Icebreaker sailing at Ballyholme on Sunday was certainly warmer than the previous week, but it was still cold enough for Bill O’Hara to wear a hat! The sunshine made it almost pleasant and there was a great turnout in all four fleets for the Norfolklines Icebreaker Series. Added to that were the dozen boats belonging to the young RYA Topper Squad who were racing in the middle of the Bay.
A busy butterfly course gave two good beats but created a lot of congestion at the marks with over 60 boats converging after the start. There were no casualties; the casualties came from the snow squall that tore through the fleet, catching many off guard. There were several capsizes, one broken mast, a boat on the beach and a few cold crews. The patrol boats did a good job and ensured everyone was safe and warm.
Oliver Loughead has been concentrating on his rugby this season and has only done a little Laser sailing recently. The break has done him no harm, as he went on to win Sunday’s race in impressive style, keeping all the top class competition behind him. Of particular note was the young Donaghadee sailor, Oisin McClelland who has moved up from Toppers and put in a superb result.
Adrian Allen in his Nacra 18 gave Matt McGovern an impressive race in the multihulls and went on to win by a good margin from Richard and Barry Swanston. Dave Anderson and Neil Holland were doing well, hanging onto Adrian’s coat tails, but capsizing at the turning mark finished his chances of a good result.
The double handed fleet had the most capsizes with several boats giving an impressive array of exciting sailing and plenty of getting wet. Some crews got particularly cold and were lifted off their upturned boats and warmed up. Thanks to the other crews who came out from the shore to sail the boats home. The wind died away again and all got home safely.
RESULTS
Laser – 1st Oliver Loughead, 2nd Dave Nelson, 3rd Gareth Flannigan, 4th Chris Boyd, 5th Charlie Taylor, 6th Oisin McClelland
Laser Radial – 1st Colm McLarnon, 2nd Chris Eames
Multihull – 1st Adrian Allen & Matt McGovern, 2nd Richard & Barry Swanston, 3rd David & Elaine Taylor
Large Dinghy – 1st Roger Armson & Phil Cully, Laser 2000, 2nd Liam Donnelly, RS400, 3rd Wic McCready & Bob Magowan, Laser Stratos
Topper – 1st Emma Cameron, 2nd Patrick Cameron
Submitted by Elaine Taylor (BYC)
