#wiora – The 2014 West of Ireland (WIORA) champion is Tribal, Liam Burke's Galway Bay Sailing Club based Corby 25 that produced four wins from seven races in last week's WIORA championships at Mayo Sailing Club. Burke's scoreline was good enough to win class 2 IRC ahead of top Foynes contender Dis–A–Ray, a Dehler 34, and take the overall award too, in a series that had everything from flat calms, forked lightning plus some very good Clew Bay breezes to boot.
IT was a "WIORA West Coast Championship to remember..."
That is how Simon McGibney, Commodore of the association described the 2014 West Coast Championship event hosted by Mayo Sailing Club in the waters of Clew Bay.
While Team Ireland was taking honours at the Commodores Cup in the UK, the Irish domestic sailing community on the west coast was battling it out for the 2014 WIORA title under the stunning backdrop of Croagh Patrick leaving everyone wowed by the experience.
And that is certainly how the 200 or so competitors felt leaving the event after Tribal, sailing out of Galway Bay Sailing Club, lifted the coveted trophy as overall winner of WIORA 2014. A worthy title holder in an event where everyone was victorious in some way shape or form.
But it was Liam Burke's Corby 25 that won four of the seven races in Class two and was always staying in the mix by adding a 2nd and 3rd on Day 3 and 4 of the event that was enough for the Galway boat to take the honours in what was a hotly contested division.
Tribal and its crew now take the title back to Galway Docks where the 2015 event will be hosted by their home club of GBSC.
Race Officer Alan Crosbie, on receiving a small presentation from the Eoghan Cunningham, Commodore of Mayo Sailing Club, said it is an event he loves to see coming around every year, "and one I will not miss, because when I get the call I just say yes straight away." WIORA he said, "is a great event close to my heart".
On hosting the event, the ever popular MSC Commodore Eoghan Cunningham said that in the lead up to WIORA, "I was dreading it, but now I just don't want the week to end".
Receiving a huge round of applause, the WIORA sub committee at Mayo SC, together with Eoghan at its head were praised for their hosting of the event – even the little things like all the race competitors being delivered choc ices on Friday while drifting on the waters of Clew Bay under the summer sun as the crews waited for the breeze to fill in – to a care package of cold beers delivered to every boat as they completed the long coastal race at the conclusion of the event – will go a long way to indeed making WIORA 2014 one to remember.
Congrats to all at Mayo Sailing Club, to the helpers, to the race officers and flag boat crew, to the rib drivers, to the staff at the club house, to the WIORA committee, to the competitors that raced in every possible weather condition including thunder and lightening, to those ashore that waited and supported and to those that we forgot – we thank you and we look forward to meeting on the water again soon and if not, certainly back at Galway Docks in 2015 when the battle will commence to see who can take the West Coast Championship title off the crew of Tribal.
WIORA West Coast Championship 2014 Winners
Overall WIORA West Coast Championship Winner Tribal (GBSC)
Class 1 IRC Winner Now What (GBSC)
Runner Up TK Lean Machine (GBSC)
Class 2 IRC Winner Tribal (GBSC)
Runner Up Dis-A-Ray (TIMC)
Class 3 IRC Winner Boojum (TBSC)
Runner Up Django (RWYCI – LRYC)
Class 1 ECHO Winner TK Lean Machine (GBSC)
Runner Up X-Rated (MSC)
Class 2 ECHO Winner Dis-A-Ray (TIMC)
Runner Up Elixir (MSC)
Class 3 ECHO Winner Subadar (MSC)
Runner Up Privateer (MSC)
White Sails Winner As Lathair (MSC)
Runner Up Xstatic (MSC)
BJ Marine cup Genie
X-Yachts cup X-rated,
Tommy OKeeffe trophy Dis-A-Ray,
Next year's WIORA moves to Galway and in 2016 the event is heading back to Kilrush on the Shannon Estuary.
Full WIORA results are on the Mayo Sailing Club site HERE
