It was worth the wait for Ballyholme Yacht Club on Belfast Lough to stage a full-on Topper Northern Ireland Championships over the past weekend.

Sixty-nine young sailors came from the length and breadth of Ireland; from Royal Cork and Waterford in the south and Galway in the West, and even from the south of England to compete within this exciting two-day event. There was racing for two divisions, the 4.2 fleet and the 5.3 Toppers in what turned out to be, weather-wise, completely contrasting conditions on each day. And many of the fleet were first-time competitors.

Winning the 4.2 fleet was Callum Pollard from County Antrim Yacht Club in Whitehead on the north shore of Belfast Lough and Bobby Driscoll, (son of Ireland's 1996 Olympian competitor) in a 5.3 from Royal North, Ballyholme and Strangford Lough Yacht Club, was the overall winner.

The lack of a steady breeze on the Saturday forced Race Officer Commodore Aidan Pounder to postpone racing but he managed to get two completed. The next day had completely different conditions with a strong and eventually rain-laden westerly giving some hair-raising racing in a breaking sea, among sailors most of whom seemed to be able to cope with anything. But the rain has no friends among the Race Committee and having postponed the fifth race due to bad visibility when it cleared, they ironically had to abandon it due to increased winds.

Bobby Driscoll (47521) and Daniel Palmer

In the 54 strong 5.3 fleet, Driscoll and Daniel Palmer from BYC, both Juniors, showed consistency throughout the racing and ended on equal nett points, with the tie split in Driscoll's favour. Driscoll counted two firsts and a second and Palmer the same. Driscoll also won the prize for Ist Junior Male. In the third slot was Liam Duggan from Royal Cork and he also took the prize for 1st Youth Male. In the same fleet fourth-placed Julie O'Neill, also from Royal Cork, took home the prize for 1st Youth Female and Ciara McMahon from Howth and National lifted the prize for 1st Junior Female.

In the 15 strong 4.2 fleet Callum Pollard counted a first and two seconds to finish three points ahead of Tom Driscoll of Royal North and Ballyholme, with Tyler Playfair of Carrickfergus SC third with the same score.

Bobby Driscoll, Topper NI Champion

Callum Pollard, Topper 4.2 NI Champion

Ballyholme Commodore Aidan Pounder was delighted with the success of the event: "With the pandemic forcing the cancellation of the ITCA GBR Nationals this year, Ballyholme Yacht Club (BYC) approached Topper Ireland about hosting an event as restrictions eased.  Over the last few weeks, members of BYC have been very busy putting together 'The Topper Northern Ireland Championships' and were hopeful of a good turnout, given the problems Covid-19 has presented in hosting events. On Saturday we had 69 Toppers take to the water in Belfast Lough for Race 1, a makeup of 15 sailors in the 4.2 class and 54 sailors in the 5.3 class. From a BYC perspective in the competitor make up, BYC Cadets accounted for 10 in the 4.2 fleet and 24 in the 5.3 fleet, a truly fantastic figure and testament to the success of our Cadet programme driven by David Nelson and Colin Robinson. For a lot of these cadets, it was their first event, and they had everything to contend with, from very light wind on Saturday to 22 kts of breeze on the Sunday.

All the competitor sailors did remarkably well with the conditions. I was absolutely delighted to see so many Cadets from both the South and North competing, clearly demonstrating how strong our Cadet sailing is on the island of Ireland, and the great support the families have shown to sailing. I very much hope that it won't be long before we see a return to European and World events in our great sailing waters in Northern Ireland".

There was non-stop activity at Ballyholme Yacht Club on Belfast Lough at the weekend (July 17th/18th) for the Regatta which enjoyed day-long hot sunny weather. Though lacking any decent breeze on a Saturday morning for the Cadet racing, just enough appeared to get two races. A reasonable north easterly filled in eventually during the afternoon.

In what used to be a one day sailing event, this now two-day celebration also provided races for Stand Up Paddleboarding, Swimming, and Kayaking, now all official club activities, not only for adults but for children as well.

