RS Northerns at CLYC

Last weekend at CLYC Killowen 3 fleets of boats gathered for the Northern Championships. This very popular and growing class has three sections. RS Fevas for the cubs, RS 200’s for the Teens and lightweight adults and RS400’s for the big boys and girls. The boats are all high performance asymmetric rigs and in a breeze can be hard to handle.

Chris O’Hare and Paul Bradley were in charge on the water and on Day One were frustrated with a westerly wind both gusty and shifty in the extreme. There were many capsizes and tales of woe. Nevertheless they got three races in and all retired to the bar in need of refreshments and counselling.

Day Two was a different matter with a fresh steady breeze (a bit too fresh for some!). Three races in quick succession meant that Sailing Secretary Paddy Rooney could breathe a sigh of relief that his hard work had paid off. At the presentation Paddy thanked the race officers and crew of Gannet, the bar staff (Seamus and Catherine), the kitchen volunteers who provided never ending bacon rolls and tea, and all the rescue boat and mark boat crew. 

Results 

RS400 

1st Robert Espey /Michael Gunning, BYC

2nd Ryan Seaton/Phillip Adams, CSC

3rd Emmet and James Ryan, RSGYC

RS200

1st Arron Jones/Conor Clery, Greystones SC

2nd Meg Tyrell/ Kate Noonan, RIYC

3rd Ciaran and Siobhan Keogh

RSFeva 

1st Toby Huson/Greg Arrowsmith, RSGYC

2nd Triona Hinkson/Kathy Kelly, RSGYC

3rd Ciara Gorman/Sarah Fogarty, NYC/RSGYC 

Start line action for the RS400 fleet

Colourful downwind leg

Kieran Cranley (Hon Sec CLYC) with winners of RS400 Northern Championships Robert Espey and Michael Gunning 

Finnegan in the Hot Seat

Tim Gibbons beats Stephen Finnegan to the windward mark

Round the windward mark and not a spinnaker in sight

Hicks/Browne and the McLaughlins battle for line honours 

All Photos by Simon McIlwaine

A brisk and chilly breeze from the north west greeted sailors expecting much less, if windguru was to be believed. Paul McParland was in control of the race despite feeling under the weather, a virus no doubt.

Linedancer stayed in situ with the windward mark towards the Ross monument. The fleet split from the off with 2 or 3 boats taking the inside line and the rest going out in search of the flooding tide.

This seemed to pay initially as the leaders at the windward mark were all coming in on port tack. However, the reach soon sorted things out with the RS400s zooming into the lead on the water. The lead became a battle for line honours between Browne and McLaughlin.

Initial hesitancy to fly the kite cost the McLaughlins the early lead but on the second beat Browne headed out while McLaughlin stayed shore side and at the second windward mark McLaughlin had 30 seconds lead. This was stretched to 60 seconds on the line.

However once Kieran Cranley gets to work with his calculator it is likely that one of the radials will take the win, either Anna McNulty or Stephen Finnegan. Erin McIlwaine had the B Fleet to herself today and so a guaranteed victory.

The AGM afterwards was held in a full to brimming clubhouse, with members wanting to hear about the big change to the constitution. Ian Finnegan the incoming Commodore explained the move to a new structure with the club as a limited company.

Michael O’Farrell was elected as Vice Commodore and in a very close vote Paddy Rooney just managed to grab the coveted role as Sailing Secretary. Kieran Cranley again had a close fight to hold onto his position as Honorary Secretary.

Annual Dinner Dance and Presentation

Paddy Rooney and Catherine McDonagh with the Lyon Trophy

Prizewinners at CLYC Annual Dinner Dance

CLYC juniors out in force

Stephen Finnegan best in B Fleet

CLYC Annual Dinner Dance and Presentation was held last Saturday in Warrenpoint Golf Club. Joanne and Aidan McKay had done a fine job organising the event as usual .

Outgoing Commodore Philip O’Connor thanked all those who had helped him during his stint at the helm of CLYC and then with his right hand man Andy Browne presented the many cups and trophies won throughout the year. Top dogs in the A Fleet were once again Paddy Rooney and Catherine McDonagh who now seem to have possession of the Lyon trophy permanently. Top B Fleet Sailor was Stephen Finnegan who no doubt has his heart set on removing the Lyon Trophy from Killowen next year.
There followed dancing to the ever popular Rimini and it was easy to see this was a sailing club and not a dancing club with no evidence of any candidates for Strictly!

Stephen Gibbons Weather Station gets an Update

The weather station in the Club house, dedicated to long-serving ex-Commodore Stephen Gibbons in 1988, has been given an update:

The update consists of a new TV screen which will display the Club's windguru web page. The web page information comes from the new windguru wind meter at the top of the flagpole, via the world wide web, to the Club's wifi network. The information displayed includes a graphical representation of the recent wind strength, direction and gustiness. Also displayed are current outdoor temperature, the day's tidal information, weather forecast, current wind information, and an 8-day wind forecast for Killowen.

The Club is extremely grateful for the TV which was donated to the Club for this purpose by Seamus McNally and family in memory of his deceased wife, Joyce.

McCann's the Man for the John Donnelly Cup

Moderate south-westerly winds provided good sailing conditions for the John Donnelly Cup for cruisers. Brian McCann & Kieran Cranley set out three triangular courses with a start and finish off Ross’s Monument at Rostrevor. The larger cruisers led the fleet with Gannet skippered by Brian McCann narrowly pipping Paul Kavanagh’s Aquabat to take the coveted John Donnelly Cup. Michael O'Hare in Aurora completed the podium with third.

Pandemonium (Brian O'Sullivan) and Thetis (Don Campbell) in battle at the Monument

The event was part of an All Seasons 45 race, three part series between May and September. The overall winner of the All Seasons was Synergy and skipper Chris Cassidy was awarded the Boathouse Trophy.

The CLYC Early and Mid seasons were won by Invincible skippered by Mick McCann. The trophy for the Late Season series goes to Chris Cassidy in Synergy.

Results:

John Donnelly Cup: Gannet - Brian McCann

Spinnaker Prize: Synergy - Chris Cassidy

All Seasons Boathouse Trophy: Synergy - Chris Cassidy

CLYC Early Season Series: Invincible - Mick McCann
CLYC Mid Season Series: Invincible - Mick Mc Cann
CLYC Late Season Series: Synergy - Chris Cassidy

Some of the competitors relaxing after the prize-giving

McIlwaines and CLYC Storm RYANI Youth Champs

Last weekend saw the biggest ever fleet of dinghies at a RYANI Championships gather at Ballyholme Yacht Club. 147 boats was a fine sight as long as you weren’t the race officer!
5 races were held over two days in light winds. CLYC were well represented on the podium with Luke McIlwaine taking 1st full rig Topper and 1st Junior overall. His sister Erin took 1st 4.2 and 1st under 11 overall. Conor Quinn was 4th in the Laser 4.7 class. In the radials Anna McNulty, Stephen Finnegan, Tom O’Hare and Kate MacAdorey took 9th, 11th, 13th and 16th. Conor O’Farrell got another podium place in the 420’s with third. These fantastic results left CLYC 4th club overall.

Meanwhile back on the Lough Colin Matthews and Connla Conway were in charge of club racing in a nice easterly wind shifting frequently. Matthews set a great course which obviously suited Emma and Eoin Thornbury (assisted by Keith) who took a stonking bullet ahead of Tim Gibbons and Ian Roche. Roche recovered well in the second race to take a 1st ahead of Jim Linton and the Cranleys.

Photos Courtesy Simon McIlwaine (CLYC deputy photographer)

RYANI Topper and Junior Champion Luke McIlwaine in action (library photo)

Some of the CLYC Junior Squad from Left: Anna McNulty, Tom O’Hare, Luke McIlwaine, Conor Quinn, Erin McIlwaine, Stephen Finnegan

CLYC Presented with RYA Sailability Accreditation

CLYC getting presented RYA Sailability accreditation Sunday 21-Sep-14 by Richard Burgess of Carlingford Lough Sailability and Bob Harper of RYA Sailability

"Through RYA Sailability over 40,000 young people and adults with disabilities are introduced to sailing per year, and many go on to sail on a regular basis. Sailing is one of the very few sports in which able-bodied sailors and disabled sailors can participate on equal terms. Imagine the thrill of sailing for people who can feel and hear but have no sight, or of sailing a boat at speed even though they can't walk, or of joining in a sport where deafness doesn't matter. Sailability continues to encourage and support people with disabilities to take up the sport and facilitate sites to develop sailing opportunities.” (http://www.rya.org.uk/programmes/ryasailability)

Enhanced Weather Station

Now that we have the windguru wind measuring device at the top of the flag pole, not only can the measurements be seen live, updated every minute, round the clock, on the Club web site (click HERE), but it is now possible to display permanently, the wind measurements, windguru forecast, local weather forecast, local tide times etc on a TV screen in the Club house.

Here's what the dedicated web page currently looks like on a small (18 inch) screen:

and here's what it looks like on the 50 inch TV:

The big screen display can be tidied up and allowed to fill the space available.

The special web page will display when the TV is switched on and the live wind speed, direction, variation, temperature etc will all be displayed.

The installation isn't final yet, but we just need a small TV (about 18 inches - cost probably about £100), if any of the members have a spare one they would like to donate. It might fit onto the existing Stephen Gibbons weather station and provide a useful enhancement.

Successful Regatta at CLYC

Sailing Secretary Andy Browne changed the date of the regatta this year obviously following consultation with a meteorologist as it was as near perfect as possible. Brisk south easterly winds made course setting a breeze for Michael O’Farrell on Scarlet. Saturday's races were testing, so much so that Rooney and McDonagh blew a gasket and had to retire. Newcomers Chris and Vania from Malta sailed well until a fateful capsize. The A fleet was dominated by Henry McLaughlin Junior in the Laser standard with a succession of bullets.

Erin and Luke McIlwaine battled for B fleet honours all day with neither ready to give an inch. Sunday brought more good weather and the appearance of Tim Gibbons to challenge Mclaughlin, however two more bullets later and it was all over in the A fleet. Stephen Finnegan appears to have the measure of the Radial now with a fine second overall in the A Fleet. Keith Thornbury and daughter Emma were back after a long retirement to win the Double Hander Class.

Erin McIlwaine managed a great victory over brother Luke in the B Fleet and when she gets to the full rig there will be some regular battles on there.


All photos courtesy Simon McIlwaine

Regatta winner Henry McLaughlin Junior on the start line

Winning style from Erin McIlwaine

Vania Scicluna and Chris Zammit Getting to grips with the 420

Paddy Rooney and Catherine McDonagh ahead of the fleet before gasket problems

A Tail of Two Knots

When is a knot not a knot? The answer is, when you need it most! Just as the McLaughlins were poised to overtake Browne/Hicks (in the nursery boat), a figure of 8 knot in the mainsheet mysteriously disappeared allowing it freedom to fly. The ensuing debate as to who was in fact responsible for said knot was not pleasant, and probably heard in Omeath. This gave the lads a clean run at the finish with line honours. But lurking just behind in the 2000 were the Cranley Boys who took the win on handicap, with Tim Gibbons in third. The normal victors, Rooney and McDonagh came to grief at the end of another piece of string. Having lost his rudder Rooney had improvised cleverly with a piece of string and at one point had overtaken the knotless McLaughlins. However string is very good for pulling but not so good for pushing, which Rooney only realised after an enforced swim and an early retirement!

In the B Fleet Matthew Collins took an easy victory in the 4.7, but up and coming star Daragh McConvey was not far behind in his Topper. I suspect it won’t be long before he gets a win.

In Ballyhome last weekend, 4 CLYC youths took part in the Laser Nationals. Conor Quinn, recently crowned Topper Irish Champion was at his first event in the 4.7 class and despite this, managed 8th overall in a fleet of 39. Another top sailor Anna McNulty was 11th overall and third lady. In the more senior Radial fleet, Stephen Finnegan Tom O’Hare and Kate MacAdorey sailed well and will be expecting squad places this year. The Radial fleet was won by Olympic sailor Annalise Murphy so we will forgive our sailors for not winning!

Photos by Simon McIlwaine

Daragh McConvey, new boy on the block, powers ahead

Gentle encouragement for the crew from the knotless wonder

Team Synergy snatches victory

Mick McCann's Invincible - winner of the Claire McCann Whitesail Trophy

Passers by driving or walking between Warrenpoint and Rostrevor last Saturday might have thought the yachts sailing that day were having a nice relaxed afternoon. They could not have been more wrong. What they were watching in fact was the biggest and most exciting sailing event of the season so far.

Following close on the heels of Warrenpoint’s superbly organized regatta it was the turn of Carlingford Lough Yacht Club at Killowen to host its annual yacht regatta.

The turnout could not have been better, with boats from Killowen Club, Carlingford Sailing Club, Warrenpoint Boat Club and Rostrevor Boat Club all attending in strength.

Weather conditions varied from warm kind sunshine to lashing rain with storm force winds.

In a series of races the lead was hotly contested. Michael McCabe’s Humdinger faired well early on, but let first place slip from his grasp as the competition hotted up. Paul Kavanagh in Aquabat put up a solid performance that secured his boat third place in the Whitesail class. The two leading Rostrevor boats, David Cooper’s Aurora Maria and Martin White’s Freedom fought hard but were both bitterly disappointed when each of them had to retire from the fray with equipment failure. Atlantic Diva skippered by Gerry Byrne battled courageously all day securing a very creditable fourth place in the Whitesail class for Warrenpoint.

In a day of such great sailing in challenging conditions everyone is a winner but someone has to come first. Invincible ably skippered by Mick McCann fought his way doggedly through the fleet to deservedly win the Whitesail class. But the heroes of the regatta and the winners over all are the crew of Synergy skippered by Chris Cassidy. Plucky little Synergy knowing that victory was just within their grasp daringly put up their multicolored spinnaker in an act of defiant bravado. And it worked. In the dying moments of the competition they slipped across the line winning with just their nose ahead to win the coloured sail class and the regatta overall.

During the post race prize giving at the club in Killowen, everyone agreed it had been a memorable day's sailing. Peter Conway, Chief Executive of Warrenpoint Harbour Authority and long time supporter of sailing in Carlingford Lough, joined the celebrations where everyone agreed that events such as the regatta involving all the clubs in the lough are the way forward.

Matthew McNulty powering ahead in the B Fleet

Dinghy Report
Last Sunday was proper breezy and Race Officer Conway laid a lengthy course to test those brave enough to sail. The A fleet was led on the water by (Big Daddy) Andy Browne and David Hicks, The McLaughlins were frustrated in their attempts to pass by a capsize in the first race and technical difficulties with the crew in the second race. However when the handicaps were applied Browne had only managed 1 bullet with Tim Gibbons taking the honours in Race 2. Ian Roche might have won but decided instead to dispose of his entire rudder stock to the bottom of the lough leaving him requiring a taxi home. The Cranleys were in top form also taking 2 seconds, and Tom O’Hare, relatively new to the radial class took an impressive third in race 2.

Don’t forget Newcastle Regatta next Saturday.

Warrenpoint Regatta 2014 - Diva Whistles Down the Wind

Blustery westerly wind provided challenging racing conditions for Warrenpoint Regatta 2014 which took place on Saturday on Carlingford Lough off the town seafront.

Officer of the Day Kieran Cranley set out a triangular course which brought a Class 1 and Whitesail combined fleet around on three laps. Cruiser racers competed in close and sometimes very close racing with the larger boats, as expected, leading the fleet.

The CLYC cruisers of Invincible, Aurora and Aquabat all took line honours in three respective races however due to the conditions, skippers decided not to fly the spinnaker.

The overall winner and retaining the Whistedown Trophy for another year, was Warrenpoint boat Atlantic Diva with crew Gerry Byrne, John Gray, Tom Taggart and Sean Tinnelly. The dynamic.Rostrevor BC team of Martin White and Conor Tinnelly were runners up in Freedom while Aurora skippered by Michael O’Hare was third.

The Warrenpoint Regatta is part of the Late Season Series which takes place every Saturday and runs until late September. Next week the fleet will be out again for the CLYC Cruiser Regatta.

At a prize giving ceremony, event coordinator Gerry Byrne thanked the OD Kieran Cranley, safety crew and the sponsors of the regatta, Whistledown Hotel, Warrenpoint Harbour Authority and Old Pulteney Whisky Distillers.

Crew members John Gray and Tom Taggart were also congratulated on their recent participation in legs of the Clipper Round the World race.

Results
1st Atlantic Diva (Whistledown Trophy) G Byrne/J Gray
2nd Freedom M White
3rd Aurora M O’Hare

Competitors at the Whistledown Hotel after the prize giving

Approaching the windward mark at the Warrenpoint Regatta

Good performance in Pwllheli by Quinn and Co

Luke and Erin McIlwaine and Conor Quinn at the British National Championships in Wales.

Conor Quinn and Luke McIlwaine travelled to Wales last week to compete against 256 other sailors in the British Nationals. Quinn got off to a shaky start and was lying 59th after day 1 compared with McIlwaine in 24th. Over the next 4 days however Quinn started to improve with lots of top 10 finishes, his best position being 5th. Both sailors made the cut for Gold fleet and Quinn ended up 16th overall which is a tremendous result. McIlwaine slipped back a bit to finish 44th. In the 4.2 Fleet young Erin McIlwaine sailed brilliantly to finish 13th overall. The sailors remain in Pwllheli for the world championships being held this week over 7 days.

Cruiser News

On Saturday the 9th August, the 6-Cruiser fleet competed for the Carlingford Kettle 2-race series and both races were won by Don Campbell in Thetis. These races were the last 2 races in the Mid Season, the results of which were:

1st Invincible - Mick McCann

2nd Atlantic Diva - Gerry Byrne

3rd Thetis - Don Campbell

Next Saturday, 16-Aug-14 the Warrenpoint Regatta will be held, a 3-race cruiser series starting near Warrenpoint Baths at 2:30. Don't forget that all-comers are welcome - just contact Race Control on VHF Channel 6 before 2:30, to give your details. The main prize is the Whistledown Trophy which will be presented after the races at the Whistledown Hotel.

On the following Saturday, the 23-Aug-14, CLYC will host their Cruiser Regatta at Killowen - again all boats are more than welcome. There will be a BBQ and Prize-giving at CLYC at around 7 pm - all welcome. The Warrenpoint Regatta and the CLYC Regatta races also count as part of the Late Season which will run every Saturday at 2:00 pm, until the end of September.

Quinn Fiddles While Rooney Burns

Last Sunday was the annual Fiddlers Green Festival race, held off Rostrevor Quay.  Race Officers Cassidy and McCann officiated with the McKays and Jarlath Quinn on Rescue duty.  The first attempt at a race had to be abandoned as there was so little wind the fleet weren’t able to get as far as the start line, but with a squall approaching the second race got underway, a little bit too soon for Colin Matthews and David Corkey who were both sent back to try again.  Athough Rooney, Gibbons and O’Farrell looked good on the water, Conor Quinn in the Topper easily won on handicap, as might be expected of an Irish Champion.

Wednesday Racing

Last Wednesday's race was well attended, and with very light winds the McLaughlins were at a distinct advantage having just returned from the Westerns at Lough Ree where little wind was the order of the entire weekend.  The  lessons learnt seemed to pay off as they dished out some serious medicine  to the rest of the fleet,  finishing a full 5 minutes ahead of the nearest boat (Rooney/McDonagh) and they were in the bar before most boats even came ashore. 

Conor Quinn picks up yet another award, the O’Hagan Trophy for the Fiddlers Green Race.

 Lasers with the Ross Monument in the Background 

 

Andy Browne and David Hicks chasing hard in the Fiddlers Green Race

 

The McLaughlins dishing out the medicine (photo courtesy of Simon McIlwaine ) 

Quinn and McIlwaine Storm Irish Championships

The Irish Topper championships were held in Dunmore East from 4th to 6th July. Three races were held each day in very variable conditions from nearly flat calm to wind and waves. Local Sailors Conor Quinn, Matthew McNulty, Erin McIlwaine and Luke McIlwaine travelled down and gave a great account of themselves. Young McIlwaine in the 4.2 class cleaned up with 9 bullets, while Quinn had to work a bit harder and indeed it came right down to the last couple of races. Amazingly he managed to pull two bullets out of the hat in the last two races and can now call himself an Irish Champion, a title which he adds to the two provincial ones he bagged earlier in the year. He now sets off to compete in the British and World championships in Pwllheli Wales along with Erin, Matthew and Luke. Good luck from all at the Club.

Left to right Luke McIlwaine, Erin McIlwaine (Irish Topper 4.2 Champion), Conor Quinn (Irish Topper Full Rig Champion), Matthew McNulty.

Kieran and Brian Cranley speeding to victory

Cranleys show fleet a clean pair of Heels
Meanwhile back at the club last weekend, race officers McNulty and O’Connor set a course for a somewhat diminished fleet. The Cranley brothers who have not enjoyed good fortune recently on the water were in fine form. Carefully avoiding inversion they led both races from start to finish easily beating the McLaughlins and Colin Matthews in both races. ..

O’Hare on the Money

Last Wednesday a small fleet gathered at the top of the slip for a spot of wind gazing otherwise known as “will we or won’t we”. The cause of this uncertainty was a stiff breeze of about 20-25 knots from the west. The arrival of Race Officer McKay soon put the doubts to bed when he issued the launch command, and in no time had a fine course laid. Stephen Finnegan and Tom O’Hare were sailing in the A ‘Fleet for the first time in their new Radial rigs along with veteran sailors Tim Gibbons and Paddy Rooney.

However Tom O’Hare had obviously not read the script and proceeded to beat not only Stephen Finnegan but Gibbons and Rooney as well. A long list of excuses were presented in the clubhouse afterwards but there was no denying a fine performance. Meanwhile at the rear of the fleet the Cranley Brothers failed to recover from an early capsize and spent the greater part of the race swimming. Browne / Hicks also spent a fair part of the race inverted and struggling with their gennaker but my word when they got it going they were fast.

Remember Orr Trophy continues on Tuesday nights at 7pm and details of courses can be found at www.CLYC.info.

Tom O’Hare crashes through the waves to victory 

Paddy Rooney settled for second place. 

Tom O’Hare puts his elders to shame.

Browne/Hicks in a rare vertical moment ….flying

Monaghan Motoring in B-Fleet

With a fair proportion of the fleet away at regional or national events, the planned Dinghy Regatta has been postponed until September. Kieran and Brian Cranley stepped into the breach as race officers and unusually were still talking to each other after the races. With a light south easterly breeze a nice course was laid for what remained of the fleet. After a slight delay the McLaughlins finally reached the start line of race one as the rest made their way to the windward mark. Paddy Rooney having dispatched his crew to foreign shores for remedial training, was in his Laser and causing chaos with calls for turns etc. The confusion allowed the McLaughlins to slip away despite an atrocious start and settle into a nice lead for the rest of the race. Rooney should have taken second but with his eyes on Tim Gibbons instead of the finish line, tacked away and handed Gibbons the second place. Perhaps the wrong crew member was sent away?

In the B Fleet Meabh Monaghan and Aislinn Fegan fought tooth and nail, but Monaghan managed to take the bullet in the end. Both are improving every week.

Race two was held in secret with only the McLaughlins noticing the series of large flags flown from the committee boat and the loud noise issued with each flag. As they were a minute down the course no one else had started, so Cranley kindly abandoned the race and restarted with the rest of the fleet slightly more attentive on this occasion. Jim Linton was the star this time, Gibbons limping home with a broken boom. Rooney didn’t have the skills or experience to match the wiley Linton and settled for second. McLaughlins took third not quite able to sail to the difficult handicap of the RS400 on this occasion. Resident windsurfing guru Colin Matthews gave a fair account of himself and was only pipped at the post by Commodore O’Connor.

Congratulations to our three new sailing instructors who qualified last week, Anna McNulty, Kate MacAdorey and Hannahelisa Smyth. Sailing courses continue throughout the summer. See www.CLYC.info for details. The Orr Trophy continues on Tuesdays at 7pm for juniors.

Colin Matthews settling into the Laser nicely.

Meabh Monaghan getting to grips with the Pico.

Summer Sailing...

Kieran and Brian Cranley had a turbulent sail last Wednesday

Matthew McNulty has been sailing extra well recently

Kieran and Ann Cranley took charge last Sunday for two excellent races in bright sunshine and a light breeze from the east. Safety boats manned by Chief Instructor Pat Dunbar looked after the biggest fleet for a while.

The A Fleet races were a close run affair between Rooney/McDonagh and the McLaughlins in the RS 400’s and Ian Roche in the Laser standard. The McLaughlins just managed to hold on to a narrow lead in both races leaving Roche and Rooney with a second and third place each.

In the B Fleet Stephen Finnegan continued his unbeaten run with two bullets, and Matthew McNulty took a great second in race one but had to settle for third in race 2 with newcomer Aislinn Fegan getting in the mix with a third and a second place. Meabh Monaghan was also sailing well in her first race this year and will soon no doubt be looking for a podium place. It was nice to see Karl and Ryan Hanlon also racing, so watch this space as all these new sailors improve.

Remember that the Orr Trophy for beginners every Tuesday night at 7 and Sailing Courses will be starting soon . See www.clyc.info for details.

