UL Activity Centre News

It's getting hot out here...

2011-06-03T13:49:00.003Z

It looks like summer has finally arrived, although perhaps not for long. With another 3 lucky schools enjoying the sunshine today our school tour season is well underway, in fact we are half way through already.
We also now have our full compliment of instructors on board and with a friendly mix of old faces, new smiles and for the first time 3 of our Academy graduates you will be well looked after during your visit.

If you are planning a visit on a School tour or Summer camp then we look forward to seeing you, if you have not yet booked then you better call soon as with this taste of summer places are sure to fill up fast.
Summer camps kick off in less than 4 weeks!!!
Don't worry if you are too old for camps then why not some and learn and Sail, Kayak or Windsurf!
To book call 061 376622 or email info@ulac.ie

"Sail & Stay" Special offer

2011-05-20T17:40:00.004Z

Book a weekend sailing course at UL Activity centre and get Lunch, Dinner, Bed and Breakfast at the Lakeside Hotel in Killaloe/Ballina all for the fantastic price of €249pp

Book 3 and stay for free!!!
Book 3 people you all get to stay for free, that's a saving of €69 per person!!

Offer is only available until the Friday 27th May so book now to avoid disappointment, call us on 061 376622 Now.

Full list of sailing courses is available here If you can't find a date that suits give us a call and we will try and schedule something to suit when you are free.

Terms and conditions apply

Kayak training, for Adventure racers

2011-04-11T13:58:00.006Z

This course is aimed at those looking to dip their toes into the world of Adventure racing but have little or no kayaking experience. Under the guidance of Kayak coach, Ocean rower and Adventure racer, Mike Jones, you will be thought all the skills you need to go straight and stay dry during your next Adventure race.

The course will run from 6pm to 8.30pm on Wednesday the 4th May and all specialist equipment will be provided, all you need is swimwear and shower kit and an old pair of shoes you don’t mind getting wet.

All this for only €30 pp

To Book call us on 061 376622 or email info@ulac.ie

UL Activity Centre, High Ropes, Skywalk

2011-04-04T11:11:00.000Z

Spring has Sprung!

2011-03-28T10:29:00.003Z

Over the past few weeks the spring sunshine has been doing its job warming Lough Derg and bringing a flourish of yellow daffodils and we at ULAC have been taking full advantage of the fine weather.

Over the weekend we had both years of our Sailing Academy in for some important powerboat and sailing training. We also had groups in to develop their team building skills as they took on the Crystal Maze Challenge and High Ropes course.

If you would like to join us for some fun and take part in our Easter camps give us a call today on 061 376622. We are also taking school tour and summer camp bookings and places are filling fast!

For a look at our latest newsletter click here

Latest news from the ULAC Sailing Academy

2009-11-27T12:13:00.007Z

-Saturday 7^th November

Having missed the week of Halloween it felt good to be back on the water again! Although the day started with the inevitable rain it did little to dampen our spirits and we soon got out on the water! I went out in one of the RS Visions again in order to practice my trapezing again; this could have gone better if the wind has stayed constant. It was, however, very gusty and this made it quite difficult to stay upright let alone get right out on the trapeze! I had a go but I had to quickly unhook myself while hanging out over the water because it looked like the boat was going to come down on top of me; it didn’t and I ended up very wet and very cold but laughing madly! The rest of the morning continued as it had started but we were all happy, if a little bit freezing, when we got back on land. The afternoon was different again; after quite a long lunch we went out again to practice our manoeuvres. This went much better than the morning’s efforts and was very enjoyable. So, all in all another excellent day.

Saturday 14^th November

This week has to have been the best day of sailing I have done all year if not ever. It was a windy day but, as usual, this did not deter us! I went out in a fully rigged RS Vision complete with a spinnaker (which didn’t in fact come out until after lunch). When we were told what we would be doing my heart sank, trapezing and sailing without a rudder; my two nemeses! We got out and the powerboat came over and gave the dreaded order: ‘right, it’s your turn to do rudderless’! What then happened was amazing...It actually worked and I was finally able to sail between the two markers without the use of my rudder. I was so pleased but this was short-lived the next seeming insurmountable task was trapezing. As the wind remained constantly quite strong and thanks to the amazing ability of the helmsman this also worked to my great surprise and I managed to stay out for quite some time!

