admin’ procedures could run more smoothly. As we move into the ‘off-season’, we’ll be looking at how we can continue to improve on what we feel has been a very good start.

Summer may be ending but that’s not the end of the sailing. Aengus Kennedy will still be offering a few courses as we move into the autumn. In fact the details for the next one are below. Also watch for us to be adding a few kayaking courses to the schedule.

Level Two – Basic Skills
Over 3 Saturdays – Sept 4th, Sept 18, and October 2nd
10am – 5pm with a break for lunch

Max 6 participants, adults only
Cost 200 Euros

To reserve a place, download a booking form and return it to us.

There is one place left on our Start Sailing course for next week due to a cancellation. Other courses are filling up fast so call us  soon to secure your place.

Andrew – 0879821209

Connect with Rathmullan Watersports School on Facebook!

New photographs compliments of Paul Deeney and Kevin Macateer
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Rathmullan-Watersports-School/126185247424893

We have just moved into our new dinghy park. Sincere thanks to all who helped make this happen. We look forward to seeing you all there over the summer and into the winter!! Check out the photo’s below.

Our new dinghy park!

The view from inside!

The new container.

Places for the week long sailing courses are filling fast, so be sure to contact us as soon as possible to secure place!

WEEK  3         5th -9th JULY                     FULL

WEEK  4         12th -16th JULY                Places availilable

WEEK  5         19th -23rd JULY                FULL

WEEK  6         26th -30th JULY                Places availilable

WEEK  7         2nd – 6th AUGUST             Places availilable

WEEK  8         9th - 13th AUGUST            Limited availilability

WEEK  9        16th - 20th AUGUST         Limited availilability

WEEK  10       23rd - 27th AUGUST       Places availilable

Our fleet of new sea kayaks has arrived and we’re ready to start paddling. Here’s what we’ve got planned for the summer:

ICU Level 1 Kayaking Skills Course
Learn the basic skills of kayaking in a safe and fun environment.
Runs over 2 consecutive evening sessions, from 18:30 to 21:30 each evening
Maximum 6 participants
Fee €60

1/2 Day Trips
Explore Lough Swilly’s wonderful coastline while learning basic kayaking skills.
This three hour class will run evenings and weekends
Maximum 6 participants
Fee €40

Full Day Trips
Explore Lough Swilly’s stunning coastline while learning basic kayaking skills.
We’ll stop for a lunch at a remote bay or beach.
This six hour class will run weekends
Maximum 6 participants
Fee €70

Moonlight Paddles
Explore beautiful Lough Swilly by the light of the full moon.
Maximum 6 participants
Fee €40

ICU Level 2 Kayaking Skills Course
Learn more advanced kayaking skills that will prepare you to take on moving water.
This course will run over 5 evening sessions
Maximum 4 participants
Fee €200

If you’re interested in any of our kayaking options, contact Andrew at 087 982 1209 for scheduling and booking details.

Summer is well and truly here, and the sailing season at the Rathmullan Sailing and Watersports School is about to kick into high gear.

Course Availability

Many of our courses have been filling fast, especially those between 12th July and 20th August, and only have limited availability left, so if you’re interested in participating during that time, you’ll need to book now.

For the weeks before the 12th of July and after the 20th of August, we have a good number of places left, but we still recommend early booking to avoid disappointment.

Taste of Sailing Week

Next week, June 20-25th, we’re scheduling a number of free Taste of Sailing Events. We’re planning Morning and Afternoon Sessions for:

Wednesday June 23
Thursday June 24
Friday June 25

Morning sessions run from 10am to 12noon, afternoon sessions from 3:30pm to 5:30pm

If you’re interested in dipping your toes in the water and getting a brief taste of the sport of sailing, drop us an email to check availability and to book a place.

Evening Classes

Can’t make it during the day. No problem, we have a complete calendar of evening classes designed especially for adults and taught by our seasoned resident pro, Aengus Kennedy. These have been running since early May and have been a great success with a burgeoning group of handy and hardy local sailors.

Sea Kayaking

For any of you interested in learning the basics of sea kayaking, we’ll be finalising the details of what will be on this summer in the coming days and will post it here on our website.

Aengus Kennedy has joined the team at the Rathmullan Sailing and Watersports School. A native of Dun Laoghaire and resident of Ramelton, Aengus is an ISA certified Senior Instructor with years of sailing, racing, and instructing experience. We’re happy to have him at the helm of our evening Start Sailing and Basic Skills courses and hope to see him teaching some Improving Skills and Kites and Wires courses a little later in the season. We’ll keep you posted.

Already got your Start Sailing Certificate and looking to move on to the next level? We’ve got just one space left on our evening Basic Skills course beginning on May 3rd.

Great news, we have two new boats on the way for the 2010 season – the versatile and fun Laser Bahia. (That’s a Bahia in the picture above.) Perfect for adventure sailing or learning to sail with kites and wires. We’ll keep you posted on our plans for these little beauties.

Oh, and let’s not forget the new Pico we’re adding to the fleet and six new sea kayaks. Summer 2010 should be a fun one.