Trinity College’s DUSC has had a very successful November 2024, hosting the annual Trinity Alumni event on the 2nd November in the RSGYC and competing in the IUSA Northerns on the 10th November in Rathmullan Sailing & Watersports Club, Donegal.
This year’s Trinity Alumni event marked 10 years of the November tradition. With 50 races completed in a single day, using three flights of boats and bringing together 18 teams, this year set a new standard for the Trinity Alumni event. The weather was light, however there was some fantastic team racing from the eight alumni teams, seven Trinity teams and three UCD teams. A recently-graduated alumni team “Improving Skills” claimed victory in Bronze Fleet. The Silver fleet final was won by an alumni team “50/50 Max”, helmed by club captains from ‘97, ‘98 and ‘99. TCD1 took home the Gold Fleet final and with it the Alumni prize. This event celebrated the close bonds within the Trinity Sailing Club, with alumni from across generations attending to support the teams and share their knowledge.
Building on the momentum from the Alumni Event, Trinity Sailing sent four teams to the IUSA Northerns at Rathmullan Sailing and Watersports Club, joining 21 teams from universities across Ireland. It was a fantastic weekend of racing, with all 90 round robin races and finals raced on Lough Swilly, in low to moderate wind speeds and even with a bit of sunshine!
TCD2 took the top spot in the Gold fleet after tough semi-finals against TCD3 and final versus TCD1. The Silver fleet races added another highlight for the club, with TCD4 securing first place after a series of tight races. TCD’s strong showing in Rathmullan positions them well as they look toward the IUSA Intervarsities in March, where teams will compete for the top seedings.
Trinity Sailing’s focused approach this season - marked by increased training sessions for all teams, team racing theory sessions and initiatives encouraging more female sailors - is already showing results. Trinity Sailing plans to host the first university-run Women at the Helm event on the 22nd of February, 2025 in the RSGYC (applications open soon). With their season off to such a promising start, Trinity Sailing Club is on course to make 2024/25 a phenomenal year for the books.