The afternoon too went well and I managed to do quite a bit of sailing with my spinnaker so after just a few hours I had accomplished quite a lot!

Saturday 21^st November

We were in for a shock when we arrived at the ULAC because, due to the recent rain, the whole place was flooded. The place where we usually rig our boats, well above the top of the slipway, was under several inches of water. After rigging the boats however it was straight out onto the water to do some proper sailing! It was quite windy so we really got moving! We did a few manoeuvres but mainly just sailed around enjoying ourselves! The afternoon went well too; we got to just get out and sail which was just great fun! The only slight problem was the cold! It was absolutely freezing! Next week will be the last of this year but we’ll still have all of next year’s sailing to look forward too!

And some pictures of record high levels on Lough Derg!

The latest news form the Academy

2009-11-02T10:57:00.001Z

Saturday 10th October
Another good days sailing but with a fairly in auspicious start! There wasn’t a huge amount of wind in the morning but well all got stuck in and enjoyed ourselves. I was able to practice new techniques like sailing without a centreboard and sailing with only a jib. This was interesting and as usual it’s good to learn new skills. In the afternoon however we decided to take out the much bigger Ludic training boat. All five of us went on it and we got the spinnaker up; each of us got a turn at the helm which was great because we were all given the chance to sail a boat with a spinnaker; fast! This was hugely fun and I hope the everyone else enjoyed it as much as I did!

Saturday 17th October
This was possible the worst start to a day’s sailing I have ever had! The day started very still and misty; in fact it was so still the mist and water melded into one. We spent the morning on land brushing up on our theory; this was both informative and useful because it gave us a chance to remind ourselves of what we had forgotten! In the afternoon we got to try out our teaching skills with the Sailing Club sailors; we took them out to play various games. This was slightly difficult at the lack of wind meant that we had to paddle ourselves around the course! It was however fun and informative and I really enjoyed it.

Saturday 24th October
We had a completely different experience today! The wind was very strong; certainly between 5 and 7 on the Beaufort scale and very gusty! While the other sailors stayed on land the sailing academy students took to the water (albeit two to an RS Feva with a reefed main sail). It was, however, one of the most exhilarating things I have done in my life. After just sailing for the sheer enjoyment of it we decided to perform the ‘picking up a mooring’ manoeuvre. This went better for me in high winds than it had in the lighter winds on previous weeks.
After lunch we stayed on land because the wind had picked up further and no one would have been able to keep a boat upright. On land we had the chance to practice another important skill for instructors: keeping people amused when they can’t go out because of the weather! We played various team games and really enjoyed ourselves.

Sailing Academy updates...

2009-10-08T15:01:00.004Z

This Autumn saw the launch of our latest venture in sail training, the ULAC Sailing Academy. 12 lucky sailors have signed up to this 2 year programme which will see them develop their sailing skills and gain valuable teaching experience and hopelfully graduating after 2 years ready to become highly competant dinghy instructors. One of our local stars, Samuel White, will be keeping you all updated with the academy progress through his weekly reports, below are the first 3 weeks, looks like they are really getting stuck in.

>

Saturday 19^th September 2009

The first day of the Sailing Academy started well; everybody arrived in time for our instructors Mark and Astrid to give us the briefing about the Academy itself. We learnt about the topics that would be covered during the course of the Academy and what we should expect.

Everyone was quite sleepy so we started off with a few ice-breakers to get us all awake and ready for a day of sailing. After an early lunch and a quick rehearsal of the sailing techniques that we would be tested on, we got out on the lake and tried to remind ourselves of anything we had forgotten!

But what day’s sailing could be complete without a quick race to finish off? The race started well but one of the RS Visions soon capsized in a gust and because of the lack of weight of its crew was unable to right itself quickly and soon dropped to the back of the pack! They eventually righted themselves and finished a respectable middle.

It was a great start to what promises to be an excellent course!

Saturday 26^th September 2009

The second week was just as good as the first but quieter because we had been divided into two groups! We started off with a weather briefing and soon got to rigging the boats. We learnt how to rig a spinnaker on a Vision which was interesting if slightly complicated! We were divided into two groups and I discovered that I would be practising my sailing without a rudder; this is one of the most annoyingly tricky sailing manoeuvres! We just about managed it and were pleased to break off for lunch.

