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Irish National Sailing & Powerboat School Launches ‘Sailing School From Home’

2nd April 2020
Fiona Hederman explains the coming alongside manoeuvre in the second of INSS’ video lecture series Fiona Hederman explains the coming alongside manoeuvre in the second of INSS’ video lecture series Credit: INSS

This past Monday (30 March), the Irish National Sailing & Powerboat School launched Sailing School from Home — a series of free short theory lecture videos on topics ranging from kids’ sailing to powerboating, yachting and shore-based programmes.

“We hope that those missing the water can get something from what we’ve got in store, and that they’ll help everyone once we’re all back afloat,” the Dun Laoghaire-based school said in its Facebook post introducing the initiative.

The first in the series, released on Monday, is an introduction to electronic navigation delivered by chief instructor Kenneth Rumball. This was followed yesterday (Wednesday 1 April) by dinghy instructor Fiona Hederman explaining the coming alongside manoeuvre.

Kenneth Rumball has also shared a wide range of his favourite sailing videos to tide you over until the next lesson.

And before the week’s end, the INSS intends to launch a full resource pack on INSS.ie mainly for Junior Club Saturday sailors, detailing the entire theory syllabus of the junior sailing scheme.

Published in INSS
MacDara Conroy

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MacDara Conroy

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MacDara Conroy is a contributor covering all things on the water, from boating and wildlife to science and business

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The Irish National Sailing and Powerboat School is based on Dun Laoghaire's West Pier on Dublin Bay and in the heart of Ireland's marine leisure capital.

Whether you are looking at beginners start sailing course, a junior course or something more advanced in yacht racing, the INSS prides itself in being able to provide it as Ireland's largest sailing school.

Since its establishment in 1978, INSS says it has provided sailing and powerboat training to approximately 170,000 trainees. The school has a team of full-time instructors and they operate all year round. Lead by the father and son team of Alistair and Kenneth Rumball, the school has a great passion for the sport of sailing and boating and it enjoys nothing more than introducing it to beginners for the first time. 

Programmes include:

  • Shorebased Courses, including VHF, First Aid, Navigation
  • Powerboat Courses
  • Junior Sailing
  • Schools and College Sailing
  • Adult Dinghy and Yacht Training
  • Corporate Sailing & Events

History of the INSS

Set up by Alistair Rumball in 1978, the sailing school had very humble beginnings, with the original clubhouse situated on the first floor of what is now a charity shop on Dun Laoghaire's main street. Through the late 1970s and 1980s, the business began to establish a foothold, and Alistair's late brother Arthur set up the chandler Viking Marine during this period, which he ran until selling on to its present owners in 1999.

In 1991, the Irish National Sailing School relocated to its current premises at the foot of the West Pier. Throughout the 1990s the business continued to build on its reputation and became the training institution of choice for budding sailors. The 2000s saw the business break barriers - firstly by introducing more people to the water than any other organisation, and secondly pioneering low-cost course fees, thereby rubbishing the assertion that sailing is an expensive sport.