First on the water on the Saturday morning were the Cadets for their own special Regatta, sailing in Laser Picos, SailQubes, Topper 4.2 and Topper 5.3 classes. After a postponement due to lack of wind, 32 Toppers gathered on the start line and racing got going in a light north-easterly on a windward/leeward course. The first race was secured by Daniel Palmer, with Joseph Robinson and Toby Hughes in 2nd and 3rd places respectively. In the Topper 4.2 fleet, Hugo Boyd grabbed the honours with Natalie Palmer coming in 2nd. In the second shorter race, the finishing positions were Bobby Driscoll, Daniel and Toby in 1st, 2nd, 3rd places respectively. In the Topper 4.2s, it was Hugo and Natalie 1st and 2nd again.

Ballyholme Yacht Club Cadets prepare ready to launch Toppers and Pico dinghies

In the light breeze, the Qubes and Picos found it difficult to fight their way through the Topper fleet's dirty wind. Emily-May Gillespie won the Picos and Emma Westhurst made a valiant effort in taking the Qube around the course.

The afternoon saw sail racing to which traditionally all the Belfast Lough clubs are invited, as set out in the Belfast Lough Regatta Conference information, and eleven stars were catered for the 101 boats who took part.

Winners in the NHC classes were Chris Boyd's Puppeteer Free Spirit; the Quarter Tonner, Snoopy (Martin Mahon and Joanne Hall); the Lindsay family's Beneteau 31.7, Caesium; the Sigma 33 Mithril (Mark Mackey and Andrea Fordham) and the Ruffian 23 Brigand owned by Commodore Aidan Pounder. The Mirror class winners were Ian and Aaron Moore, Laser Standard, James Moore; GP14 S Nelson, Laser Radial Jess Winton and the Catamaran F18 M McMurtry.

Anneka Hunter winner of the Cadet swim with Alan Whyte, Club Captain

Ballyholme's efforts to expand the range of water-related activities has certainly borne fruit with many new members joining to take part in the organised Paddleboarding, Open Water Swimming and Kayaking as well as Sailing. One family, the Quittenehs, who moved back to Northern Ireland in 2019, has joined the club after taking part in the open water swimming which then, pre Covid, was open to anyone. They subsequently became members and now are involved in several club activities as well as volunteering. They found as complete beginners, Melanie says, "the support and encouragement as non-sailors in getting our kids on the water has been fabulous and we have benefitted so much since joining".

The scene ashore at Ballyholme Yacht Club Regatta day

Another of the Club's efforts to spread the sport of sailing among young people is the use of the Commodore's Ruffian 23 Brigand to encourage youngsters into big boat sailing. A 12-year-old helped crew Brigand in the Regatta and in Royal Ulster racing on Thursday nights, there would regularly be up to four nine- to fourteen-year-olds aboard.

Winner of the Ladies' swim Caroline Mitchelson with Alan Whyte, Club Captain

Commodore Aidan Pounder was pleased at how the Regatta went " "I am delighted to say that another fantastic Ballyholme Yacht Club Regatta weekend was had by its Members and visitors. With 101 boats competing, superb weather and a great atmosphere, you couldn't ask for more". 

Ballyholme Yacht Club would have relished hosting the Topper Nationals in August, but sadly this event has suffered the same as the Worlds in Cork and been cancelled.

The joint Organising Authority for the 2021 Topper National Championships has been carefully monitoring the Covid 19 situation and information from the UK Government, Northern Ireland Assembly and the Irish Government. Some time ago, it was determined that a final go/no-go decision should be made at the beginning of June to allow competitors and their families time to make suitable travel and accommodation arrangements and the Organising Authority to commit resources and funds to the event.

This decision was taken due to several factors, but ultimately the safety of competitors, their families, volunteers and the wider local community was key. We hope that making this decision now it will allow families time to make alternative plans.

