Please select your home edition
Edition
C-Tech 2020 Tubes 728x90 TOP

Bosun Bob's Frosty Series at Royal North of Ireland Yacht Club - Day 6

by Sam Pickering 11 Dec 2018 22:24 NZDT 9 December 2018
Bosun Bob's Frosty Series day 6 © Sam Pickering

Following Storm Etienne, twenty-one crews arrived at Royal North for Day 6 of Bosun Bob's famous Frosty Series, and were glad to see that there were no pieces of RS400 lying on the ground. Even better, it was a warmish Sunday afternoon with a pleasant 10-12 knots blowing from the South West. A well-earned rest for crews who had been battered by several weeks of windy Sundays.

As ever, the Race Officer was keen to get back to the bar, so Race 1 began at 1.30pm sharp. A short line made it crucial to get a nice spot on the front row, and there were a couple that decided to stray too far and had to find their way back following an individual recall; one of these being Barry McCartin & Andrew Penney. Despite this they showed good pace upwind and were back in contention by the windward mark with Sam Pickering & Josh Porter managing to get around with a very small lead. Paul McLaughlin & Owen McKinley were also close by, just slightly ahead of the ever-present pack of boats waiting to swallow up and spit out anyone who dare make a mistake. There was little change the next time the fleet reached the windward mark, but a faltering breeze made the last run incredibly tricky. Sam was almost immediately swallowed by the pack after gybing too early, with Liam Donnelly suffering a similar fate. This left Barry & Paul to fight it out for the win. Barry eventually managed to clinch the victory. His win was almost as impressive as Rob Hastings recovering from a technical fault and a subsequent (very!) late start to recover to 6th place. Just imagine if he had been anywhere near the line! Bob Espey & Richard McCullough managed to fight off the rest of the bunch to round out the top three.

The second race saw somewhat of anomaly for this series. A boat leading from start to finish. Although the highly desired committee boat end was won by Shaun Ritson, the inevitable jostling between boats slowed everyone near the packed out committee boat end. This allowed Tom Purdon & Rory Fekkes to shoot out from the middle of the line and go on to demonstrate good speed and astute fleet management to never look threatened in 1st place. This added another new race winner to the tally for the series, which now stands at eight. This time Chris Penney & Jess Rutherford managed to use good downwind speed to break free slightly to take 2nd place, with 'Mr Consistent' Barry taking 3rd spot. Ryan Wilson also put in a solid shift on the tiller, his best performance in Race 2, in order to demonstrate that crews can do it too.

The breeze built slightly towards the end of the second race, and after a tiny rest the crews started the 3rd race fully hiked out. Chris & Jess punched out from the line and rounded the top mark 1st, and with Jess completing all of Chris' calm requests in a blink, they took off downwind in a nice gust. Sam & Josh had worked out which was the pointy end again and rounded 2nd, predictably followed by Barry & Andrew who were finding it hard to avoid being near the front. Peter Kennedy & Stephen Kane were on the prowl waiting to pounce. Unfortunately for them, the top three didn't want to mess each other around, sailed their own races and kept up the speed to setup a three-way dual at the final leeward gate. Barry finally made a mistake by selecting the wrong side of the gate, which left Sam and Chris at the favoured right hand mark. A slight overlap was enough to allow Sam to sneak round and go on to take the win, followed by Chris and then Barry.

As an Englishman who has recently moved to Northern Ireland to live and sail, the author would like to take this opportunity to thank the Irish 400 fleet for being so welcoming. I would also like to implore those back in Britain who are undecided about next year's nationals to get off the fence and book your ferries now. You will not be disappointed! It is not very often you get to sail on such a fabulous stretch of water only 15 minutes from a capital city full of great activities for your support crew or you if your week starts going downhill. Of course, there will be Guinness to help with that too!

Results after Day 6:

