Strangford Sailing Club clubhouse rises from the ashes

Strangford Sailing Club clubhouse rises from the ashes

17 April 2019

THE members of Strangford Sailing Club celebrated the opening of a new £160,000 clubhouse at the weekend.

The clubhouse replaces the club’s former premises which were gutted in an accidental fire in September 2017.

The opening comes just weeks before the start of the new sailing and represents an outstanding achievement by the team which was task with the rebuild project.

Members were joined by guests from other clubs and senior representatives from the Royal Yachting Association and the National Trust for Saturday’s opening ceremony.

Fittingly, the cutting of the ribbon was performed by Oliver Curran and Tommy Connor, two stalwart members of the club since its inception in 1946 and who continue to play active roles both on and off the water.

The new clubhouse is slightly bigger than its predecessor, but has greatly improved shower and changing facilities, along with a lounge, kitchen and central area.

The club commodore, Sean Curran, said the opening was a proud day in the history of the club. He paid tribute to Derek White, John Findlay and Jane McMeekin, who oversaw the project, and Michael Polly, who carried out the main building work.

Mr Curran said the new clubhouse was a fine building which would serve the club well for many years to come.

He said Strangford was a family club and one of the reasons for its success was that it was run on an entirely voluntary basis. He thanked the members for their support and he looked to the future with confidence.

Dr Bob Brown, Northern Ireland chair of the National Trust, described the clubhouse as a “phoenix rising out the ashes.”

He said the National Trust, as the club’s landlords, had an excellent relationship with the club over many years and congratulated everyone concerned with bring the project to fruition.

The club president, Gerry Reilly, gave a short history of the club, dating back to 1946 when sailing was largely confined to punts. He said a major development occurred in the 1960s with locally designed Wychcraft dinghies.

He recalled how the club was forced to leave Strangford village and move to nearby Castleward following the introduction of the car ferry in 1968. The move coincided with the arrival of the Flying Fifteen class, which developed in the ensuing years, as did junior sailing.

Mr Reilly said the fire was a devastating blow, but he was delighted with the clubhouse and he was confident that the club would continue to prosper.