Last Tuesday saw the conclusion of evening dinghy racing at GBSC for 2008. Twenty-seven dinghies and 17 catamarans entered the series, which was run over a period of ten weeks.

Galway RNLI Lifeboat was launched on Lough Atalia on Sunday evening, following reports that a dinghy had capsized in the waters near the railway bridge.

Upcoming marine events in the Galway area.

21-year-old Eoghan McGregor has packed a lot into his short sailing career. Growing up in Maree, near the HQ of Galway Bay Sailing Club at Rinville, his curiosity about boats was first spiked when his father went sailing one evening with a friend of his from Digitel.

Last Tuesday night's dinghy racing was held with a spectacular backdrop of a crimson sun going down on Galway Bay. The winds were light and the sea was flat - perfect conditions.

A team of 61 volunteers cleaned Grattan and Salthill beaches on Sunday, 20 September, as part of the Marine Conservation Society's (MCS) and Galway Atlantaquaria's annual Beachwatch litter survey and clean-up.

Running from Sunday 28 September, and for the following five Sundays, GBSC will run an Autumn Junior Sailing Programme. It is aimed at GBSC junior sailors who have completed an ISA-approved sailing course. During this summer alone over 60 juniors availed of the various courses which were run at the club form Level 1 to Level 4.

Galway Kayak Club will host a free 'come and try it' day this Sunday 28 September on the Eglinton canal in the city. If you'd like to give kayaking a go, just go along to Fisheries' Field (opposite the cathedral) between 11 am and 1 pm.

Upcoming marine events in the Galway area.

Barry Martin's face and surname will be familiar to a lot of Galwegians who were young in the 1950s and 1960s; his father was Leonard Martin of the city's landmark Leonard Martin's Toys, which hosted Galway's first ever Santa Claus. Barry himself worked in the family business on Mainguard Street until its closure in 1977.