The E-Boat National Championships were hosted by Skerries Sailing Club over the weekend of 24 and 25 June, as part of the Club’s Annual Regatta. With the Club also hosting the Fireball Leinster Championships, there was quite a medley of boats on the water over the weekend, in strong and gusty conditions on the Saturday, with a calmer day on Sunday.
Three boats travelled from Clontarf Yacht & Boat Club, with some Clontarf boats prevented from making it due to adverse weather conditions. However, combined with four boats from Skerries, the small size of the fleet certainly didn’t lack any of the usual strong and E-ager competition when Skerries and Clontarf E-boaters met up for their annual championships! With six races scheduled, the heat was on!
In strong and gusty changing winds, Race Officer Liam Dineen with his team of Helen Ryan and Micheline Shiels, set an Olympic course, and the race sequence began, with the E-Boats and Fireballs sharing an outer course and all other boats sharing a separate inner, course. A challenge perhaps to some Race Officers, but not to Liam’s intrepid team!
Race 1 saw some challenging conditions, with Aoife and her team of Sean, Daire and Kathryn dominating from the start. Despite the wind shifting from SSE to east, catching some unsuspecting sailors by surprise, Aoife took advantage of any shifts that came her way coming first in Race 1, with Paul Hick’s Easygo and her crew of Pat, Paula and Berni coming second and Wylie Coyote and her team of skipper Shane and crew of Dave and Suzanne, coming third. With increasing winds, it was all to play for.
1st Place: Team Aoife - Kathryn, Cliff, Daire and Tokyo 49er Olympian Seán Waddilove (skipper) pictured with Commodore Brian McNally and Sailing Secretary Colman Grimes
Race 2 began in a freshening breeze with Eaglet and her team of Bernie Grogan, Steve, Pawel and Greg finding their groove and taking the gun, with Aoife taking second and Easygo taking third.
Nerves were beginning to fray, with some boats a little too eager to start resulting in recalls.
Race 3 saw Eaglet again taking the gun, with Equaliser, sailed by Samuel McConkey and his team of Tom, Noel and Claire, taking second place and the wily Wylie Coyote taking third.
The winds were increasing and shifty, with two E-Boats sighted flying a spinnaker (or, more correctly, attempting to fly a spinnaker) on what was a reach, but was now a beat. Not wishing to be outdone by the other, neither dropped their spinnakers until they eventually became aware of the serious change in wind direction! There is none so blind as those who cannot see!
With the forecast not promising for Sunday, the Race Officer decided – extremely wisely in hindsight – to go for a fourth race on Saturday. With ever-increasing winds, fraught crews and tired bodies, most if not all boats reduced sail to a number two, and the fleet pushed on.
Race 4 saw Aoife taking first, with Eaglet taking second and Wylie Coyote taking third - for the third time! This left Aoife and Eaglet on equal points!
Sunday presented a light breeze and a little drizzle, with racing postponed for over an hour while the race management team cajoled the elements into behaving so that a course could be laid! The elements responded and an excellent Olympic course was again set. With Aoife and Eaglet on equal points, it was all to play for and with the wind finally deciding to go westerly, a new game was on!
However, the light conditions presented many holes and many shifts around the course, with some boats sitting motionless in the water at the same time as others sailed away with their spinnakers nicely set. Aoife again led the race from the beginning in a dying breeze and was safely heading for victory. But hark! Eaglet slowly but surely crept up on them on the last reach which resulted in a nail-biting shortened course finish, with two seconds between the two boats as the final whistle sounded!
2nd Place: Team Eaglet - Greg, Bernie (Skipper,) Steve and Pawel, pictured with Commodore Brian McNally and Sailing Secretary Colman Grimes
3rd Place: Team Wylie Coyote - Suzanne, Shane (Skipper) and Dave, pictured with Commodore Brian McNally and Sailing Secretary Colman Grimes
Next up for the E-Boats is the Skerries SC Cruising Regatta on the weekend of 26 and 27 August.
