Top sailing competition hosted in Clare border town
The RS400 and RS200 fleets descended on Lough Derg for the RS Inlands, hosted by Killaloe Sailing Club (KSC).
Despite the October weather the event attracted the largest fleet of the season. Perhaps everyone was keen to have a good nose around the brand-new facilities, as KSC has just redeveloped their grounds, adding in a clubhouse, boathouse and extending the dinghy park and car park.
With the forecast for Sunday threatening 30+ knot gusts, Race Officer Michael Tyrell scheduled four races on the Saturday.
The 17-boat-strong RS400 fleet kicked off the racing into a challenging southerly beat. Most of the sailors were used to compensating for tides and waves and so had the comparatively novel challenge of fickle lake winds to contend with. The fleet split early as everyone headed to the eastern or western shores to search for the best pressure.
Perhaps it was local knowledge that won out in the search for the wind as Govan Berridge and David Coleman of KSC led at the windward mark, a lead they held to the race finish, despite the challenge from Marty O'Leary and Kevin Johnson of Greystones SC, who themselves kept John Downey and Sandy Rimmington from Monkstown Bay SC in third.
The second race was a stand-out victory for Paul Phelan and Alan Leddy of Greystones SC, who practically ran aground on the Tipperary shore, before tacking to the mark and consolidating a massive lead which nobody could overhaul. Robbie O’Sullivan and Phil McGlade from Monkstown Bay SC, who had explored the Clare shoreline before came home to second place, beating Peter Bayly and Paddy Blackley of Greystones SC to third.
The third race was another cat and mouse affair, with Bayly and Blackley proving the eventual winners. While the almost inevitable split in the fleet probably gave them huge headaches about who to cover on the final downwind, it was made slightly easier by O’Leary and Johnson snapping their boom clean in half. Berridge and Coleman took second place, with O’Sullivan and McGlade in third.
The final race of the day featured the most lead changes, with the nip-and-tuck racing bringing equal measures of satisfaction and stress, as everyone continued to seek the best pressure across the width of the lake. Berridge and Coleman, eventually found the front of the fleet at the final windward mark and held on during the final downwind to pip Bayly and Blackley, while Downey and Rimmington took the final placing.
Sunday’s forecast proved frustratingly accurate and so the results from Saturday stood, with overall winners, Govan Berridge and David Coleman taking the trophy to Killaloe. Second place went to Peter Bayly and Paddy Blackley with consistent showing by Robbie O’Sullivan and Phil McGlade earning them third overall.
In the RS200 fleet, Galway City SC’s Alex and Martin Roe scored a series of bullets to take the overall win, with KSC pairing, Pat Culloo and Susan Le Mignon coming second. Third place was taken by the Galway Bay SC duo, John Barry and Margaret Cronin.