18th September 2020

Covid restrictions have resulted in Dublin Bay OGA not running any (non-virtual) activities so far this year. The welfare of all our members has been and will continue to be our highest priority – we will not organise or run any activities that could put members at risk. But we were determined to find a way to have some safe sailing activity this year and we are delighted that we have found a way. We will hold races where boats meet at the starting line and depart from the finish line with absolutely no onshore activities or contact between boats.
 
We will run races for our two most important trophies: 

• Asgard Trophy on Saturday 26^th September
• Leinster Plate on Saturday 10^th October

First gun for both races is noon and the start line is between Poolbeg Lighthouse and the race mark close south of the lighthouse. The course and other details will be communicated before the race, and raceday communication will be on Channel 77.
 
There are some important points to note: 

1. There is to be absolutely no onshore contact between the crews of different boats.
2. Boats are to independently make their way to the start line and return from the finish line directly to their home port.
3. The skipper of each boat is responsible for ensuring that that boat meets all its Covid responsibilities (e.g. social distancing, number of households involved etc).
4. These plans are, of course, dependent on the weather and are subject to change based on the prevailing weather conditions.
5. Trophies will be awarded during our Zoom AGM later this year.  

These two races will be the only non-virtual activities we will hold this year. We will have a series of Zoom winter talks and our AGM will also be held on Zoom. Unfortunately we will not be holding either our Christmas party or end-of-season supper (but hopefully we will have a start-of-season supper next year instead).