Aidan Pounder, Commodore of BYC, expressed disappointment that the Club isn't able to welcome the Topper fleet: "ITCA (GBR) and Ballyholme Yacht Club (BYC) are very disappointed that the ITCA GBR Nationals are not proceeding in August this year. With the uncertainty around Covid-19, ongoing restriction reviews and ultimately the safety of all participants, families, friends, and all those associated with the delivery of a safe and fun event being of paramount importance, we have jointly made this decision. A lot of work and organisation went into the hosting of what would undoubtedly have been a great and successful event. I want to take this opportunity to thank all concerned from ITCA (GBR) and Members of BYC and would welcome the opportunity to host this event again in the near future. We wish all the young sailors a safe and happy summer and look forward to welcoming you to BYC in the future"

Even the weather played ball for the Return to Water at Ballyholme Yacht Club on Belfast Lough this Easter weekend.

And there was no shortage of members keen to get afloat. Commodore Aidan Pounder kicked the day off with an early morning open water swim, and some young Laser sailors wrapped it up.

Taking the first cautious steps, the team at BYC managed to get their members safely back to the water as some outdoor sports were given the green light by the Northern Ireland Executive to recommence from 1st April. Sailing and other watersports have been included but only under strict guidelines. So currently, the clubhouse and therefore changing rooms must remain closed, but boat parks and slipways are now available with restricted numbers and via a booking system only.

One of the main differences from the reopening last year is the two households, ten people restriction, and COVID guidelines have been updated to reflect any changes. So to ensure this is safely managed, sailing slots are available in groups of 10.

Ballyholme Laser sailors out for a sail on Belfast Lough

And if going afloat in a dinghy isn't enough, there are Open Water Swimming sessions, Stand Up Paddleboarding, Kayaking and Diving. The club hopes the training will start again on 12th April, subject to continuing easing of restriction.

Commodore Aidan Pounder whose is delighted to welcome members back to the club; "On our 'Return to Water,' we have posted some guideline details which will be available to access through our website. We very much appreciate your understanding in these initial stages, which we hope will help negate any further disruption to our much-loved activities at the Club. My sincere thanks to you all for your unwavering support in our Club and I look forward to seeing you again very soon".

Ballyholme Yacht Club on Belfast Lough will host the British Topper Nationals, scheduled for early August next year, a few days after the World Championships in Cork Harbour.

With the Irish Nationals in Northern Ireland at Strangford Lough Yacht Club in the calendar for 2nd-4th July, there will be a fantastic festival of Topper racing in Ireland next year.

Commodore Aidan Pounder is pleased that the club has been chosen for the event. "Ballyholme Yacht Club is delighted to be hosting the GBR ITCA Topper Nationals on 2nd -6th August 2021. This is the first time the Nationals have been held in Northern Ireland and we very much look forward to welcoming the competitors to our excellent sailing waters for a safe successful event".

The club, on the southern shore of the Lough, is ideally situated on a virtually tideless and hazard free large expanse of water. It has a racing pedigree which has provided sailors and officials to the last five Olympic Regattas and many international events as well as the last Volvo Round the World Race. It has renowned expertise in running large national and international events including the Topper Worlds in 2016.

Principle Race Officer for the event is Bangor man Robin Gray who is an International Race Officer and Judge.

The Topper Worlds is reported to attract more than 250 boats regularly and it is expected that the Nationals entry will be more than that.

Thirty young sailors managed a final outing at Ballyholme yesterday (December 22nd) before Covid 19 restrictions would put paid to their activities at the Club for six weeks. And the event was blessed with a bright sunny day, albeit with a light and dying wind.

The first race got off in a westerly with the eight Lasers away three minutes before the Toppers. As the leading Lasers approached the end of lap one, the wind became very unstable, forcing an early finish. But the Toppers all managed to complete their lap with some of the shifts seeing lots of place changes in the pack. One of those changes was by Topper helm Daniel Palmer, who overtook some of the Lasers who had started a lap ahead, to win in the Topper fleet with Hugo Boyd second. Laser Radial winner was Hannah Dadley-Young with Charlie O'Malley putting in a good performance beating the other Radials to get second over the water.

