This weekend Kinsale Yacht Club had its Christmas Regatta for Junior Sailors. 34 Optimists, and 12 mixed dinghies, comprising of Laser‘s (Radial & 4.7’s) and Toppers braved the chilly conditions over the two days.
Saturday got off to a rather breezy start which made it challenging for the Optimists and saw 6 retirees from Race 1. Harry Twomey took line honours for the Optimists with Killian O’Regan in second and Edu Ojez took third. Wind eased and the flat seas made for more comfortable racing for the rest of Day 1. For Races 2 and 3 Michael Crosbie dominated the Optimist fleet and took first in both with Edu Ojez second in both, Killian O’Regan took 3rd in Race 2 and Harry Twomey was 3rd in Race 3.
The Mixed Dinghy Fleet was very competitive with local boy Michael Carroll winning Race 1 in his 4.7 ahead of Chris Bateman in a Radial. Micheal O’Suilleabhain was 3rd, also in a 4.7. Best of the Toppers was David Carroll who came 4th in that race. Chris Bateman took 1st in Race 2 with Michael Carroll and Micheal O’Suilleabhain in joint 2nd place. The 4.7’s dominated in the 3rd race with Micheal O’Suilleabhain in 1st place, Michael Carroll 2nd and Cathal O’Regan 3rd .
Day 2 saw a shake up in the Optimist Fleet. Rory O’Sullivan took line honours in all 3 races. Killian O’Regan took 2nd in Race 4 and Harry Twomey took 3rd. Diego Peleteiro Herrero took 2nd in Race 5 with Edu Ojez in 3rd. Race 6 saw Edu Ojez come in 2nd to Rory which was enough to see him win the regatta, Michael Crosbie was 3rd in Race 6 which was enough to secure him 2nd overall.
The mixed dinghies saw the Lasers continue to battle between the 4.7’s and Radials. Michael Carroll in a 4.7 won Race 4 with Chris Bateman in a Radial in 2nd and Micheal O’Suilleabhain in a 4.7 in 3rd. Michael Carroll also won Race 5 with David Carroll in a Topper putting in a great performance to secure 2nd, Micheal O’Suilleahain continued his solid run with a 3rd in his 4.7. For the last race Micheal O’Suilleabhain took 1st place with Chris Bateman in 2nd but a 3rd for Michael Carroll was enough to secure him first place overall.
Overall Results:
Optimist: 1st Edu Ojez 2nd Michael Crosbie 3rd Killian O’Regan
Mixed Dinghies: 1st Michael Carroll (Laser 4.7) 2nd Micheal O’Suilleabhain (Laser 4.7) 3rd Chris Bateman (Laser Radial)