The first part of Antrim Boat Club's six-race Winter Series started on 3rd November when ten competitors signed up for the series at the club in the northwest corner of Lough Neagh, with Alfie Mayrs winning the first half of the series with a small lead over the McAllister and Harrison's FA2.
The freshwater lake is the largest in the British Isles, with an area of 148 square miles, and borders five of the six counties in Northern Ireland. So, the members of the three sailing clubs on the Lough, Antrim BC, Lough Neagh SC and Ballyronan BC have more than enough racing area which would be the envy of many inland clubs in the British Isles.
The start of the first race in the 2024 ABC winter series on Lough Neagh
Many of the keel boats in the club are moored on the Six Mile Water River and as in recent years the depth at the mouth has become shallow, some boat owners took a sensible option to buy lifting keel yachts following the trend of recent years in the club. To ensure safety, the club has enlisted its newly appointed Bosun Simon Doig and this team to stand by before and after each race.
The first three races were held in perfect conditions, and as is the tradition, the first race prize was the Shane Magill Memorial Cup. Ten boats on the short start line made for a competitive getaway, with Andy Speedy's MG Spring 25 Corinthian and Ivan Miles' Micro Gem making the best starts and leading to the windward mark. Alfie Mayrs' H-Boat Final Fling took the lead downwind with the Limbo 6.6 FA2 chasing with stand-in helm Jeff Harrison. Final Fling was able to extend on the beats and win the opening race of the Series with FA2 second.
The following week's race benefitted again with great wind conditions and sunshine. Another compacted start line resulted in Corinthian pushing both Final Fling and FA2 over the line just before the start and a recall avoided a penalty. Like the previous week Final Fling was able to use their quick boat speed to the lead and race win. Unlike the previous race, FA2, with another stand-in helm, Kevin Donnelly couldn't get ahead of Corinthian.
Race 3 enjoyed perfect wind conditions and a small swell. FA2 was at full strength with Charlie McAllister back the helm. It was a toss-up between Final Fling and the latter, which had the upwind advantage versus the downwind speed and better boat handling of FA2. The lead changed several times but Final Fling did just enough on the last beat to win by three seconds on corrected time.
Race Four was cancelled due to the strong winds and large swell in Antrim Bay.
Race Five was met with moderate winds and a reasonable swell. Another duel between Final Fling and FA2 in the first half of the race before the H-Boat was able to open a small lead towards the latter end of race. FA2 tried in vain again to get some time back but Final Fling took another close victory by 13 seconds on corrected time. Third place was taken by Peter Frazer who had downsized to a
Hunt er Medina Just Magic to score a good result over the much larger MG Spring
25s.
The sixth and last race of the first half saw very strong winds coming from Shane's Castle to the Northeast of the Lough with some strong gusts from different wind directions. Final Fling crossed the fleet on port to start, but FA2 dominated in the fresher conditions to open up a lead to the rest of the fleet with the spinnaker giving them the edge.
Antrim Boat Club Winter Series Final Fling collecting 1st place prize with Steven Downes, Alfie Mayrs, sponsor Gordon Rowan and Peter Downes
The nine-race second half of Rolo's Winter Series starts again on 26th January 2025.
The overall winner will be presented with the Pat Kelly Memorial Trophy. This year, the event is again sponsored by Gordon Rowan and Rolo's Traditional Fish and Chips.
