34 boats, including 15 from the National Yacht Club, competed for the Flying Fifteen East Coast Championships, held at Carlingford Sailing Club on the weekend of September 25-26. Chris Doorly reports
The light winds from the north didn’t quite live up to the forecast and there was a steady but extremely shifty force 3-4 cold wind on the Saturday. Sure enough, the light winds were there on Sunday and made for tricky sailing, though the PRO and his team managed to get all five races in.
Darren Martin and Simon Murray were in great form and won the event with a race to spare.
After two general recalls, the first race eventually got going. John Lavery & David O’Brien (NYC) led from the start to take the gun from Martin in second and Lawson in third. Race 2 was won by Martin, with Reilly second and Green third, and Lavery back in the bunch.
The fourth race on Sunday in light to zero wind was won by Reilly from Alan Dooley in second with Martin third, many of the fleet finished outside the time limit due to lack of wind. With the title wrapped up by Martin& Murray, race four was won by Chamberlain from Reilly in second and McKee third.
At the prize-giving Darren Martin thanked his crew Simon, and all the volunteers at the club who helped make it happen including PRO’s team both on and off the water.
The new clubhouse, its facilities and its scenic location are fantastic and make it a great place to sail. There was a very warm welcome for everyone, and we look forward to returning.
