Welcome to the Royal Western Yacht Club of Ireland Training Centre. Our courses are operated in the safe haven of Kilrush Marina. Our waters are non-tidal and a perfect place to start sailing.
Summer 2024
The club has applied for funding to run an Inclusion Week from Monday 15th to Friday 19th July, 2024.
We hope to confirm details of Inclusion Week as soon as possible.
Sailing sessions will take place on the Irish Sailing's Hawk 20 which has been used for inclusion sailing at the marina for the past two years and we are grateful to Irish Sailing for it's continued support of inclusion sailing in Kilrush. There will also be opportunities to try sailing on a number of other sailing dinghies including a topper topaz, GP14 and wayfarer dinghy. Sailing sessions will include one-to-one tuition and the equipment and length of each session can be adapted to suit each child.
The club has also applied for funding to purchase it's own Hawk 20 sailing boat which would allow us to continue to run inclusion sailing in Kilrush going forward.
We are grateful to Irish Sailing for it's continued support of inclusion sailing in Kilrush.
Summer 2024
The club has applied for funding to run an Inclusion Week from Monday 15th to Friday 19th July, 2024.
We hope to confirm details of Inclusion Week as soon as possible.
Sailing sessions will take place on the Irish Sailing's Hawk 20 which has been used for inclusion sailing at the marina for the past two years and we are grateful to Irish Sailing for it's continued support of inclusion sailing in Kilrush. There will also be opportunities to try sailing on a number of other sailing dinghies including a topper topaz, GP14 and wayfarer dinghy. Sailing sessions will include one-to-one tuition and the equipment and length of each session can be adapted to suit each child.
The club has also applied for funding to purchase it's own Hawk 20 sailing boat which would allow us to continue to run inclusion sailing in Kilrush going forward.
We are grateful to Irish Sailing for it's continued support of inclusion sailing in Kilrush.
Sailing for All Project
The Sailing for All project run for the past two years, in conjunction with Irish Sailing, has concluded. We would like to thank all the families involved for joining us on some wonderful sailing adventures at Kilrush Marina.
This is a brief outline but the program but it can be adapted to suit the needs of the children or youths involved:
Further Information
Western Yacht Club's Inclusion Officer
Elaine O'Mahoney
Email: contactrwyci@gmail.com
Irish Sailing's Inclusion Officer
Ciarán Murphy
Email: ciaran.murphy@sailing.ie
The Sailing for All project run for the past two years, in conjunction with Irish Sailing, has concluded. We would like to thank all the families involved for joining us on some wonderful sailing adventures at Kilrush Marina.
This is a brief outline but the program but it can be adapted to suit the needs of the children or youths involved:
- All sessions are lead by a fully qualified sailing instructor experienced in working with children with special needs.
- Sessions are up to a maximum of 1 hour and 45 minutes long. We are aware that for some children 30 minutes might be more than enough and that is absolutely fine. The amount of time you spend on the water can be adapted to suit your child.
- A family member (e.g. parent, sibling) or a friend is welcome to join the session.
- Families will be met by an instructor at Kilrush Marina and all participants will be fitted with a bouyancy aid before being escorted to the boat. Bouyancy aids must be worn at all times. If you feel this may be a challenge for your young sailor please don't hesitate to contact us and we can discuss how to help your young sailor prepare for their time on the water. The Sailing for All app also has lessons on how to use a bouyancy aid.
- Activities will be weather dependent and will follow strict safety protocols.
Further Information
Western Yacht Club's Inclusion Officer
Elaine O'Mahoney
Email: contactrwyci@gmail.com
Irish Sailing's Inclusion Officer
Ciarán Murphy
Email: ciaran.murphy@sailing.ie
Sailing for All Video
Here are some of our wonderful young sailors enjoying sailing and powerboating as part of our Sailing for All project.
