Galway Bay Boys Win 420 Gold Fleet and Bring the Sheaffer Cup Home

4th August 2022

Adam and Aly examining the Sheaffer Cup with Keelan Darby (middle left, Blessington) and Robert Jephson (middle right, Waterford)

The young sailors in the Irish 420 fleet continued their Summer itinerary last weekend with a visit to Howth Yacht Club, where the Leinster Regional Championships were hosted in warm sunshine.

Galway Bay Sailing Club was represented by Adam McGrady (helm) and Aly O’Sullivan (crew).

Four races were run off in good order on Saturday in light to moderate winds.

The Galway boys had to scramble for third place in the first race after snapping a trapeze wire but made hasty repairs on the water and recovered to win the remaining three races of the day: 3-1-1-1.

David McDowell of the Irish 420 Association presented the prizes on the balcony at Howth

On Sunday, the wind died completely and after two hours on the water the Race Officers declared a series and towed all the boats home.

420s entering Howth Harbour under tow on a bright, warm but windless Sunday afternoon

Happily, Aly and Adam had done enough on Saturday to win Gold Fleet and bring the Sheaffer Cup back to Galway. Jack McNaughton and Keelan Darby (Blessington and Howth) were first in Silver.

Aly O’Sullivan, Paul McGrady, Martin Whyte of the 420 Association and Colin Thompson enjoying the sunshine at Howth Yacht Club.

Published in 420, Howth YC, Youth Sailing, Galway Harbour

Published in 420

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At A Glance – 420 Dinghy Specifications

Crew 2
Type Monohull
Design One-Design
Construction GRP
Rig Bermuda
Keel Centerboard
Trapeze Single
LOA 4.2 metres (13 ft 9 in)
Beam 1.63 metres (5 ft 4 in)
Draft 0.965 metres (3 ft 2.0 in)
Hull weight 80 kilograms (180 lb)
Mast height 6.26 metres (20 ft 6 in)
Main & Jib area 10.25 square metres (110.3 sq ft) [1]
Mainsail area 7.45 square metres (80.2 sq ft)
Jib / Genoa area 2.8 square metres (30 sq ft)
Spinnaker area 8.83 square metres (95.0 sq ft)