Newbies to the Ballyholme suburb of Bangor on Belfast Lough tend to call the shops at a crossroads The Village, and now there is another village at Ballyholme – at the Yacht Club – the ILCA 6 Euros Competitors' Village rose from the ground in a gargantuan effort involving precisely timed arrivals of site huts and a crane, a marquee, several pallets of bottled water and fencing. The event runs from 27th July till 3rd August.
This all adds to the many Lasers and RIBs that have already arrived from various parts of Europe. Still to come is another site hut. Besides housing the Jury, they will also be home for over a week to a few retail outlets, including CH Marine, for chandlery.
While this was all going on, two sets of competitors were engaged in instruction from Coaches from We Sail and Sailcoach, and a Stage 1 RYA course was running. Trevor Millar, who runs Sailcoach and was one of the first BYC members to sail a Laser at the club said that "one of my first tasks was to organise pre-event training with coaches Lucas Nixon and Karlis Jaukers. This weekend, a Coaches Regatta will feature 60 sailors, with participants from Hong Kong to Vancouver, Canada". He continued, "I am pleased to continue Sailcoach's legacy in sailing coaching, which all started at Ballyholme in the 70s".
Locating a site hut for the ILCA 6 European Championships at Ballyholme Yacht Club on Belfast Lough
Four Ballyholme ILCA 6 European Championships volunteers l to r Willie Dickinson, Brian Spence, Rear Commodore Stephen Polly and Event Organiser Aidan Pounder
Not only has the Club several sponsors, but it has also benefited from the cooperation of the Ards and North Down Council, which has lent a MUGA (Multi Use Games Area) courts and the grassed part of the Playground for dinghy parking.
Coach Damir Nakrst from We Sail with his class at Ballyholme Yacht Club in advance of the ILCA 6 European Championships at the club
The numbers are impressive: 254 male and 116 female competitors, about 80 coaches with a RIB each, another 40 assorted RIBs totalling at the moment, 120 berthed at Bangor Marina; the Jury, two Committee boats, safety boats, mark layers and well over 100 volunteers.
And as a footnote two of the world's best ILCA 6 sailors have just been crowned champions at the 2024 Youth Sailing World Championships at Lake Garda in Italy. Both Maria Vittoria Arseni and Antonio Pascali of Italy will be racing at the ILCA 6 European event at Ballyholme soon. The Female second and third placed sailors, Hermionie Ghicas (Greece) and Isabella Mendoza Cabezes (USA) will also race at Ballyholme. So top class competition is assured.
A briefing for ILCA 6 European Championships Volunteers at Ballyholme Yacht Club
Event Organiser Aidan Pounder is pleased with the preparations: "With just over a week to go, Ballyholme Yacht Club is alive with activity, the infrastructure is almost complete, and it is great to see so many sailors and their coaches arriving early to train. The support from the Members and Sponsors has been absolutely amazing. We look forward to welcoming all the competitors, their families, friends and coaches to a superb venue for what we hope will be a fabulous European Championship".