After lunch we switched to sailing with a spinnaker which was much more fun! Sadly the wind completely died so we had to come in for the remainder of the afternoon. What we did instead was practice teaching sailing basics to each other. This was great fun! It was another great day even if it wasn’t all plain sailing!

Saturday 2^nd October 2009

This Saturday started off looking like we would have the opposite problem from usual as the wind was gusty and very strong; however we soldiered on and rigged our boats to cope with the strong winds! We were divided into two groups; one would be doing trapezing while the other group would be sailing by themselves and practising manoeuvres. I was trapezing, this was great fun as it involves hooking yourself up to harness and clipping this harness onto part of the boat and then standing up out of the boat with only your feet on the sides, it’s very exhilarating but can be absolutely petrifying if the boat capsizes on top of you. After lunch we swapped over and I went out in one of the smaller Feva’s. It was one of the best afternoons of sailing I have ever had! The wind died down slightly but it was still strong enough to get some really fast sailing in. We had to practice our coming along side and our picking up a mooring, but the most fun came when I managed to catch the wind just right and managed to get planing. This is when you get up enough speed and you’re sitting back in the boat so that the front lifts up and you go shooting off, it is brilliant!

It was another really good day!

Review of 2009 Season

2009-09-24T13:42:00.001Z

2009 at UL Activity Centre – A Season to Remember

2009 has been a busy one on Lough Derg! The season began way back in March where we kicked off with our usual influx of school tours. During the months of March, April, May and June we welcomed in the region of 3,000 Primary and Secondary school kids through our gates and provided them with an action packed school tour to remember. With many teachers already booking their tour dates for the 2010 season this really is a true testament to the high quality professional service we provide. The weekends of spring were filled with adult skills courses, adult groups and our newest client groups, stags and hens, all enjoying the adventurous activities on offer at ULAC. As a result of this new demand we are delighted to be launching www.stagsandhensireland.com very soon. It was at this stage that we also launched our new Sporting Teams Packages - The Derg and The Crag Challenges. The Louth Senior Hurlers were the first of many to test out these ultimate physical land and water based challenges and by all accounts were pushed to their limits.

During the months of July and August the Centre was its usual hive of activity with on average 70 new summer campers each week. Catering for ages from 6-17 years, our intrepid adventurers sailed the waters of Lough Derg, scaled the High Ropes Course, kayaked to nearby Killaloe village and took aim on our Crag Wood Archery range. Again these happy campers are already looking to book their places on next years camps. The summer months also saw the first ever Adventure Race Training Day being run at ULAC. The purpose of the day was to introduce aspiring adventure racers to the fastest growing sport in Ireland - Adventure Racing. It was a huge success and marks the start of some similarly new and exciting outdoor training courses at ULAC.

In the media spotlight we worked with Sky Sports during the Heineken Cup Rugby season where we facilitated the famous rugby brothers Paul and David Wallace to shoot some leisurely sailing for a Lions documentary. We also facilitated Emma O’ Driscoll and Liam Kerins as they prepared St. Patricks Football Team for the hit show Celebrity Bainisteoir and more recently ULAC worked with RTE on a new series due to hit our screens in the new year. Watch this space!

As the summer came to a close it was time to welcome schools back again with specialist team building Transition Year and Leaving Cert Applied programmes on offer that are sure to bond any group. September is also a busy month with both on and off site events. We have already played host to the Irish Sailing Association Multi Hull Nationals and more and more organisations are availing of our off site team building activities. Yes, we will now come to you and run a team-building day for you. We recently ran a team event for the staff of Presentation Secondary School on the grounds of the Castleoaks House Hotel. A delicious lunch meeting followed a busy morning of team bonding activities, which were enjoyed by all.

Finally last weekend saw the launch of our new Sailing Academy. The Academy is aimed at accomplished young sailors who would like to train towards becoming qualified sailing Instructors. You can follow a full account of our Academy Sailors on our news blog at www.ulac.ie

It is hard to believe but we have now completed another hectic spring and summer season at ULAC and are looking forward to a busy autumn/winter schedule. We would like to thank all of our clients who have visited this year and we look forward to welcoming you all back in the near future. Don't forget there is still plenty of time to pay us a visit, we are open right up until Christmas, so whether you are looking for a School tour, Corporate day out, Stag or Hen party or even a Christmas Party, give us a call on 061-376622, visit our website at www.ulac.ie or email info@ulac.ie We are waiting to hear from you.

