Belfast Lough will be awash with boats over the weekend of 24th and 25th June when the RS Elite Irish Championship coincides with an RC35 open event. Both fixtures will be hosted by Royal Ulster Yacht Club in Bangor on the south shore of the Lough but are classed as separate fixtures.
This meeting will be held the weekend before the UK National championship at Strangford Lough Yacht Club, about 17 miles away on the western side of the Lough. Visitors from the rest of the UK will be able to do both by moving their boats to Whiterock in the intervening days. The race area on Belfast Lough has little tide and few hazards and is within a relatively short distance of Bangor Marina.
The UK Nationals will run from Wednesday, 28th June till Saturday, July 1st. The sailing area is very different from Belfast Lough. It is within an Area of Special Scientific Interest on the largest sea lough in Northern Ireland, and its tidal flows will make for challenging and interesting competition. The two events in Northern Ireland have been timed to allow visiting boats from the rest of the UK to take part in both.
Strangford Lough YC at Whiterock
Accommodation is being arranged for people travelling to both events.
And if crews have any energy left and would like to continue their stay in Ireland, there’s the Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta from 6-9 July. The RS Elite Association has announced the RS Elite Open Tour will include Ireland's biggest regatta. The huge event has proved popular with RS Elites, particularly since the UK National Championship was held there in 2019.
The regatta organisers have confirmed that they will provide a separate start for RS Elites if there are six or more entries.
