The 29 knot gusts and wind against tide on the first day of the RS 200 and RS 400 Irish National Championships at Carrickfergus Sailing Club on the north shore of Belfast Lough led to the cancellation of the first race on Friday 9th August.
The championship was eventful. One of those who launched early, Luke McIlwaine of Newcastle Yacht Club, found his boat splitting in two, and that boat is said to be in dinghy heaven. Shortly after the first race, Rob Hastings' crew, Emma Pierce, unexpectedly encountered the spinnaker pole during a capsize and suffered two broken teeth.
The rest of the scheduled eight races were run, and competitors experienced thrilling reaches, exhausting beats, and capsizes on every leg of the course.
In the twenty-strong RS 400 class, Waszp sailors Rob Espey and Micheal Ferguson from Ballyholme clocked up a string of six first places to win that class. Barry McCartin and Conor Kinsella of Cushendall and Greystones ended up in second place with one first and five second places. Third overall was the Royal North of Ireland club pair, Peter Kennedy and Stephen Kane.
RS200 and RS400 sailing at Carrickfergus Sailing Club
Eleven competed in the RS200 division, which was won by Frank O'Rourke and Henry Start from Greystones and Royal St George, with half a dozen first places. Joycelyn and Emily Hill from County Antrim YC and Carrickfergus were runners-up, frequently exchanging leads with the winners. James Waugh and Callum Pollard, new to the class, from the neighbouring club County Antrim YC at Whitehead, finished third.
Conditions improved on Sunday with 15-knot breezes, which eventually piped up to 25 knots, and the event was judged to be a success despite the mishaps. The next big event at the Carrick Club is the GP 14 Ulster Championships on the weekend of 31 August.