PosSail NoHelmCrewClubR1R2R3R4R5R6R7R8R9R10R11R12R13R14R15R16R17R18Pts
1st1006Robert EspeyRichard McCulloughBYC(DNC)(DNC)(DNC)27113132111233536
2nd1264Barry McCartinAndrew PenneyCSBC246(DNC)(DNC)(DNC)21271223112238
3rd1406Paul McLoughlinOwen McKinleyCBSC4157125(DNF)104434‑15(OCS)24662
4th1405Liam DonnellyRick McCaigCSC951‑1247969535593‑11‑14888
5th815Trevor D'ArcyAlan McClernonCSC384954‑1144987‑112‑1295788
6th578Peter KennedyStephen KaneSLYC/RNIYC‑1537529795‑121298554‑16393
7th1376Oliver LougheadTiffany BrienRNIYC162335101862OCS4(DNC)(DNC)(DNC)679103
8th1004Tom PurdonRory FekkesSLYC523(DNC)(DNC)(DNC)DNF10365OCS9681414116
9th1353Robert HastingsRory HigginsRNIYC79116101037‑17‑2115(DNF)7475610117
10th728Sam Pickering CSC(DNC)(DNC)(DNC)4864281DNC8DNCDNCDNC8121162
11th1188Stephen McLernonRyan WilsonCSC(DNC)(DNC)(DNC)1861165151011OCS314418814164
12th515Ed Cody RNIYC(DNC)(DNC)(DNC)15111714111413712610971012168
13th1178Brian HolmesWendy SmythCYC67911916(DNF)1212161614‑1712131517‑18185
14th484Shaun Ritson CBSC13108171214(DNC)(DNC)(DNC)1413DNF1086171311187
15th500Frank McFarlaneKyle MercerCSC1216151416‑18131413‑199131313141318‑19206
16th1001Woo KearneyAdam McCulloughRNIYCDNS17OCS8(DNF)(DNC)151311151010161811‑201915214
17th1379Neill StrainJohn FergusonRNIYC161513(DNF)17198161618(RET)1112161616‑2016225
18th825Paul RobinsonS TolandCSC11141219191316151822RET(DNC)151110(DNC)(DNC)DNC241
19th1440Simon HutchinsonBen WilliamsRNIYC10131013188(DNC)(DNC)(DNC)8DNCDNCDNCDNCDNC10920244
20th840Neil CalvinRoger PerrotCSC141114161515(DNC)(DNC)(DNC)17615DNF1717DNCDNCDNC251
21st888Hammy Baker QYC(DNC)(DNC)(DNC)11331287DNCDNCDNCDNCDNCDNCDNCDNCDNC269
22nd941Fiona AtkinsonSteve AtkinsonCSC81216(DNC)(DNC)(DNC)DNCDNCDNC11RET16DNCDNCDNC121113270
23rd877William Finlay SSC(DNC)(DNC)(DNC)DNCDNCDNCDNCDNCDNC2014614715191517277
24th1245Neil Cody RNIYC(DNC)(DNC)(DNC)101412DNC17DNCDNCDNCDNCDNCDNCDNCDNCDNCDNC328

Related Articles

RS400 Eurocup early bird entry closes soon
Enter before 20th June 5pm to save The Royal North of Ireland Yacht Club, in association with Mercedes-Benz Belfast, is reminding all RS400 sailors that early bird entry for the RS400 Eurocup and UK & Irish National Championships closes in just ten days! Posted on 10 Jun
Exciting News from the RS400 Eurocup
Enter the prize draw to win a brand new spinnaker In association with Mercedes Benz Belfast we're excited to announce an exclusive prize draw to win a brand new RS400 spinnaker! Posted on 7 May
Mercedes-Benz to sponsor RS400 Eurocup
Including UK and Irish Nationals at Belfast Lough The Royal North of Ireland Yacht Club is delighted to announce that Mercedes-Benz of Northern Ireland, part of the Agnew Group, will be the title sponsor of the RS400 Eurocup and UK/Irish Nationals, set to take place on Belfast Lough in August 2025. Posted on 16 Apr
RNIYC GP14 Spring Series week 4
Spirits were lifted by the seasonal debut of Curly Morris in his brand new Duffin The weather gods were kind to all at Royal North of Ireland Yacht Club last Sunday for the GP14 Spring Series, treating us to much-needed blue skies, and a light but building westerly breeze. Posted on 12 Mar
RNIYC GP14 Spring Series week 3
A crisp and blustery day at the Royal North of Ireland YC A crisp and blustery day greeted sailors for the third weekend of the GP14 Spring Series 2025 hosted by Royal North of Ireland Y.C on the southern shores of Belfast lough on 2nd March. Posted on 4 Mar
RS400 Eurocup, UK and Irish Nationals Update
Notice of Race published for the event at Royal North of Ireland Yacht Club in August The RS400 Class Association, in collaboration with the Royal North of Ireland Yacht Club, is excited to announce the publication of the Notice of Race for the RS400 Eurocup and UK & Irish National Championships, taking place from 3rd to 8th August 2025. Posted on 28 Jan
Rockshore / Bosun Bobs RS400 Winter Series Overall
Final day called off with Force 10 winds being recorded on Belfast Harbour Sadly, the final day of racing was not to be. The forecast was for extreme wind, so it was called off the day before. On arrival at the club there was no doubt that this was the right call. Posted on 27 Dec 2024
Rockshore / Bosun Bobs RS400 Winter Series Week 7
Penultimate week brings classic winter racing conditions to Belfast Lough The penultimate week of the Rockshore Bosun Bobs RS400 Winter Series brought classic winter racing conditions to Belfast Lough. A steady 10–12 knots of breeze kept the 14-boat fleet on their toes, with occasional stronger gusts adding to the excitement. Posted on 16 Dec 2024
Rockshore / Bosun Bobs RS400 Winter Series Week 5
Thankfully all boats were found safe and well after Storm Bert The Bosun Bob's/Rockshore sponsored RS400 series resumed this Sunday at RNIYC Cultra after the loss of week 4 of the series to Storm Bert. Thankfully all boats were found safe and well where they had been tied down. Posted on 2 Dec 2024
Rockshore / Bosun Bobs RS400 Winter Series Week 3
Committee boat wastes no time in getting the black flag out Sunday 17th of November brought a cool NW 13-18kts. Gerry and his team set a perfect windward leeward and rattled off three races. Race1 was a general recall and the committee boat wasted no time in getting the black flag out. Posted on 18 Nov 2024
Barton Marine Pipe GlandsZhik 2024 DecemberV-DRY-X