Preparing to celebrate 100 years of sailing in Trearddur Bay
by Bunta Evans 23 Jul 2019 20:04 BST
Early years of sailing in Trearddur Bay © TBSC
Newspaper records indicate that a sailing regatta was held in Trearddur Bay in 1896, with both local residents and summer visitors participating. Many of these same people helped found the club on 23rd of August 1919 by the 15 men and 2 women. A number of 12 foot dinghies were ordered to be ready for racing in 1920.
By that following summer, five of the 12 foot boats, by then known as the Insect class, and three of a 14 foot class, called Myths, were raced. Although the Insect class no longer exists, the three boats built first for the club, number 1 Hornet, number 2 Midge, and number 3 Ant have been restored to race in the club's centenary, and their 99th year.
No original Myths remain but the Myth class has recently seen a great resurgence of support with many new boats being built to bring the current fleet to over 40. The third of the "traditional" boat classes raced at TBSC, the Half Raters, was adopted for racing in Trearddur in 1922. Since then other classes have come and gone in popularity; currently, in addition to the Half Raters and Myths, Mirrors, Fevas, and Optimists, plus miscellaneous classes, are raced.
The club is based on racing and sailing with the sailing season being is focussed on four weeks of the summer, late July to late August. During these four weeks and five weekends, most days see at least one sailing or social event taking place and with around 1100 members it's certainly a busy month! To help ensure the club is around for another 100 years the annual Sail Training week is a key part of the month. Sailors start in Optimists aged seven and are then provided the opportunity to move into Feva, Mirror, 420 and RS200; the week regularly has 180 juniors taking part during the week.
2019 promises to be a summer to remember with the club celebrating it's 100 years and some of the members got the season off to an early start! "With Trearddur Bay sitting only about 70 miles east of Dun Laoghaire across the Irish Sea an invitation to join the Volvo Regatta hosted by various Dun Laoghaire Sailing clubs it was an event not one to be missed in this our centenary year" said Nikco Williams. However, it was felt that a voyage by sea would be asking too much of either of our traditional wooden class boats, the Half Raters and the 14ft Myths. Therefore, a procession of seven Myths, eight Half Raters and one 420 boarded the Stena Line ferry to cross the Irish Sea.
When the first race day dawned, chilly and blustery and with the start line a forty five minute beat away outside the harbour towards Howth and with the prospect of three races before a return, not all viewed the day with equanimity. But the racing went well, fantastic organisation by the Race Committee against the backdrop of the Bay of Dublin which was a picture with hundred of sails scurrying about. Not forgetting the hospitality, as you would expect, from an Irish host. Nicko Williams also commented that "it was a pleasure to meet John Jones, master builder who has built many of our classic boats and to be hosted by The Waterwags who are the oldest one design dinghies in the world and our Myths are very similar".
In the Half Rater Class Scooter (No 6) dominated the racing with eight bullets! Andromeda (No 36) secured victory in the Myth Class with five bullets. Callum Davidson-Guild and Jonny Thompson were third in the 420 Class.
Thank you to all the organisers of the Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta.