Monday, March 14, 2011

Extract from the Laser 2000 Class Association Newsletter, Spring 2011

The Laser 2000 Irish Championships will be held on 16th and 17th April 2011 at CLYC. The following article has just been published in the latest edition of the above Newsletter, written by one of the visiting competitors from across the water:

Carlingford Lough YC Irish Champs – the view from the back of the fleet

Charles and Niki Erb

One of the most exciting times of the year is when the cold days of Winter warm up and lengthen into Spring, and planning for the coming year’s sailing trips begins in earnest. When I learned that the L2K regatta at Carlingford Lough would not only be part of the Euro cup, but also held during the school holidays, it seemed an ideal opportunity to turn this trip across the Irish Sea into family holiday.

A few posts on the forum confirmed that not only were we welcome to camp at the sailing club, but local contacts with the ferry company meant significant discounts on the Irish Sea crossing. When we set out, I was not quite sure what to expect. Looking at Google Earth, there did not appear to be much space. I needn’t have worried; when we arrived on Saturday afternoon, we were given a very warm welcome by the club members. However, some were slightly bemused: “Isn’t the Laser 2000 regatta next weekend?” I was tempted to say we got the weekend wrong, but settled for “we need the practice”.

Not only was there a lovely grassy area with a sea (loch) view, but within minutes we had electrical hook-ups and assurances that we could use not only the changing rooms but the kitchens during the week of our stay. The children quickly formed a tribe with fellow traveller teams “Last Drop” and “Slainte”; the picture was complete when some local children befriended our group, to give guided tours of the local sights (OK, the sea shore).


Camping at CLYC. Photo by Charles Erb

The next day, Sunday, gave us a chance to assess the opposition during the club racing (or was that the other way round?). There is a very strong Laser 2000 fleet at CLYC; in fact this is the first club I have seen where the majority of double handers are L2Ks! So it was we had our first taste of sailing in the relatively tide-free waters round the club, surrounded by the beautiful green hills which enclose the Lough.

Carlingford Lough is unusual for Irish Loughs in that it was formed by glacial action, and this has led some spectacular scenery. During the week that followed, we made a number of tours around the local hills, the Mournes; a particularly picturesque part of a lovely country. We also noticed the lack of traffic out of the towns and the relatively few “chain” shops. Rather, most of the towns have very characterful independent shops. The girls especially enjoyed the amazing cakes and ice-creams at Cafe Maud in nearby Newcastle.

We found lots of non-sailing activities with which to entertain the kids. The most memorable were the pony trek through the woods in the hills above Warrenpoint and an evening Go-Karting at the largest indoor track in Europe. The former showed us parts of the countryside we would otherwise have missed. The latter gave the kids a chance to exercise their competitive streaks and I think the adults wished they had taken part too. Thanks to Ricky Knights for organising both of these outings for our tribe of children.

Being based at the sailing club, we obviously took advantage of the water and made a number of trips. The rather brisk breeze which blew all week made family trips a bit of a challenge, but we did manage to sail across the Lough to Carlingford.

Carlingford Lough Yacht Club is on the North shore of the Lough, in the Northern Irish village of Killowen. Carlingford, on the other hand, is almost opposite on the South shore and in the Republic. We were told whilst we were there that a visiting national team attending an event at CLYC booked accommodation at Carlingford. It’s only two miles away (by boat), but a much longer drive around the head of the Lough!

During the week, the children of all three visitor families became firm friends with the local children and were very safely occupied with shore-based pursuits. This enabled team Aeolus to put in some hours afloat. The brisk breeze was a feature of all these expeditions, except for one occasion when we ended up unscrewing those round paddles in order to get home.

The on-water events of the championships themselves have been reported elsewhere, but suffice it to say that this was a very enjoyable and well-organised event. We enjoyed some close racing in a variety of conditions, testing both our light airs and planing skills.



Family group about to set sail across the Lough to Carlingford. Photo by Charles Erb

The social highlight of the championship weekend was the Saturday night party. Having munched our hog roast and discussed the day’s sailing over some proper Guinness, the live music began. The excellent band ripped through its repertoire of crowd-pleasing numbers, though I did notice many of the travellers sloping off to their sleeping bags, no doubt to protect their favourable positions in the fleet on the final day of sailing.

Since I had no such worries, I elected to stay on and participate in the late night “cossack-style” training sessions organised by the local crews. I was sworn to secrecy over their highly unusual methods, but I can report that it is a team effort, involving taking on plenty of liquid and vigorous stretching. Sadly, since the training benefitted all sailors equally, it did not improve our position the next day, though I enjoyed it enormously.

All in all, our trip to the “Emerald Isle” was a highly successful one both as a family holiday and as an open event. Although the ferry costs are significant, these are outweighed by the free camping, the club facilities and the warm welcome. We are certainly planning a return visit in 2011.

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