Feedback from Families
"I am just writing to compliment the inclusive sailing undertaken over the summer. Our 7 year old, is autistic. We have always wanted to take him on boat trips but were unsure how it would go, knowing if it went wrong and he had a meltdown that it would be disastrous. We attended the inclusive sailing at Kilrush Marina and it was excellent. Every person that we interacted with was wonderful, communicating and interacting with him in his way and time. I could see his confidence blossoming as he was taught how to steer the speedboat and the sailboat. He was so calm and at peace, even growing comfortable enough to talk to our guides on the sailboat, which is a big deal for him as he often prefers nonverbal communication in new settings.
It is beyond wonderful to have this new world opened up to us, and especially him. I hope similar experiences are available in the future and many thanks to all for the wonderful work this summer. "
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"Our son had his 3rd day of sailing yesterday - on both the Gina G and Johnny T. He enjoys it very much. Our hope is to keep sailing in the future. It's a wonderful activity that gets us out, off the ipad, but is contained to where I am not worried about our disrupting enjoyment for other people. And besides learning about the actual act of sailing there is so much to look at and point out to him. There is lots of new learning, Both David and Sandy are wonderful - they are calm, kind, and fully in control - and unflappable. I fully trust them to be able to handle whatever could happen. The marina is calm and feels very safe.
Like all parents I was apprehensive - but he is so calm on the boat. I thought the first time was a fluke - he went with Dad the second time and was just as calm. Yesterday on the 3rd outing I was sure he liked it when he was pulling me down the boat. We would love to take him to Scattery Island and the Aran Islands etc. but were fearful of how he would behave on a boat but now we feel we could do it. And isn't it wonderful that he will slowly but surely learn about different types of boats (as will we) and get to see different places and different types of nature.
So thank you for giving us the opportunity to explore sailing with our son. Neither myself or my husband have ever sailed - so it is a lovely opportunity for us to do something new too! "
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"Just want to say a big thank you for facilitating us in the inclusive sailing this week. We had a wonderful day in Kilrush marina and my daughter just loved it. I would like to pay particular thanks to Sandy, David and Eoin for being so caring and welcoming to us all. We learnt a lot about sailing too! You are all to be commended on making this inclusive activity available to children and families like us. We very much appreciate it."
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It is beyond wonderful to have this new world opened up to us, and especially him. I hope similar experiences are available in the future and many thanks to all for the wonderful work this summer. "
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"Our son had his 3rd day of sailing yesterday - on both the Gina G and Johnny T. He enjoys it very much. Our hope is to keep sailing in the future. It's a wonderful activity that gets us out, off the ipad, but is contained to where I am not worried about our disrupting enjoyment for other people. And besides learning about the actual act of sailing there is so much to look at and point out to him. There is lots of new learning, Both David and Sandy are wonderful - they are calm, kind, and fully in control - and unflappable. I fully trust them to be able to handle whatever could happen. The marina is calm and feels very safe.
Like all parents I was apprehensive - but he is so calm on the boat. I thought the first time was a fluke - he went with Dad the second time and was just as calm. Yesterday on the 3rd outing I was sure he liked it when he was pulling me down the boat. We would love to take him to Scattery Island and the Aran Islands etc. but were fearful of how he would behave on a boat but now we feel we could do it. And isn't it wonderful that he will slowly but surely learn about different types of boats (as will we) and get to see different places and different types of nature.
So thank you for giving us the opportunity to explore sailing with our son. Neither myself or my husband have ever sailed - so it is a lovely opportunity for us to do something new too! "
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"Just want to say a big thank you for facilitating us in the inclusive sailing this week. We had a wonderful day in Kilrush marina and my daughter just loved it. I would like to pay particular thanks to Sandy, David and Eoin for being so caring and welcoming to us all. We learnt a lot about sailing too! You are all to be commended on making this inclusive activity available to children and families like us. We very much appreciate it."
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ADDITIONAL LINKS:
RWYCI Inclusion Policy:New Inclusion Projects: Irish Sailing Watersports Inclusion GamesSailability Ireland
RWYCI Inclusion Policy:New Inclusion Projects: Irish Sailing Watersports Inclusion GamesSailability Ireland