As the new Commodore of Galway Bay Sailing Club, Paul has his priorities straight for the coming year. He wants to see a more family orientated club, with more room for younger members and fun activities, and less concentrated on competitive sailing.

Having grown up in Salthill, Paul has always loved the sea and began to scuba dive when he was 18 with Galway Sub Aqua Club. He no longer dives, but says he loved the sport and dived all around the Irish coast during his time in the club.

He joined the Galway Bay Sailing Club in 1988, encouraged by Colm Moriarty and Niall Quinn. At first, he crewed with Kieran Moran on 'She Might', of which he laughingly says, "well, 'She Might' sink or stay up ? we never really knew which was going to happen!"

Paul and his wife bought their first boat, a 20ft cruiser, shortly afterwards. "Cruising is really my passion ? going from country to country. I have a bigger boat now, based in Holland, and we sailed the Baltic over the last few year, from Bergen in Norway to Helsinki ," says Paul. He has also sailed off the south coast of England, and France, as well as around Ireland. "It's more for pleasure than competition ? there are two types of sailors, those who race and those who cruise."

"Sailing is such a team sport, and you see that reflected in the club. When we have these racing weekends you have to go from Galway to Dingle, you might need five or six people and there's great cooperation."

The Volvo Ocean Race is a huge opportunity for the club, and Paul has some firm opinions on how to capitalise on it: "I'm hoping to get it more involved in off-water events with the Volvo Ocean Race. We're hoping to use the clubhouse for visiting boats, and we're actively looking for sponsorship from the business community. There are huge opportunities for companies to get involved with us on this." He is also delighted that the docklands redevelopment is getting underway.

With regard to recruiting younger members, Paul already has some ideas about how this can be done. "We need to encourage the junior sailing ? meeting up with the clubs in Spiddal and Kinvara. We need to have a younger age profile to keep the club going, so we're going to open it up to schools in the Oranmore and Maree areas. Sailing is a great team sport for teenagers, there are small numbers and there has to be cooperation."

Paul is ably assisted by a committee of old hands, and says proudly that "the club has always run on volunteerism ? we're a close committee, and by now it was my turn to be commodore, that's how I ended up here!"

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