RS Elite Irish National Championship at the Royal Ulster Yacht Club - Preview
by David Kelso 23 Aug 2019 02:16 PDT
24-25 August 2019
RS Elites in Belfast Lough © RS Elite Class Association
The Irish RS Elite fleet will be gathering in Belfast Lough this weekend to compete in the Charles Hurst, Jaguar Land Rover sponsored Irish Championship.
Based in Quay Marinas' Bangor Marina and hosted by Royal Ulster Yacht Club the fleet can look forward to competitive racing in the excellent sailing area a short hop from their berths.
Boats from Strangford Lough, Cultra and Lough Neagh are coming together to form the fleet - the furthest travelled being Swallow (John McRobert) from Ballyronan Boat Club.
Leading contenders are likely to be Brian Corry (Tuppence) from Strangford Lough YC following a good performance at the UK Nationals in Dun Laoghaire where he won two races. Local boat Storm (Stephen Polly) from RUYC/BYC tends to be towards the front of the fleet with a number of boats from Royal North of Ireland Yacht Club always capable of winning races. Most notable being Simon Brien with a number of National Championships in both the RS Elite & Dragon Class to his credit.
Jeff Ralston (Upfront) has pulled a good crew together and is likely to improve on his performance in Dun Laoghaire where he acquitted himself well despite sailing shorthanded - two up.
There will be six races under the watchful eye of Race Officer Colin Loughead and his team.
A Class Dinner has been arranged for the Saturday night together with the essential drinks promotion beforehand ensuring a great night will be had by all.