Yours in adventure

The ULAC Team

Multi-hull National Championships at UL Activity Centre

2009-09-10T11:25:00.008Z

On the weekend of the 5th & 6th of September ULAC hosted the National multi hull championships. Boats and crews came from all over Ireland and the UK to test themselves in their super fast craft on the waters of Lough derg. With strong gusty winds and heavy rain the crews were certainly tested, as were the rescue crews. Below are some pics of the weekends action.

The calm before the storm!

Sails full and ready for action
Some last minute repairs before race time

Rescue boats ready for action...

For a full event report check the ISA website (http://www.sailing.ie/clubs/newsDetails.asp?id=2995)

Summer is over, Schools are back and the Academy is Launched!

2009-08-28T08:55:00.008Z

It is hard to believe but we have now completed a hectic school tour season and a packed summer camp season and we are back around to what is looking like a busy Autumn schedule.

Way back in March we kicked the season off with school tours and during the months of April, May and June we welcomed in the region of 3,000 Primary and Secondary school kids through our doors and provided them with an action packed school tour to remember.
During July and August we have been busy with 70 new summer campers each week. With ages from 6-17 our intrepid adventures have been sailing the waters of Lough Derg, scaling the high ropes, canoeing to Killaloe and taking aim on our archery range.

Now that camps are winding down we are looking forward to welcoming back schools. We are already nearly fully booked for September with second level schools who have booked in their Transition year students for a challenging and rewarding team building package.
New for this Autumn and following on from the success of our sailing camp and club programme we are Launching the ULAC Sailing Academy. The academy is aimed towards accomplished sailors who would like to train towards becoming qualified sailing Instructors. It kicks off on September 19th so if you would like to be part of this exciting new venture contact us asap.

Finally thank you to all our clients who have visited so far this year and we look forward to welcoming you all back in the near future, and don't forget there is still plenty of time to pay us a visit we are open right up until Christmas so whether you are looking for a school tour, corporate day out, Christmas party or even a stag or hen party then give us a call on 061-376622 or email info@ulac.ie

Adventure race training at ULAC

2009-06-22T15:39:00.003Z

Thinking of doing your first adventure race, click on the poster to get the low down on our up coming training day. All you need to know about getting through your first adventure race.

Share a Dream

2009-05-05T21:01:00.006Z

UL activity centre is delighted to announce it will be supporting the Brian Boru Tri Challenge, a multi sport charity event to be held in Killaloe this summer. The event is part of a fund raising campaign for the amazing and worthy charity "Share a Dream", for more on the charity check out www.shareadream.ie.

It is hoped that the event will help towards raising the €50,000 target set by the Thaireland campaign, this challenge involves 3 Killaloe locals attempting to cycle from Bangkok to Ireland, a distance of over 14,000km. To check on their progress or to make a donation go to www.thaireland.ie

For more on the event check out www.brianboruchallenge.com

School Tours are back

2009-04-29T09:10:00.004Z

Following a busy Easter we are now back in full swing with school tours. Over the past 2 weeks we have had students from the Cistercian College in for beginner sailing courses. The boys have done extremely well picking up the finer points of sailing from our experienced instructors. Well done to all for getting their sailing certs, we hope to see them back for more during the summer.

Bookings are filling fast for May and June with many of our regular schools as well as some new faces booking in for their annual fun day out at ULAC. But don't worry we still have some places available so if you are looking for an action packed day out to finish the school year on a high contact us today on 061-376622 or email info@ualc.ie

Happy New Year

2009-01-08T11:47:00.003Z

Happy new year from all the crew at ULAC.
Whether you have been before or are thinking of trying outdoors sports for the first time in 2009 we at ULAC would be delighted to hear form you.
This season we have lots happening from the completion of Phase 2 of our landscaping works to the opening of our new low ropes course and the impending launch of the UL Sailing Academy, so drop us a line and find out how you can take advantage of our massive array of courses and activities for 2009.