2017 ISA Cruising Conference
The ISA Cruising Conference headed south this year with the original venue at the historic Port of Cork meeting room,
but when demand went beyond the capacity of the port, the venue was moved over the road to the Clayton Hotel Cork
City to accommodate 80 sailors.
Once again the sponsorship from Union Chandlery and support from Cruising Association of Ireland made the day possible
and kept the delegate fee as low as €10 for ISA members, making this tremendous event accessible to a wide audience.
After a welcome from Harry Hermon, CEO of the Irish Sailing Association, Paul O’Regan, Harbour Master for Port of Cork,
presented the development plans for Bantry Marina and enticed many of the sailors to head for Bantry Bay this summer
to avail of the choice of marinas, moorings and anchorages.
Celebrity Chef Rachel Allen cooked up a storm and had everyone eager for an early lunch as she elegantly and efficiently
filleted a fresh plaice while entertaining the room with talks of the foods available along the coast and how to
prepare them. Butter sizzled and the plaice was seared, dressed with fresh lemon and parsley and tasters were served
around the room. Followed by some good tips on the preparation of fresh mussels as she cooked them off with cream
and wild garlic pesto – delicious. Rachel then gave personal message book signings as the sailors queued up to buy
themselves her cookbook “Coast” all about the foods of south and west coast.
Myra Reid had the audience inspired by her story of her sail round the world with husband Pairaic O’Maolriada on their
Amel Super Maramu. “Around the world in 80 Days (+1,724)” was the title presentation slide. Pairaic and Myra were
introduced to boating in 2003, started learning in 2004 and in 2005 Pairaic announced he would rather like to sail
round the world and their project began. As novice sailors, training was their priority and they both embarked on
5 years of knowledge building and training, from skippering to sea survival. Myra entertained the enthralled audience
with their tales of deep sea fishing, Panama Canal adventures, Pacific island life and much more.
After all that talk of adventure, Sean OFarrell of Courtmacsherry RNLI shared some good sound advice on how to avoid
a call out. Did you know the main causes of distress are mechanical or structural, fuel, weather, injury or illness
and lack of experience or training? Training and the correct equipment on board can help all sailors be prepared
for the unexpected. Evie Conway of Union Chandlery shared her personal experience of falling overboard in Cork Harbour
in the winter and left us all in no doubt that without her fully serviced life jacket she may not be with us today.
The advice from the RNLI on whether or not to call is “If in doubt, call them out”.
Respects were made to Caitriona Lucas, mother of two and volunteer for Doolin Coast Guard who lost her life in service
of saving others.
Deirdre Lane of Commissioners of Irish Lights took us on a tour of the lighthouses and navigational aids round Ireland,
sharing her broad knowledge of how the network of weather buoys, synchronised buoys, virtual buoys and beacons all
combine to give cruising sailors safe passage and gave us a tip to keep a close eye on e-Navigation as the future
for navigation communications. John Leahy, pilot, yachtmaster and secretary for the Cruising Association of Ireland,
gave an in depth explanation of Ireland’s weather systems and how to work out your own forecast from some basic understanding
of weather fronts and how they progress.
The day closed with the knowledgeable Norman Kean of ICC Publications and Fellow of the Royal Institute of Navigation
explaining the “Strange Tides of Ireland” or for those more in the know “Amphidromes” a point where the range of
the tide is zero and the effect that has on the sea.
Throughout the conference Evie Conway was at hand to give expert advice on safety equipment, ICC publications were available
to purchase and the team from Clean Coasts gave guidance on the impact of different types of refuse that may find
itself overboard on to our beautiful coasts.
All the presentations are available in PDF format on the ISA web site
www.sailing.ie/2017-cruising-conference along with a guide on how to make the most effective offshore fishing
lure from a pink marigold!! – Look closely at the fishing slides from Myra
Each delegate left with a head full of new information and a delegate bag with one pink marigold, a bundle of useful
information leaflets, Union Chandlery discounts and gifts.
The incredible energy and passion for their subjects from each of the volunteer speakers and the genuine interest from
the sailors, truly brought this conference to life. Role on 2018 Cruising Conference.
Go to
www.sailing.ie/cruising for coastal cruising guide, port information, updated information on visitors moorings
and more.
Contact Gail MacAllister for further detail 086 2214724
Here are the presentations in pdf format for any that missed to see and those that came and asked to see again.
Useful links
How to make the best offshore fishing lure from a pink marigold –
…………………………………
Saturday 18th February
NOW AT Clayton Hotel Cork City
Due to demand of additional tickets, we have moved venue to
CLAYTON HOTEL CORK CITY, Lapps Quay, Cork City Centre
T12 RD6E
(NOT Silver Springs Clayton Hotel)
9:00-10:00 Registration with Teas & Coffees
10:00-16:00 Presentations (with a break for lunch 13:00 – 14:00)
16:00-17:00 Teas, Coffees and Chats
Every delegate will enter in to a draw to win a
Seago offshore lifejacket
courtesy of Union Chandlery
WELCOME ABOARD
by Harry Hermon CEO ISA
Welcome to Cork Harbour from Captain Paul O’Regan, Cork Harbour Master
with explanation of the development plans for Bantry Marina
SPECIAL GUEST SPEAKER
Rachel Allen
with
COAST
Recipes and food from Ireland’s Wild Atlantic Coast
Rachel will have her cookery book COAST available and is happy to sign a personal message.
Sailing Round the World – Eating, Planning and Surviving
with Paraic O’Maolriada and Myra Reid of Saol Eile
Avoiding the RNLI
with Sean O’Farrell of Courtmacsherry RNLI
Going for a Dip – Man Over Board Recovery
with Evie Conway of Union Chandlery
Lunch with The Club Brasserie on the River
Leading the Way
with Deirdre Lane of Irish Lights
Reading the Signs – Clouds and more
with John Leahy of Cruising Association of Ireland
The Strange Tides of Ireland
with Norman Kean of ICC Publications
Sponsors Union Chandlery will have Safety equipment on display and gifts in the delegate bags.
Cruising Association of Ireland invite you join them for Skipper’s Supper
for more chat and knowledge sharing
at Gallaghers Gastropub Restaurant
Expression of interest is on the Eventbrite link below.
Thank you and Safe Sailing
Paddy McGlade & Gail MacAllister
Teas, Coffees and time for chat
Change of venue has opened up new seat availability.
Limited to 50 seats. Don’t delay your booking, these seats will sell like hot buns at sea !!
Sponsored by
Union Chandlery
Supported by
Cruising Association of Ireland
Enquiries to Gail MacAllister
gail.macallister@sailing.ie