Racing resumed in the Royal North of Ireland Yacht Club’s GP14 Spring Series on Sunday 26 March after a brief break for Mother’s Day the previous weekend, writes Joe Devitt.

The forecast was good, the sun shining and apart from the northeasterly breeze which brought a slight chill, there were almost perfect, if somewhat patchy, sailing conditions on Belfast Lough in Northern Ireland.

Gerry Reid and his on-the-water team set the windward/leeward course and a slightly reduced fleet of nine resumed their nautical battling once again.

First to the weather mark in Race 1 were Keith and Matteo Louden from Lough Foyle Yacht Club who sailed a flawless race and maintained their lead for two laps to the finish. Hot on their heels were Ross Kearney and Daniel Nelson (RNIYC/Newtownards SC), Ruan and Natasha O’Tiarnaigh (Ballyholme YC/Sutton Dinghy Club) and Jane Kearney and Rebekah O’Tiarnaigh (RNIYC/BYC).

In the medium conditions the wind was surprisingly patchy and gains and losses were regularly made. The boats finished in the above order, with Steven Nelson and Martin Weatherstone fifth.

The second race saw Ross and Daniel make a lovely start at the pin and sailing into fresher breeze on the left gained an advantage on the fleet which he maintained to the finish.

Steven and Martin battled Jane and Bekka, Ruan and Tasha and the pair of Michael Cox and Claire Crommie (NSC) in close-quarters action, finishing with Steven and Martin second, Ruan and Tasha third and Jane and Bekka fourth, with Michael and Claire having their best result of the day in fifth.

The third race saw Curly Morris and Rachael Stewart (East Anrim BC/NSC) in the mix at the first weather mark along with Ross and Daniel with Keith and Matteo in close proximity. However, it was the second weather mark which proved decisive when Ross and Daniel hit the mark and did a turn causing them to fall back.

Ruan and Tasha took advantage of this and sought more wind on the right-hand side of the run, returning to the leeward gate with a small lead which they held to the finish, followed by Keith and Matteo, Steven and Martin and Ross and Daniel.

The last race of the day saw the first use of the black flag this series as the change in tidal direction caused the enthusiasm of the fleet to result in a general recall. After a tremendous tussle which saw all the protagonists feature at one stage or another, it was a second race win for Ross and Daniel. Second across the line but black-flagged were Ruan and Tasha, giving second to Keith and Matteo, Steven and Martin third, Curly and Rachael fourth and Jane and Bekka fifth.

Also noteworthy are Peter and Andrew Todd, and Rory Higgins and Adam Torrens who raced valiantly and although they didn’t feature in the smaller finishing numbers are training well and gaining the much-needed experience to progress up the fleet.

Looking at the overall scores after four Sundays with one Sunday remaining, Ross Kearney and Daniel Nelson have a commanding lead on 18 points; Ruan and Natasha O’Tiarnaigh are second on 34 points, closely followed by Steven Nelson and Martin Weatherstone on 35 points and Keith and Matteo Louden on 39 points.

The full race results including Day 4 are attached below.