2015 RS400 Southern Championships – Overall report

by RS 400 on 9 Sep 2015 27 Boats made the journey down to join the six and growing local RCYC fleet of 400's. Racing started on Saturday and was particularly tough going with a long postponement on the water as we floated about, watching and waiting for the breeze to make a guest appearance.

Finally late in the afternoon Race one kicked off with a not so easy to remember trapezoid course, resulting in a little confusion at the mark three on the second lap, the Ryan brothers had it all figured out keeping their lead and their kite. Local RS400 hero Alex Barry followed by Paul Mc Mahon decided to mix things up a little with a rapid drop and hoist sequence keeping their crews Richie and Laura on their toes!

Race two was somewhat less eventful, with the course figured out Alex and Richie showed a clean pair of heels to take the bullet, with Michael (Chunky) Ferguson and Gavin Doig second, followed very closely by locals Andrew Woodward and Richie Harrington.

With two races completed the fleet made the long journey in from Roches Point and straight to the bar for well deserved pints (although some of us were in the lucky position of getting a tow in - thanks George and Dave Kennefick).

Saturday night winding down got off to a good start with a lovely BBQ and a great talk from photographer Brian Carlin, quickly gaining pace at the bar, and ending with a traditional session, resulting in more than a few sore heads on Sunday morning.

Day two brought an earlier start in an effort to get in four races. Racing took place inside the harbour with a light breeze and a strong tide making it a very challenging day for all. Although the familiar Windward /Leeward courses gave the brains more time to attempt to work out the shifts.

Race three saw Ewen Barry and Shane Dunlea cross the line first, followed by Andrew Woodward and Richie with Paul McMahon and Laura coming in third.

Race four saw Paul and Laura take the bullet with Ewen and Shane close behind. Peter Kennedy and Simon Hutchins coming in third.

Race five, saw a big wind shift on the first beat with Gareth Flannigan and David Fletcher taking advantage to finish ahead of Alex and Richie, followed in third by Chunky and Gavin.

Race six kicked off after a delightful squall and heavy rain to wake the fleet up. With no two races being won by any one boat it was all to play for. The wind decided to take a break by time the fleet rounded the leeward mark for the second time, Alex and Paul stayed in close quarters of each other as they made their way up the beat. The two short blasts sounded by the OOD as they approached the windward mark were very welcome with Paul and Laura crossing first, followed by Alex and Richie, with Chunky and Gav taking third.

The points were tight and no one was quite sure of the final standings until they were posted. Event was won by Paul and Laura, by a point from Alex and Richie followed by another local boat Andrew and Richie taking place overall.

The next event, Nationals in Ballyholme is shaping up to be a great event for all three fleets. A bumper entry expected with the Scots and English coming to test the Irish 400 fleet and hopefully the Northern 200 fleet participating in force.

Results:

