The Quoile Yacht Club Spring Series on Northern Ireland waters kicked off the sailing programme on Strangford Lough at the end of April, racing in two fleets, IRC and NHC
The club is tucked away in the sheltered southwestern corner of the Lough and is an RYA training centre with mixed dinghy and cruiser-racer fleets as well as motor vessels.
The three IRC boats were all part of the surging East Down Yacht Club Impala fleet with James Curran’s Beeste topping the table with two firsts and a second. Runner up was John Patterson’s Maverick one point behind and in third was Imp (Grant McCullough).
Peter Holden's Going to Red (under her old name)
The seven-strong NHC fleet was won by Peter Holden’s J109 Going to Red counting two firsts and a second with Michael Petticrew’s Nich 43, Magdaleyne runner up with a second and a fourth. In third place was Stevie Andrews’ Hydro, Hydrology, basically, a Hydro 28 modified with a sugar scoop stern the same as the late Hugh Ennis’s well-known Moonlighter.
Hydrology (Stevie Andrews)
Reportedly it was a fantastic weekend of sailing with mixed weather but nevertheless a most enjoyable event with which to start off the very full sailing programme.
