Irish J24 Champion Flor O'Driscoll and his crew on 'Hard on Port' won the first J24 regional event of the season – the Western Championship at Lough Ree Yacht Club – last weekend but not with his usual margin of victory. Instead, he was pushed all the way by several boats and in the end only took the title on countback from Fergus O'Kelly & Others on 'Jibberish' (Howth YC).

O'Driscoll, the Corkman who sails out of the Royal St.George but is racing in Howth this season in preparation for the forthcoming BMW European Championships there in September, got off to the perfect start by winning the first race but was black-flagged in the second, when victory went to local boat 'Jeb' (Andrew Mannion) ahead of 'Jibberish'.

Heavy squalls in race 3 mixed things up again with Stefan Hyde/Declan MacManus's 'Kilcullen' taking the gun from local man Stan Bradbury in 'Javelin'. The fourth race was sailed in Force 5+ winds and with most boats opting for jibs, it was 'Jeb' who took the honours and so lead overnight.

On the second day, Mickey McCaldin's 'Murder Picture' from Lough Erne won race 5 from 'Jibberish', a result that meant any of the top six could win the event going into the final race. O'Driscoll and crew held their nerve to beat O'Kelly et al to the line, leaving the two tied on points after the discard.

On countback, two race wins was enough to give the edge to 'Hard on Port' and 'Jeb' finishing third. Three points separated the top five points, illustrating the closeness of competition in this one-design keelboat class.

J24 Western Championships at Lough Ree YC - Results:

Hard on Port Flor O'Driscoll (RStGYC/HYC) 14ptsJibberish Fergus O'Kelly et al (HYC) 14 ptsJeb Andrew Mannion (LRYC) 16 ptsJavelin Stan Bradbury (LRYC) 16 ptsKilcullen Hyde/MacManus (RCYC/HYC) 17 pts

J/24 National Championships – Day 1 After indifferent form in previous regional championships, Mickey McCaldin of Lough Erne YC did not arrive in Howth as the favourite to retain the Irish title he won last year but after the first five races of the eight race series, he and his experienced crew on 'Murder Picture' have made it clear that they intend to hold on to the trophy.

His championship defence couldn't have started any better, with three successive bullets. The fourth race was something of a disaster for them finishing 14th but 5th in the final race of the first day sees them two points clear of their major rival for the honours, Flor O'Driscoll (RSt.GYC) on 'Hard on Port' who notched up three third places and a win the final race to stay very much in touch with the defending champion.

Local hopes centre on 'Jibberish' (O'Kelly & Co) and they did not disappoint. Having only taken delivery of the boat two days ago after repairs to serious damage suffered months ago in a T-bone collision, they might be excused for not performing, as they got re-0acquainted with their boat. A results card that included two second places and the most impressive race win of the day – the margin of victory was very impressive – puts the Howth crew in third place overall going into the second day.

Tying on points but ranked as 4th is J/24 Class President Robin Eagleson of Lough Erne YC on 'Luder Too' who also showed great consistency with three second places and might have ended the day even higher up the leader-board if it wasn't for a disastrous last race when the tides played havoc with the distinctively red boat at the windward mark.

Two other northern boats – JP McCaldin's 'Jamais Encore' (Dalgety Bay SC) and 'Sayonara' (D.O'Donovan, LEYC) – fill the next two places overall.

The five windward-leeward races were sailed in varying (although generally fresh) conditions, with headsail changes the order of the day, while the last race threw up gusts of 30 knots plus at the 17-boat fleet. The series concludes on Sunday 12th with three races scheduled by PRO David Lovegrove and his team on 'Free Enterprise'.

J/24 National Championship – overall places after 5 races:

Mickey McCaldin – LEYC – 8 points
Flor O'Driscoll – RStGYC – 10 points
Fergus O'Kelly & Co. – HYC – 14 points
Robin Eagleson – LEYC – 14 points
J.P. McCaldin (DBSC) – 20 points
D.O'Donovan – LEYC – 20 points

 

Photo Gallery by Gareth Craig HERE