Antrim Boat Club Winter Series returned on 5th November with six races scheduled for the first half when nine competitors signed up for the series and sailed out of the club in the northwest corner of Lough Neagh in Northern Ireland.
This year, the event is sponsored by Gordon Rowan and Rolo’s Traditional Fish & Chips.
The first race of the series was held in perfect conditions, and as is the tradition, the first race prize was the Shane Magill Memorial Cup. The competition was closer this year with Aflie Mayrs’ new boat (the H-Boat, Final Fling) out for its debut race, but it was the McAllister/Harrison duo in the Limbo 6.6 FA2 who continued their good club form to win the opening race.
The wind increased for the second race the following week and after a competitive start, there was high drama as Jamie Jess (MG Spring) suffered a man overboard when a guard rail had failed. While the rest of the fleet continued the first beat, the Race Committee stood by for assistance while Skipper Willy McIlvenna and long-time crew Keith McKay had quickly recovered their errant crew back aboard to safety.
They retired from the race to bring their crew to shore, as like the previous week Final Fling was nipping at the heels of FA2 for the whole race with Andy Speedy’s MG Spring Corinthain just behind the leading duo. FA2 secured first place with a corrected margin of 72 seconds over Final Fling in second place once again and Corinthian in third place.
Race Three saw the start compacted at the Committee Boat end, with Corinthian getting the better start with good pace off the line. For the last spinnaker reach, the wind had increased to 25kts plus, resulting in a broach for FA2, which allowed Final Fling, who opted not to fly their spinnaker, to get ahead. The final beat saw a showdown between the lead boats, with Final Fling taking line honours but FA2 had the handicap advantage, winning the race by 35 seconds on handicap.
Race Four was cancelled due to poor visibility and lack of wind. But the following week, the weather looked as if it would be a repeat, but the wind filled in eventually for Race 5, which, after a close race, McAllister and Harrison picked up another first place.
Antrim Boat Club Winter Series 1st Half Prizegiving with from left Michael Patton crew of FA2, sponsor Gordon Rowan of Rolo’s and right Andy Smith crew of Corinthian
The sixth and last race of the first half saw a depleted fleet. The wind was not as strong as forecast, but there was still a chop on the Lough. Most boats struggled upwind, but FA2 trimmed for speed and managed to open up a sizeable lead on the rest of the fleet to build up a significant winning margin.
The nine-race second half of Rolo’s Winter Series starts again on 28th January 2024. The overall winner will be presented with the Pat Kelly Memorial Trophy.
Overall results from the first half:
1st : ‘FA2’ (Limbo 6.6) – Charlie McAllister & Jeff Harrison, 4pts
2nd: ‘Final Fling’ (H-Boat) – Alfie Mayrs, 8pts
3rd: ‘Corinthian’ (MG Spring) – Andy Speedy, 12pts
