History of Cove Sailing Club (CSC)

 

In the early years of the nineteenth century, yachting in Cork harbour was the exclusive privilege of the Royal Cork Yacht Club which raced in Cobh. Many of the visiting yachts picked up their crews from the natives of the town. An acknowledgement that there was a need for a smaller type of yacht, one designed with local requirements and conditions in mind, saw the creation of what we now know as the “Cork Harbour One Design - designed by Fife in Scotland. Twelve boats in all were built, eight in Carraigaloe, three in Passage West  and one built in Baltimore, West Cork. The emergence of this class of boat reinforced the need for a sailing club for local enthusiasts who did not have the social rating and financial resources to attain membership of the Royal Cork Yacht Club. In 1904, some enthusiasts formed a sailing  club which was simply known as "The Sailing Club" as distinct from the Royal Cork Yacht Club. In 1919 this club formally became known as Cove Sailing Club. In the 1930's the East Beach Corinthians Sailing Club was formed and catered for those with more modest boats. This club went from strength to strength however the outbreak of World War II depleted the membership of the club to the extent that it merged  with Cove Sailing Club in 1948 and became the club we are familiar with today.

 

Cove Sailing Club Today

 

Until 2009 CSC had not had a permanent storage facility or club-house of their own and this has impacted on the growth of the club over the years. Most club members keep their boats at the East Ferry marina although given the increased demand for berths an increasing number are kept on swing moorings around the harbour. CSC run regular races for class 4, 3 & 2 as well as a whitesail fleet. They race on Friday nights from May-August and Sundays in May and September. CSC also host several larger events - Cobh regatta, Cove at home etc, The Marlogue Trophy and the Cobh/Blackrock race - which was also a city of culture event during 2005 and is one of the oldest yacht races in Ireland and is still run each year. These are open events and CSC will run classes to suit as many entrants as wish to participate. Further details of the main sailing events that the Club organize each year are detailed below.

 

The lack of facilities has meant that CSC has always focused on competitive sailing (albeit on a social/friendly basis), providing an opportunity for all people, especially junior members to sail. In 2009, with support from a Sports Council grant, Cobh Town Council and Cobh VEC, CSC opened a dinghy park at Whitepoint, Cobh, to provide sailing equipment, facilities and coaching primarily aimed at local children who wanted to learn to sail as members of CSC.  This initiative has been very successful in encouraging more people to try sailing and has succeeded in increasing the membership of the club. To date, CSC has experienced an increase in Junior membership of well over 100 and overall membership doubled.

 

 

CSC General Committee - 2011

 

Name	Title
Derry Allister	Commodore
Dave Doyle	Rear Commodore
Adrian Tyler	Secretary
Mandy Lawton	Treasurer
Brendan Ryan	Sailing Secretary
Pat Bruton	Membership Office
John A Stoat	Junior Officer
Paul Kenny	Public Relations Officer
Liam Allister	SCORA Liaison
Kieran Moore	Website/Commercial development
Liam Coakley	Development/Planning
Jason Losty	Committee Member
Denis Ellis	Committee Member
Declan Murphy	Committee Member

 

 

Future Plans

 

The club is currently in the process of finalising a development plan to take us forward over the next five years. As a family orientated club with support from other local organizations and small businesses, there is an opportunity to promote and encourage sailing as an activity which is accessible to anyone. This was part of our original constitution back in 1919, which states "the objects of the club shall be the promotion of sailing and the encouragement of sailing and boating activity, and the social association among its members.  Whilst at the same time we want to encourage a younger membership and help the club to grow by offering a greater range of facilities and services both to its members and to the local community.

 

Over the next few years sailing generally, and in Cork Harbour especially will see a huge amount of focus. In 2010 the round the world clipper fleet arrived in Cork Harbour and Kinsale. (Cork COCo and Failte Ireland sponsored one of the boats in the fleet). With the London Olympics in 2012 there will be an opportunity to further promote the sport of sailing as the UK and Ireland look to build on their success in previous Olympics. 2012 will also see the Commemoration of the loss of the Titanic, which will invariably further enhance Cobh’s national and international profile and provide further opportunities to promote the marine leisure potential of Cork Harbour.

 

Major local events such as Cork Week, the Sovereigns and Calves Week attract large numbers of visitors and high quality racing fleets, and with them come commercial opportunities to develop marine leisure in the Cork region. Cove SC sees Cork Harbour as the optimum location for providing training and coaching facilities as well as providing top quality coastal racing opportunities for the more competitive cruiser/racers, whilst within Cork Harbour we can cater for the more social (whitesail) racing (which is also growing hugely in popularity) as well safely train beginners in the quieter areas of the Harbour.

 

 

Current Program of Sailing Events offered by Cove SC (See sailing schedule for more details)

 

Titanic Trophy Race

Cruiser/racers. Annual race to kick off the Friday Night League. Beautiful bronze replica of Titanic donated to the Club by Vincent Keaney is presented to the winner of this "All-in Echo" race.

 

May League

Cruiser/racers. Sunday afternoon racing marks the start of CSC season. Class 2, 3 and whites. Incorporates the Marlogue Trophy race (all in IRC/Echo).

 

Friday Night League

Cruiser/racers. Whites and Kites racing in and around Cork Harbour. Runs throughout May-August.

 

Cove at Home

Dinghies and cruiser/racers weekend action.

 

Cobh Peoples Regatta

Dinghies and Cruiser/racers. One of Europe’s oldest regattas. Sailing together with other water based activities form the major part of this annual Cobh festival. Class 1,2,3,4/traditional & Whites.

 

East Ferry Cup

Dinghies (all classes). Annual race from Cobh to East Ferry.

 

Ballinacurra Cup

Dinghies (all classes). Annual race from Cobh around the cans finish in Ballinacurra.

 

Brooklands Cup

Dinghies (all classes). Annual race in Cork Harbour.

 

Lusitania Coastal Race

Cruiser/racers. All in IRC/ECHO and Whitesail. New annual race introduced this year to meet the growing demand (and abilities) of our members for a longer, more challenging coastal race.

 

September League

Cruiser/racers. All classes. Incorporates the Cobh/Blackrock race which is one of the oldest yacht races still run each year and was named as a City of Culture Event during 2005 when Cork held the title as European City of Culture.

 

In addition to the sailing program, the club runs dinghy training on Saturdays and dinghy racing on Wednesday evenings. The club holds regular social events for our members from popular monthly prize giving events and quiz nights through to talks and safety demonstrations from RNLI etc. In November the Club hosts the well attended Laying Up Supper - a dinner dance to mark the end of the sailing calendar.

 

 

 

Club Policies and Codes of Conduct

 

 

 

CSC Membership forms for 2011

CSC Membership runs from 1 Jan -31 Dec annually. New members are always welcome and if you would like to know more about Cove Sailing Club and/or how to join please email us at info@covesailing.ie.

 

Existing members should submit their completed 2011 forms together with payment as soon as possible.

 

Please send completed forms and cheques to : the Treasurer, Cove Sailing Club, PO Box 12, Cobh.

 

If you must pay by cash please pay in person to a Cove SC Committee member only.

Download the latest membership forms by clicking on the links below:

 

 

Application Form for New Members

 

Membership Renewal Form