Please find below information regarding training for volunteers interested in the London 2012 Olympics on 14th & 15th August, in case anyone within your club may be interested.

More information on volunteering for London can also be found through: http://www.rya.org.uk/aboutus/volunteers/Pages/2012Volunteering.aspx

BYC youth Laser Radial sailor Sophie Murphy is currently in Singapore at the Youth Olympic Games. Sophie is representing Ireland in A Byte C11 sailing as part of the Irish Olympic team and starts racing on 17 August. The Irish team consists of 20 members in total, comprising of 2 boxers, 2 runners, 1 tennis player, 1 triathlon and a hockey team.

Irish Whale and Dolphin Group are running a 1 day cetacean identification, recording and survey skills course at Whitehead, Co. Antrim on Saturday 14th August.

Recent sightings of Humpback Whale and White-sided Dolphin both in the Rathlin area this month together with some 10 sightings of Bottlenose Dolphin around the Antrim and Down coasts this year alone show that Northern Irelands waters hold important whale and dolphin populations.

The Irish Optimist fleet headed home on Sunday evening after an exhausting, but exhilarating weekends racing at Ballyholme Yacht Club. Over 100 sailors had travelled to BYC for the AGNEW AUTOEXCHANGE Ulster Optimist Championships. Their previous two events had been sailed in less than five knots, so the 25 knot breeze fulfilled their wildest dreams. Race Officer Robin Gray set perfect courses for the main fleet and six races were sailed over the two days. The Regatta fleet sailed around much smaller courses in the Bay and surprised themselves at how well they coped with the force4/5 winds!

Watch out at Ballyholme Yacht Club this weekend – the Club is being descended upon by over 150 young Optimist sailors! They were in BYC last year for their Ulster Championships and enjoyed it so much they are back for mor fun in Sea Bangor.

Report by Paul Prentice

The Irish Sigma Nationals were held in Dublin Bay and hosted by RSGYC from the 11th -13th June. Our thanks to RSGYC and particular Paddy Maguire for all his efforts in this year's championship. Tim Goodbody proved again that boat speed is only one factor in winning a 10 race championship, White Mischief's excellent final day performance clinched another Irish Championship win in a very competitive 13 boat fleet.

Dinghy sailing provides an exciting way of getting afloat to experience the thrills of sailing. It is also the quickest and easiest way to learn to sail as dinghies are easy to rig, anyone can handle them and they are very responsive, providing limitless entertainment for everyone.

Last weekend was another busy weekend for travelling boats with the RS Elites and SB3s travelling to Royal North, the Sigma 33s in Dublin and the Catamarans in Galway. BYC members were crewing many of the top boats and there were also many others who took the time and travelled, but didn’t bring the silverware home.

YACHTSMEN and women will be travelling from all over Ireland to attend an event at Donaghadee Sailing Club later this month.

The GP14 60th Anniversary Ulster Championship and Masters event is being held at the Co Down club. The weekend event is the first major competition being hosted by DSC since its new £1m clubhouse was officially opened last summer.

This time of year is the infamous ‘Scottish Series’ for keelboats in Tarbert, Loch Fyne. Fewer boats than normal travelled up to Scotland this year with BYC Club members having success in the RS Elite class.

Brian Shaw of Carrickfergus was ably crewed by Robin Flannigan and Sally Watson and they were disappointed to finish second overall, not quite managing to catch the Olympian Shirley Robertson.

The girls in FALLEN ANGEL finished third overall – congratulations to Fiona Hicks, Carol Graham and Lee Stevenson.

Scottish series results available at http://www.scottishseries.com/results

Down in Dublin at the IRC Nationals, Catherine Gunning and Andrew Gallagher, both Outport members of BYC, were sailing on a Class 2 Cork boat and finished second overall, narrowly missing first with a kite wrap on the last race!

Submitted by Elaine Taylor BYC

Ballyholme's Seaton wins Ulster Laser sailing championships Clubmate Tiffany Brien scoops Ladies National championships Report by Damian Connan

Many working adults are reluctant to give up a valuable weekend to have fun on a sailing course, so this year BYC has organised an Adult Monday night RYA course over 8 evening sessions in May and June: This course is similar to those we would normally run in the summer and will be running from 7-9.30pm. Please register your interest with Alice at alice@ballyholme.com.

May Day Monday (3rd May) at BYC is always a great way to spend your Bank Holiday with plenty happening down at the Club. Anyone who fancies having a short sail in a dinghy are welcome, both members and guests. The BBQ will be lit and there will be plenty of fun both on and in the water, plus a bit of craic for the dry land members who prefer not to get too wet.

Whether a BBQ summer or not, this year Ballyholme Yacht Club is offering a comprehensive programme of dinghy sailing courses. The variety of courses caters for adults and children from beginners to more advanced sailors.

Lough Swilly Yacht Club successfully launched the 2010 boating season on Sunday. Commodore Paul McSorley welcomed members attending The Opening Day Lunch at the LSYC Clubhouse in Fahan, Co Donegal. New members along with long standing members enjoyed a splendid lunch with entertainment provided by local traditional musicians. Many of the young members were able to take the opportunity to launch the Club’s recently purchased Pico’s, which will be used for the Learn To Sail Courses to be run later in the summer.