Conor Wins his Second Provincial Title

Conor Quinn won the Ulster Topper championship with a flawless performance, 8 points clear of his nearest rival after 6 races. Luke McIlwaine was also sailing well with seventh place. Matthew McNulty was also impressive and was well up the fleet. Erin McIlwaine in the 4.2 fleet achieved a fine 5th place.

Tie Breaker Invoked for the Irwin Cup

Saturday’s lack of wind didn’t cause much excitement at the start of the first race as Invincible (skipper Mick McCann), Synergy (Chris Cassidy) and Scarlet (Michael O’Farrell) lined up at Killowen, but seconds after the start, a balmy breeze filled in and they were off for some decent racing.

There was enough wind eventually for Aidan McKay to hoist Synergy’s new secret weapon – a spinnaker:

As on this occasion there was a trophy at stake (the Irwin Cup), all the stops were out, and Invincible won the first race by more than 4 minutes ahead of the others, on corrected time.

This was all too much for Scarlet, retiring in the second race, but Synergy was not going to let go of the bone, and fought back in the second race to beat Invincible across the finish line by 4 minutes.

The outcome of all this was a dead heat for the series.  Someone had to win the Cup, so the Rule Book was dusted off and lurking at the back somewhere, was a rule that in a case like this, the tie must be broken by counting the second race as more important than the first, so the winner of Race 2 wins the series.

Congratulations Synergy.

DINGHY RACES on Sunday – One of those Days

There was wall to wall sunshine, a breeze to die for and a high tide for good measure.  It was one of those days that leaves you with memories that see you through the winter.  Ian and Stephen Finnegan with Helen McParland did a great job with a nice long race for Race 1 and a shorter one for Race 2.  Connla Conway manned the patrol boat and even though there were one or two capsizes, he didn’t have too much rescuing to do.  The results were as follows:

R1

1^st Kieran & Brian Cranley

2^nd Conor O’Farrell

3^rd Tim Gibbons

R2

1^st Conor O’Farrell

2^nd Andy Brown

3^rd Sarah McCann

Big Breeze for Glenny Cups

Last weekend was the annual IDRA visit for their Northerns.  A relaxed affair as usual, 2 races on Saturday with Michael O’Farrell in command, followed by the traditional BBQ and a performance by the choir. On Sunday another 2 races were held  including the Warrenpoint race. The Glenny cups were run in tandem, with the fleet sailing to Warrenpoint for a race there. While the wind at Killowen was very deceptive, offshore maybe force 2, by the time the sailors reached Warrenpoint things were very different, with big waves and a good sturdy force 4. Andy Browne had a tough task running 3 fleets but with his team he coped admirably. The A Fleet was a battle between Stephen Finnegan, new to the A Fleet, Henry Mc Laughlin Junior in the Laser Standard and Chris O’Hare, forced out of retirement for the day into an RS400. The RS was impressive in the breeze but despite a 1 minute lead on the line McLaughlin junior took the silver again.  Finnegan wasn’t far behind and once he steps into a Radial it is suspected that results will improve. In the B Fleet, David Corkey sailed well in the 4.7 to open his “Silver account”  with a nice Glenny Trophy. 

Philp O’Connor (Commodore) Presents Henry McLaughlin Junior with the Glenny Trophy for the A Fleet

Philp O’Connor (Commodore) Presents David Corkey  with the Glenny Trophy for the B Fleet

The IDRA’s are Coming

Poor weather for May.  Drizzle and a light breeze faced Race Officer O’Connor who was nevertheless safe from capsizing in the committee boat.  Race one  was a close affair with Jim Linton giving the RS400 of Rooney/McDonagh a run for their money.  Ian Roche took second place still nearly 2 minutes ahead of the RS on handicap.  If the results are to be believed the other RS with Browne/Hicks took nearly 2 hours to finish.  I can only presume they were RSing about. Race 2 and Ian Roche took no prisoners with a winning margin of over a minute on Rooney/McDonagh. Colin Matthews took a fantastic third and is now a regular at the front of the fleet.

In the B Fleet Stephen Finnegan put the rest to the sword with two bullets. Tom O’Hare and Matthew McNulty took a second and a third each.

Next weekend sees the annual pilgrimage of the IDRA’s from Dublin.  The racing will be on Saturday and Sunday with a BBQ and a performance from the choir on Saturday night. Always a good weekend.

Start line action 

Rooney/McDonagh getting the RS on the plane

The IDRA’s are coming next week.  They take their sailing seriously!