Strangford Sailing Club stalwart Gerry Reilly has been presented with an RYA Northern Ireland Impact Award in recognition of more than 50 years of volunteering and for introducing hundreds of young people to sailing on Strangford Lough. The award celebrates a lifetime of selfless service to a sport and a community that Gerry has helped shape in countless ways.
For over half a century, without a single break, Gerry has devoted his time to Strangford Sailing Club and the wider Strangford community. In that remarkable span he has filled almost every role a club can ask of one person: competitor, Senior Instructor, race officer, mentor and club leader.
He has served Strangford Sailing Club as Commodore, President, Trustee and Bosun, and has never considered himself above the less glamorous jobs. Whether maintaining facilities, repairing boats, mentoring members or cutting the grass every week, Gerry has always put the needs of the club before his own.
Gerry’s greatest legacy is the young people he has brought into the sport. Through Strangford Sailing Club, St Joseph’s Primary School, training programmes and youth racing, he has taught more than 200 young people to sail, helping them build confidence, resilience, teamwork and a lifelong love of being on the water.
Many of those sailors stayed in the sport and have gone on to become instructors, volunteers and leaders themselves. Among them is Jordan Conway, who progressed from an eight-year-old Optimist sailor to regularly crewing a Flying Fifteen in the 2024 to 2026 seasons, and who has since sailed, instructed and officiated with Gerry’s support.
Recognising that clubs with small junior fleets struggled to compete on equal terms, Gerry created the Gerry Reilly High Points System. It gave the Strangford Lough Youth Series a fairer, more inclusive scoring structure that encourages participation and healthy competition across the whole lough, and it remains in use today.
He is also one of Northern Ireland’s most respected race officers. As organiser and race officer of the Narrows Race Series and the Bar Buoy Race, he is trusted to run events for large fleets and has earned widespread respect for his fairness, calm leadership, professionalism and meticulous attention to detail. Those standards have raised the bar across the entire club.
Gerry has long been a champion of inclusion, supporting women on the water and making sure people of all abilities and backgrounds feel welcome at the club.
Remarkably, all of this has been given alongside a demanding career as a Principal Teacher and his family responsibilities. Gerry’s service also reaches well beyond sailing, encompassing the Strangford Community Association, St Patrick’s Golf Club, local schools and maritime heritage work.
Those who know him say Gerry is never short of a word, but he has always been modest about his own contribution and has never sought recognition. That is precisely what makes this award so fitting.
Greg Yarnall of RYA Northern Ireland summed it up when presenting the award: “The sailing community across Strangford Lough is stronger because of your efforts.”
Congratulations, Gerry, and thank you from everyone at RYA Northern Ireland.
