Glenans, Ireland's largest sailing school, has acquired a new 32ft yacht with assistance from the National Lottery and the Government's Sport Capital Programme.
Named Rhythm in Blue, it will be based at the Glenans Sailing Centre at Baltimore, Co Cork.
The Glenans club was established in Baltimore in 1969 as a voluntary organisation dedicated to making sailing available to everyone. The courses are residential, the cooking is a communal effort, but the camaraderie of the sea is quickly acquired by landlubbers, who never thought they could handle a dinghy or crew on board a cruiser. The courses are offered from beginner through to expert level.
The cruiser will carry a crew of six on one or two-week training courses along the south-west coast.
Some of the more advanced courses during the summer will cruise from Baltimore to the Scilly Isles.