Blues on the Bay Race - a Scorcher

Wednesday Sailing
B Fleet Notes By Stephen Finnegan
In the B fleet Stephen Finnegan led from start to finish with 8 minutes to spare before the next boat. In second were Rachel McKay and Trudy O’Hare in one Pico, having beaten Tom O’Hare and Sean Lane in the Feva on handicap. Aidan McKay also got the Feva by handicap and took a well deserved third.

In the A Fleet things were a good bit closer with the Cranley Brothers, Rooney/McDonagh, and the McLaughlins, senior and junior, all battling for the lead. The Cranleys had equipped their boat with some sort of wind machine and were sailing at impossible angles much to the dismay of the rest of the fleet, however just when it mattered most they lost the plot and finished 4th. Rooney had trouble with boat speed all night and took third. McLaughlin Junior was less than happy to be soundly beaten by the relics who now have a comfortable lead in the early Wednesdays overall.

Blues on the Bay Race – a Scorcher
Saturday’s Cruiser race, sponsored by the International Blues on the Bay Festival, was a scorcher in more ways than one. Ian Sands kindly laid on loads of sunshine as well as more than enough wind. Yachts from Warrenpoint and CLYC started at Killowen and the course took them directly to the Baths at Warrenpoint, back to Killowen and then back to finish at Warrenpoint.

There was no time to sunbathe on deck, however, as the gale force wind made going directly down wind very hairy indeed. Violent gybing in dinghies is one thing, but in the big boats, it can be very dangerous. Luckily no significant injuries were sustained by the crews (only pride) or the boats.

Skipper Brian McCann and trusty crew on Gannet (note all the boats behind)

Soon after the start, the boats asserted their positions as expected, with the fastest boats leading. That order was maintained throughout the race, but the important thing, of course, was whether the fast boats were far enough ahead to win on handicap, and this provided a lot of on-board speculation and calculation.

On the return to Killowen, both Aurora and Gannet were badly messed about by the flukey wind. Gerry Byrne and John Grey in Atlantic Diva, however, took a better line of approach and made a big gain in the process. The final leg back to Warrenpoint saw a time difference between Diva and the leading boat, Aurora, of twelve minutes. This wasn’t enough for Aurora, as Diva beat Aurora by almost a minute on corrected time.
The results were as follows:

Atlantic Diva, Gerry Byrne & John Grey, 1st
Aurora, Michael O’Hare, 2nd
Gannet, Brian McCann, 3rd

Victorious Gerry Byrne and John Grey with the Blues on the Bay Trophy

Sunday Dinghy Sailing
Sunday brought yet more sun and brisk breeze from the east. Race Officer Paul McParland was in charge assisted by Chris O’Hare and set a challenging first race in the conditions.

A Fleet
Hardy perennial Ian Roche fought the Cranleys challenge off easily to take the first race, while Jim Linton had to settle for third. Terry Rafferty sailing with Mel Hughes after an upset in the Finnegan/Hughes boat, took a sound fourth and we might be seeing the start of a new partnership with McKeviitt being shown the door.

Ian Roche

Race two was substantially shorter as the sea breeze added to an already stong wind. Only Ian Roche, the Cranleys and Jim Linton had the strength to finish in the same order as race one.

B Fleet
Only the bravest B Fleet sailors managed the conditions today. Kate MacAdorey took yet another two bullets to leave her just a few points ahead of Conor Quinn who took 2nd place in the first race but had to retire injured after that. Matthew Collins, a talent to watch out for, took 3rd in race one but like others retired wisely from Race 2. Rachel McKay took fourth and Sean Lane when he finally got his boat rigged right, took fifth.

Conor Quinn

Upcoming events

Next weekend the IDRA’s return on their annual pilgrimage for their Northern Championships. The usual BBQ will be held on Saturday night. Talk to Joan MacAdorey to reserve your steak.

The Orr Trophy has started on Tuesday nights, so be ready and rigged for 7pm.

INFORMATION NIGHT FOR ADULTS
Junior sailing is going great at the Club but we would like to encourage more adults to try this exciting and sociable sport, so the Club is running an information night for adults who are interested to learn how to start. Come along, see the club, have a spin (weather permitting) and enjoy a burger on us between 7 and 9pm on Tuesday 12th June. If you want to sail take some gear you don’t mind getting wet.