With the wind settling into the North West, the mark layers reset the course, and both fleets got quickly away. The Lasers enjoyed a steady wind and completed two laps with the Toppers managing just one. Hannah took another win with another face, Charlotte Eadie runner-up in the Lasers, and in the Toppers it was Palmer first again ahead of Katie Brow with Emil McAfee third.

A final race was attempted in the last of the breeze. Only the Lasers managed a full lap before the wind completely shut down with Charlie O'Malley first giving him the overall top place. Hannah Dadley-Young finished back in sixth, a great recovery having started late due to gear issues, but this sixth was enough to give her runner-up slot, with Charlotte Eadie taking third.

Annabel and Emily Rideout in their Feva were the only double-handed sailors afloat, (complying with the regulations being the same household) and raced with the Lasers. Once back ashore, which required a tow for some, there was no formal prize-giving, but all the competitors received a Santa selection box as a reward for braving the cold!

Cadet Training and Racing officer David Nelson was pleased with the success of the event. "Thanks to BYC for facilities and prizes and to the volunteers for running these cadet activities".

Saturday 12th December saw an early Christmas present for Ballyholme Yacht Club junior sailors as racing returned for the first time since the end of the summer.

A steady 10-12 knots from the West allowed a windward-leeward course to be set using the club's turning mark, providing parents ashore with a grandstand view of the racers as they vied for position at the windward mark. The windward-leeward course setup was chosen over the regular club courses in order to give the sailors as much time as possible racing under championship type conditions, and the steady wind meant that once the course was laid, there were minimal alterations to be made.

Race one saw Daniel Palmer, Eva McDonagh and Hunter Reddy hit the front of the field early and race off into a lead which they held in that order to the finish. The final beat saw Henry Nelson and Joseph Robinson in a tight battle for third with Jojo winning by half a length on the finish line.

Race two really demonstrated how competitive the fleet is becoming with all fifteen Toppers hitting the start line within a few seconds of the start gun. Daniel Palmer was judged to have been OCS but didn't come back and restart for around 20 seconds giving him the challenge to catch back up with the pack. At the end of the first leg, the front of the fleet was dominated by the female sailors Eva, Annika, Romy and Isobel with Henry and Jojo in the mix for the boys. By the finish line, it was Daniel again taking line honours with Jojo once again beating Henry in a photo finish followed closely by Annika, Romy, Isabel and Eva.

The wind built slightly for the third and final race of the day with one or two capsizes before the sequence but all masts were pointing skywards for another close start. Halfway down the first run, it was Daniel Palmer leading from Jojo with Isabel, Annika, Eva, Henry and Finn Neely in the chasing pack. Jojo certainly had an edge of speed with a new sail and was kiting (heeling to windward). That was when it happened. A gust hit at the same time as an awkward wave and Jojo went into windward as the pack edged past. He righted the boat quickly and with great determination recovered over the next two laps to finish in sixth place. Daniel won with Henry in second and Isabel, Annika and Eva completing the top five.

The Topper 4.2 sailors racing on the course shared the race wins with Hannah Archer now leading overall from Jessica Dadley. We also have some sibling rivalry with Emily and Caitlyn Macafee, both competing in full rig toppers. They both have best-placed finishes of eight place with Caitlyn now eight overall and Emily twelfth after missing the last race. Also in a tight battle, Toran Davenport and Adil Mohamed are separated by just one point after three races after finishing all the races within one place of each other.

After two years of Junior Icebreaker, we have now seen some of our sailors "graduate" from toppers into other boats. Hannah Dadley in a Laser 4.7 was racing Dan Sherriff in his laser radial in a reduced laser fleet and shared line honours in the first two races with Dan winning the last race and Hannah scoring a DNF.

Covid restrictions mean we can only have same household double-handed sailing which means sisters Emily and Annabel Rideout in their RS Feva were the only double hander afloat but got great racing with the toppers and lasers and should have an advantage over other feva teams when they are allowed afloat hopefully in the not so distance future.

