Upon launching it looked like it may be hard for the OOD to get a race in, however as soon as a constant breeze settled the sequence was underway. The eagerness of the OOD was unexpected by some members of the fleet (who will remain nameless) and they missed the start. Race one started in a good breeze of about twelve knots but very heavy rain, however as boats approached the weather mark, the breeze died. Darren Martin led closely followed by Brian McKee. The first reach of the triangular course turned into a drifting match with the more experienced drifters in the top positions - Brian McKee and Gerry Reilly. The wind filled in near the gybe mark and the bunch up of boats ensued whilst helms jostled for position. With a shortened course at the Leeward mark Brian McKee and Stephen Martin held on to take the first race.
Thunder and lightning started in blazing sunshine for the second race. Many members of the fleet were wondering what the weather was going to do next, however rain and wind followed to answer their question. The late starters in the first race were keen not to make the same mistake again and got off the starting blocks in proper order. With the tide now flowing hard on the left side of the beat, an extremely good (some would say too good) start by Jay Bouke and Ben Mulligan saw them capitalize and establish a convincing lead followed by Brian McKee, Andy Martin and David Mulvin. Some downwind antics saw a spread in the fleet and Darren Martin who had a bad first round entered into the field of play. Darren got up into third by going low on the run, however after the mark rounding fell into dirty air and tacked to clear. The extra two tacks gave the younger and more handsome cousins a chance. A persistent shift on the right hand side helped them close ground and a drag race to the line with a pin end bias helped Andy and Rory Martin hang onto Third. Unfortunately for Ben and Jay their extremely good start led to a lack of horn at the finish (OCS), moving Andy Martin and Darren Martin to 2nd and 3rd respectively.
Race three added a bit of variety as if the weather was not variable enough and Flag W was hoisted for a Windward Leeward course in light winds. Darren Martin started well and continued to extend his lead around the course followed By Jay Bouke. With the rest of the fleet enjoying more of a battle (some more than others), Gerry Reilly, Peter Lawson and Marcus Creighton managed to find several holes on the last beat and let Brian McKee and Andy Martin through into third and fourth. Cheap tactics were used to disturb the concentration of other helms and they seemed to pay off! Brian McKee led overnight but the win by Darren in race three meant that there was only one point separating the top two boats.
After the racing EABC put on a great feed for the hungry sailors and many stayed to enjoy the craic and dodgy disco!
Light winds on the Sunday again and a poor forecast was positively true to form. Torrential rain and swinging winds meant that the crews and OOD witnessed rain of biblical proportions! Plastic bags were adapted as less than fashionable headwear and crew members fought to shelter behind the sails. Thunder and Lightning followed and Helms that were stuck facing the full brunt of the rain encouraged crew members to touch the shrouds in the hope that the lightning strike might dry them out a bit, or at least free a bit of shelter! This has been noted under AOB in the minutes for the next crew’s union meeting in Killyleagh later this year! Finally the wind settled and the rain stopped and the boats departed two by two!
The fourth race started with a single recall and some boats went back. Darren Martin was amongst the premature starters. A reasonable first beat saw Gerry Reilly come to the fore followed by Jay Bouke and Peter Lawson. The top three held position to the finish... Darren fought hard to get back into the race and the pressure was lifted when Brian was on the receiving end of some rather tight (some would say protest able) covering on the last beat. With Darren 4th and Brian 6th both boats were hoping to have sailed their discard which might come into play should they finish on equal points. Going into the final race Darren had to keep Brian behind him to win overall.
Race five started with a pin end bias and breeze on the left. Darren started very well with both speed and height. With the pressure on, no thought was left to family members as he climbed to lee bow his relatives forcing them to tack off. Brian Willis was going strong on the right hand side of the course and Andy Martin crossed astern to get to the favored side of the lift. Coming into the weather mark Andy Martin led, closely followed by Darren Martin and Bryan Willis. With breeze filling from the right on the reach, Darren took the lead by staying high. The breeze filled again on the left hand side of the second beat and a huge lift on port close to the lay line meant the boats that got there first were likely to come out on top, however in an effort to protect their position these boats over stood. Darren escaped by tacking early and the shift helped him lay the mark. The top four boats closed up again on the run and the wind departed close to the leeward mark. The committee decided to shorten the race as the last hundred yards to the finish resulted in a drifting match. Darren finished 1st with Andy 2nd and Bryan Willis 3rd.
Darren Martin and Simon Murray reclaimed the trophy winning their first event of the season. It was noted by numerous crews that the OOD and race team did extremely well in getting all the races in and the hospitality and value of the event was second to none. On accepting his Trophy, Darren thanked the Club, volunteers and Commodore for a great event and suggested that we return in the winter for better weather!
Results
Gold Fleet 1st Darren Martin Simon Murray
2nd Brian McKee Stephen Martin
3rd Gerry Reilly Peter Quail
Silver Fleet 1st David Hill Michael Hill
2nd Peter Lawson Jo Bridges
3rd David Mulvin Ronan Beirne
Bronze Fleet 1st Marcus Creighton Roy Scott
Classic Fleet 1st Norman Hamilton William Rutherford
2nd Sheila Lewis John Lewis
3rd Bill Liddle Stephen Liddle
