Lady Liath
Putting the Lady back into Lady Liadh
A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, people spent a lot of the year sailing boats. In present-day Howth, even the moon is blue in the face listening to another list of things we are not allowed to do, so the Squib People’s Front has formed an Escape Committee. The fence of HYC has been (Figuratively) snipped and the “Morris Marina Mustard”-coloured Squib is being restored, ready for the 2021 breakout.
The Club took ownership of the boat in late 2020, the previous owner, Niall Monks, having found a shinier Squib to enjoy. Niall was keen for the boat to remain in the Club and to be used for membership development. The donation of the boat by the Monks family should be recognised. A bit like a teddy bear missing an eye and a couple of limbs, “Lady Liadh” is having attention lavished upon her by Fergus O’Kelly, Kieran Jameson and Kieran Jameson with others assisting where they can offer time and expertise.
About to be pampered, Lady Liadh today
The intention is that the boat is made available for sail training and for club racing in 2021, with the emphasis being on encouraging growth in Cadet Membership. The Squib Class will be offering guidance and support to the new users, in the hope that sailing a small, stable boat will give them more hands-on sailing, confidence and fun than being moveable ballast on a larger boat.
Some of the HYC Squibbers have “Previous” in these sorts of restoration escapades, notably the late-night eBay purchase of a Squib for €400. The unintended result of a night of a Thursday night’s wings and pints in the Summit Inn, “3point9” arrived in 2018 and is maintained and raced by a smallish group of odd people, each contributing €80 per year to cover all the running costs. One of the group, a graduate from the “Taste of Racing” initiative who enjoyed HYC and Howth it so much, he bought his own Squib and moved to the village in 2019. The HYC fleet now stands at a healthy 15 boats and looking forward to an active 2021.
Further updates on the Rusty Keel Restorers project will be published over the next few months.
For more information on Cadet membership, please contact the Membership Committee – [email protected] and they will be in touch.