Early in July 2018, the well-loved coastal town Bangor on Belfast Lough will be the backdrop to the largest sailing event to be held in Northern Ireland for many years – the Bangor Town Regatta.
The event is being hosted by the town’s two yacht clubs – Ballyholme Yacht Club and Royal Ulster Yacht Club.
More than a dozen classes of yachts and dinghies, and hundreds of sailors, will compete on four courses during the four days of the regatta, with both the RS200 & RS400 classes having already confirmed that they will be using the event to hold their Irish National Championships. With so much activity on the water, this will be a wonderful event for participants and spectators alike, and, with a full programme of shore-side activities, this will be a real family attraction.
Entry is now open at http://ballyholme.com/events/bangor-town-regatta-2018/ where the Notice of race is also available. We already have a few heavy hitters enrolled in Class 1 including Jamie McWilliam's Ker 40 Signal 8 (Hong Kong YC) and Jay Colville's Forty Licks (East Down YC). First of the smaller classes to enter was Cillian Mackin's Quarter Tonner Don Giovanni from Howth, keen to come and play with the revived Belfast Lough Quarter Ton Class.
A strong Scottish RC35 presence is promised by Bangor ex-pat Dane Ralston. The Sigma 33 Class enjoyed some great racing in Belfast Lough for their 2016 Class Championships and it is hoped that many of the Dublin Sigmas will join the Scottish contingent this summer. And the oldest fleet in the Lough – the Waverley Class which has blossomed again in recent years with 12 on the water last summer – hope to attract other classic fleets such as the Fairies, Glens, Rivers and even some of the Howth 17's that made the journey up for RUYC's 150th celebrations.
Event Chairman, Jim Coffey of RUYC, said: In Ballyholme Bay and Belfast Lough we have a wonderful sailing area that is internationally renowned, and in recent years our clubs have hosted a number of international events. Even so, this will be the largest sailing event ever to be hosted in Bangor'.
Classes:
Class 1 – IRC with TCC 1.041 and above
Class 2 – IRC with TCC from 1.015 to 1.040 (RC35 Class)
Class 3 – IRC with TCC 1.014 or less
Class 4 – Quarter Ton Class – see NOR Attachment 1 for eligibility
Class 5 – NHC with Base Number 0.901 or above
Class 6 – NHC with Base Number 0.900 or below
Class 7 – Sigma 33 OOD
Class 8 – Restricted Sail Class NHC
RS Elite
Waverley
Multihull Dinghies
International Laser
RS400 & RS200 Irish National Championships:
RS400
RS200