Series Place	Sail No	Boat	Type of Boat	Helm	Crew	Club	Series Points	Race 1	Race 2	Race 3	Race 4	Race 5	Race 6
1	IRL1230	Doppler	RS400	Paul McMahon	Laura Houlihan	HYC	12	3	4	3	1	21	1
2	IRL1126		RS400	Alex Barry	Richard Leonard	RCYC/MBSC	13	2	1	5	12	3	2
3	IRL748		RS400	Andrew Woodward	Richie Harrington	MBSC	16	5	3	2	8	2	4
4	IRL741	Whiplash	RS400	Mikey Ferguson	Gavin Dore	Royal Ulster YC	23	8	2	4	7	7	3
5	IRL1259	McCready Sailboats	RS400	Gareth Flannigan	David Fletcher	Ballyholme YC	32	10	6	10	20	1	5
6	IRL1127	Flyer	RS400	Ewen Barry	Shane Dunlea	MBSC	35	4	19	1	2	17	11
7	IRL1321	MoreRon	RS400	Robert Espey	Michael Gunning	Ballyholme YC	35	6	13	8	4	4	37
8	GBR941	Csbc	RS400	Paul McLaughlin	Michael Mc Kinley	Cushendall SC	38	9	5	7	17	9	8
9	IRL1352	Oddjob	RS400	Peter Kennedy	Simon Hutchinson	SLYC/RNIYC	41	12	7	6	3	27	13
10	IRL1339		RS400	Emmet Ryan	James Ryan	RStGYC	42	1	17	13	6	5	37
11	IRL1004		RS400	Chris Penney	Simon Martin	Carrickfergus SC	52	7	16	17	9	13	7
12	IRL1406	2 Sad Old Blokes	RS400	Dave Cheyne	Stevie Kane	RNIYC	58	14	14	11	11	8	15
13	IRL1179	Cold Fact	RS400	David Rose	Ian Heffernan	MBSC/RCYC	66	18	8	12	19	19	9
14	IRL1044	Dosco.ie	RS400	George Kenefick	William Athkinson	RCYC	67	11	12	15	5	24	37
15	IRL484		RS400	Sean Ribson	Owen McKinley	CSBC	69	22	15	9	13	18	14
16	IRL1245		RS400	Peter O Leary	Blake Walsh	RCYC	69	15	18	18	15	11	10
17	IRL1140		RS400	Robert O Sullivan	Philip McGlade	MBSC	72	13	11	21	10	23	17
18	IRL1405	Zimmer Frame	RS400	Liam Donnelly	Rick Mcaig	Royal North of Ireland YC	75	21	9	19	27	6	20
19	IRL1138		RS400	Owen Laverty	Gina Laverty	RStGYC	75	19	29	20	18	12	6
20	IRL802	The Warrior	RS400	Dave Sweeney	Rob Kerley	BSC/HYC	79	23	10	22	14	14	19
21	IRL825		RS400	Trevor D'Arcy	Alan McClernon	CSC/RNIYC	82	20	20	14	21	16	12
22	IRL1251	Dignity	RS400	John Lewis	Sheela Lewis	County Antrim YC	85	17	21	16	23	15	16
23	IRL1353	Blue Thunder	RS400	Rob Hastings	Neil Calvin	Royal North of Ireland YC	106	26	27	28	22	10	21
24	IRL1349	Royal Scam	RS400	Michael Donnelly	Garrett Donnelly	MYC	110	29	22	25	16	25	22
25	IRL903		RS400	Robin O'Mahony	Jack Costigan	RCYC	110	25	23	23	24	22	18
26	IRL1436	Lelia	RS400	Simon Herriott	Stephen Bourke	Greystones SC	122	28	24	24	26	20	37
27	IRL637		RS400	David Coleman	Margaret Hynes	Killaloe SC	131	30	26	27	28	26	24
28	IRL581		RS400	Pat Culloo	Donal Cullinane	Killaleo SC	132	27	28	26	37	28	23
29	IRL1035	BB King	RS400	Brian Bryce	Conor Bryce	Killaloe SC	132	24	30	29	25	29	25
30	IRL1260		RS400	David Kennifick		RCYC	152	16	25	37	37	37	37
31	IRL1141	Slow and Steady	RS400	Ross Brennan	Olly Lawerence	Greystones SC	160	31	31	31	30	37	37
32	IRL1207	Shekou	RS400	Cillian O Mara	Mark Sartini	Killaloe SC	170	37	37	30	29	37	37
33	IRL1240	GoodLord	RS400	Daniel Lordan	Sarah Lordan	INSS	180	32	37	37	37	37	37
34	IRL1001	Ron	RS400	Robert Espey	Michael Gunning	BYC/RUYC	185	37	37	37	37	37	37
34	IRL1040	Blu E 2	RS400	Robert Galligan	Philip Connor	Greystones SC	185	37	37	37	37	37	37
34	IRL1197	Razor Sharp	RS400	Aidan McSweeney		RCYC	185	37	37	37	37	37	37