Way back in the mid -70s the well-known and recently retired Bangor sailor who was Chair of Irish Sailing's Racing Rules & Appeals Board, Ron Hutchieson, introduced Laser dinghies to Ballyholme Yacht Club and persuaded the now SailCoach head, Trevor Millar to forsake Newtownards Sailing Club and bring his Laser to join the fun.

The fleet grew quickly as the new-fangled owners, such as Willie Forsythe, Charlie Taylor, and the late Denis Finlay, wanted to get out racing in a maintenance-free boat. Ron got permission from the Sailing Committee to start a winter series, hence the Icebreaker. Its success is measured by the fact that the popular competition still runs, with sometimes up to 60 boats out on Sundays during what used to be the 'off' season. Ron tells me he bought the trophy – a silver Ice Pick, in Harrods in a sale!

In 2018, the Club saw the potential of keeping the Cadet members in practice, and so was born the idea of a Junior Icebreaker to cater for the many enthusiastic 10 – 16-year-olds who wanted to race during this time as well. The fleet of about 30 every week is made up of mainly Toppers but it is the Club hope that some Optimists will join them, as well as some Cadet members who have moved up to Lasers.

The 2020 -2021 sessions start tomorrow (Saturday 10th Oct) with the first gun at 14.30 hrs, the format being a series of short windward-leeward races each week. The event is designed for Cadets who have RYA Stage 3 and their own boats. There are though, two Club Toppers and two Club Fevas available to lease for a minimum three-month period.

The Junior Icebreaker will be run under the BYC Covid guidelines.

The Irish Multihull Committee has postponed its Eastern Championships at Wicklow Sailing Club and the Irish Open Championships at Swords Sailing Club due to Covid 19.

Both events will now take place in 2021.

Ballyholme Yacht Club has agreed to upgrade the 'Weekend of Speed' on October 17th and18th to the Irish Open Championships for the multihull fleet. The weekend will also see 49er and 29er skiffs in action on Belfast Lough.

 Ballyholme Yacht Club‘s ‘Regatta’ last weekend went a long way in these ‘new normal’ times, to fulfil the usual criteria for a standard regatta, but minus the visitors and the usual socialising and tea and buns afterwards. It was a two-day event with adult and cadet racing, a Ladies race, Stand up Paddleboarding and open sea swimming for adults and children.

The curtailment due to the current COVID 19 restrictions had little effect on the enjoyment, with a respectable turnout of over 100 dinghies, plus 45 swimmers and 30 paddleboarders. Obviously something for all the family.

The weather was kind for the whole weekend, with the Cadets off first of in a fleet of 52 made up of 30 Toppers, six Lasers, both Radial and 4.7, three Bahias, one Saiqube and a Laser 2000. After four races the winner of the Toppers was Hannah Dadley-Young and Josh McGregor was first in the Lasers. Winner of fast dinghies was David Fletcher and family.

The main race in the afternoon drew over 40 lasers plus 11 in Fast Handicap and two others. Daniel Palmer was first in the slow handicap in a Topper 5.3, the Catamaran prize went to Pete and Dee McDowell, Fast Handicap was won by Dave Fletcher and Ryan Smith in the Laser 2000, and Joni Rock led the Laser Radials. Winner of the Lasers was Liam Glynn, whose record includes a World Junior Topper title and a U21 Bronze. Back in March, he had been preparing to battle for a place in the now-cancelled Tokyo Olympics.

It was a full house of 12 in the Picos for the two race Ladies event on Sunday morning. The overall winner was Jess Winton, who adds her name to that of her Mother Charlie, who won the same trophy last year.

The open sea swim saw 25 adults and 20 juniors taking to the water and this was followed by a big turnout of 30 Paddleboarders, including kids/teens won by Anicka Hunter; Jamie McCourbrey was first adult male, and the first lady was Carla Milne.

But moving fast wasn’t the be-all and end-all. Best dressed went to Nick West, Endeavor/Endurance to Sarah-Jane Flannigan and first to enter the water involuntarily was Claire Storey.

Rounding of a hugely successful weekend was the open sea swim by 25 adults and 20 juniors.