Around 1966, the Cork Power Boat and Water Ski Club moved to Byrne’s Farm, Fergus from The Marina, Cork. The Club spent six years there until they moved to Farren Wood in 1972 to the site of where the National Rowing Centre is now. Seán Kennedy was the Club chairman at that time (continued from last week).

The Club needed further financing so fundraising was important. One initiative was the Santa Claus on the Skis. Seán Kennedy dressed up as Santa and skied across the lake. He then come down a makeshift chimney into the club-houses and gave parcels to the kids. It became the principle fundraiser every year from 1970 to 1990. The idea was forged when Seán did Santa in Buckley’s Stores on Academy Street, Cork every Christmas. Seán worked fulltime for the Sunday Times.

To raise further finances, the Club was present at various regattas during the summer months. In a sense, the Club went on tour on a Sunday from venues such as Schull and Glandore to Kinsale. The Kennedys gave demonstrations, for half an hour. In a sense, ski-ing was put on the map. There were major demonstration days in Farran. Ronan Kennedy, Seán’s son remembers The Cork Parachute Club came out on one occasion;”The lads parachuted onto the lake on skis, then ski-ied around the lake. It was an adventure on the lake”. Today, a perpetual trophy to the memory of Seán Kennedy exists for the Irish Junior Ski-ing Championships. The children of his son Ronan still ski leisurely today. The family still have power boats and now spend a lot of their leisure time in West Cork.

On Seán Kennedy’s death in 1991, the Cork Power Boat and Ski-ing Club was on the verge of folding, At the E.G.M., the Galvin family put in a proposal to take over the Club. Barry Galvin was from Monkstown and spent much of his leisure time on the water. He also pursued a lot of motorcross and raced competitively at an international level in the 1960s. He lived overlooking the sea, had a boat and developed an interest in water ski-ing. Barry was one of the original members of the Club in Glenbrook. In 1972 Barry Galvin moved to Farran to ski. During the early 1970s, he met and later married Emer Frawley, who ski-ed competitively in the early 1970s. Her family were from Killaloe.

At the 1991 E.G.M. in Farran, it was debated that the rowing would move to the Farren side as there was more space and ski-ing would move to the Dripsey side. Barry Galvin (Junior) recalls; “During the 1990s, there was alot of landscaping to do, a lot of clearing. We had a small dock to begin with but as we got busier, a substantial dock was put in”.

The National Championships are held on Inniscarra Reservoir regularly. The Wakeboard National Championships was held on the 18th August and 19th August 2007. The Galvins have coached and trained Janet Gray, a blind woman who became a world champion at her disabled level. The current disabled World Champion Eamonn Prunty skies at Dripsey. He won the World Championship in Australia in May 2007.

Barry Galvin (Junior) has won the National Championships consecutively since 1987, which is a world record in itself. All five of the Galvin family compete at the Water-ski championships Barry’s children Shane (13), Barry (9) and Daniel (8) are now ski-ing and are at the top level in the country. Barry is at the top in Europe.  His wife Eileen also skies. Barry comments; “It is a really good family sport. Everybody is involved. It is a team effort. It has a lot of family interactiveness”.

In today’s world, there is more consistency in water ski-ing with better equipment and boats.  The three events of traditional water skiing are slalom, tricks and jumping. In slalom, the contestant negotiates a zigzag course of six buoys. The boat speed is increased two mph until a maximum speed for the division of competition is reached. Thereafter the rope is shortened in pre-measured lengths. The winner is the one who rounds the most buoys without a miss or fall. The best skiers do not miss until the rope is shorter than the distance from the boat to the buoy and the skier must try to round the buoy by leaning over it with his or her body.