Irish Squib Northern Championship at Quoile Yacht Club

An Irish Squib traveller's experience

The Conversation

The Irish Squib Northerns are in Quoile next weekend. Stevie Bridges said we could launch in Killyleagh as the crane will have left Quoile by the time we get there. My crew is doing the Laser Masters and your crew is unavailable. Let's team up.

The Plan

Stevie confirmed he would launch us. Joe Moore of Quoile offered us his caravan for the two nights. I would pick Sheila up at the RDS after work.

The Arrival

As we drove into Killyleagh around 8.30pm a car stopped beside us with the greeting "I am Stevie's cousin Simon. Follow me!". This reminded me of an occasion in darkest Africa when, having seen no vehicle in 3 hours driving we saw approaching headlights. It was an articulated lorry that stopped us. The driver greeted us by name and advised that our hosts were waiting dinner for our arrival. The famous words by Stanley "Dr Livingstone, I presume?" came to mind then.

The Welcome

Simon, Stevie and their fellow members loaned us a fob for the gate, stepped the mast and put Perfection onto a launching trolley. The tide was out so they planned to launch her at 6am.

Frances Cannon and Julian Sandford, (previous secretary of the Irish Squib Forum), were finishing a nightcap in Quoile as we arrived. They produced a pizza and wine as a welcome. Gradually more members emerged from their caravans, with wine in hand, and joined us for an impromptu party. We slept really well in Joe's very comfortable caravan.

The Event

Angela Gilmore and her team ran a great event on the water. Saturday dawned with very little wind but it gradually filled in and veered through the morning. We were given 3 well run races with little time between races despite a fickle wind. The fleet was very spread out in the first race but the following races were closely fought.

Race 1
1st 139 David Eccles
2nd 794 Des Clayton
3rd 78 John Driscoll

Race 2
1st 139 David Eccles
2nd 78 John Driscoll
3rd 70 Denis Todd

Race 3
1st 139 David Eccles
2nd 78 John Driscoll
3rd 44 Jill Fleming

Saturday evening we left Perfection in Killyleagh and drove back to Quoile. On the lane one of the non sailing members recognized us and very kindly loaned us his card to get in through the gates. The day race prizes were awarded followed by BBQ steak or chicken, delicious salads, dessert and cheese. The camaraderie around the BBQ was great. Eventually we found our way to bed after dancing to a very good duo.

Sunday morning the delicious smell of breakfast drew us to the clubhouse. Our hosts had cooked a magnificent breakfast. Quoile has a lovely friendly village atmosphere. Caravan owners can apply for a site after being members for 3 years. They all chip in to make an event very special. Strangford Lough with Quoile and Killyleagh is a lovely place for an event.

Race 4
1st 820 Gordon Patterson
2nd 70 Denis Todd
3rd 139 David Eccles

Race 5
1st 820 Gordon Patterson
2nd 146 Craig Bell
3rd 78 John Driscoll

The Departure

With the help of the Killyleagh lads we packed Perfection away in jig time then they gave us a lift up the river, in their launch, for the prizegiving. A very happy weekend. We were fortunate to have such helpful hosts and made new friends. Thanks to all at Quoile and Killyleagh.