Please select your home edition
Edition
Leaderboard FD July August September 2023

RS400 & RS200 Northern Championships at Strangford Sailing Club

by Barry McCartin 19 May 2023 17:45 AEST 6-7 May 2023
RS400 Northern Championships at Strangford, Northern Ireland © SSC

On the weekend of 6/7th May, a total of 28 RS400s and RS200s gathered at Strangford SC in Co. Down for the RS Northern Championships, the second event of the year on the calendar with furthest travelled from Killaloe in Co. Clare. Fortunately for fleet, they were met with sunshine, 10 knots of Southerly breeze and an incredibly warm welcome from the host club.... Bacon sandwiches included!

Several stalwarts of the class dusted off their boats after a long winter under covers, while others have been out training/racing more regularly. As there have also been a few new boats and personnel coming into the fleet, it was sure to be a competitive championship. Fresh from a win with "all firsts" at the RS Westerns, Luke McIlwaine/Ryan Wilson were sure to be in the mix, Stephen McLernon had upgraded his ship now sailing with Edwina Ternan and feeling confident while never discount "old dog" Liam Donnelly/Rick Mc Caig.

As it was to turn out, multiple boats showed impressive speed over the weekend. Relative newcomers to the fleet of Dan Sheriff/ Dan Corbett also impressed. Except for a windward capsize on the start line during Sundays racing, (captured in a Google photo reel by the way), one would have thought this pair had been sailing the boat for years!

Race officer, Gerry Reilly from the Host Club Strangford Sailing Club and his team did an impressive job operating with an oscillating Southerly breeze in 8-12 knots both days making for exciting racing conditions. Strong tides and overly keen racers knowing that every inch on startline counts in this fleet made for the early introduction of the Black flag, which quickly put manners on the 26-boat RS400 fleet.

With shifty conditions and large tidal variations across the course, it was a "snakes and ladders" sort of day. It was extremely close racing at the top and after 4 races on Day 1 (3 to count) put Luke McIlwaine (Newcastle sailing club) and Ryan Wilson (Carrickfergus sailing club) in first place overnight (1,2,16,1). They were closely followed by super consistency of Stephen McLernon/ Edwina Ternan of Carrickfergus (4,1,3,2) and Govan Berridge/ David Coleman of Killaloe in third (5,3,5,3) with 2 races still planned for Sunday.

Following Saturday racing, there was beautiful evening sunshine, multiple debriefs and topics over cold beers and a BBQ hosted by Strangford sailing club. This once again reminded all the competitors how lucky they were to have been welcomed to such an incredible location. Many camped onsite as well, keeping the fun going.

Sunday provided very similar racing conditions to Saturday, with a shifty southerly Breeze, big tides and startlines playing a part once again. Race 5 the top 2 finished in that order with Simon Hutchison/Ben Williams in 3rd place. That being said going into the last race of the championship there was everything to play for for the overall title in Race 6.

Right from the final race start, Liam Donnelly/ Rick McCaig finished the series with a now trademark Donnelly pin-end start and subsequently the race win....Not bad for an old sea dog. Followed in 2nd by Govan/David and the Purdon brothers in 3rd. Notably the top two in the series were not in the leading bunch as a match race ensued right from the start between McLernon/ Ternan (after some careful maths) and McIlwaine/ Wilson as they held each other to mid 20s around the first windward mark.

However, testament to their incredible speed all weekend, McIlwaine/ Wilson did start making their way back up the fleet (much to the worry of the other boat) coming back to finish with a score of an 8th on their scorecard. Incredibly though, this was only one point off that which was needed to secure the championship, so in the end the title went to Stephen McLernon/ Edwina Ternan of Carrickfergus Sailing club successfully overturning them in the last race.

In the RS200s, Jocelyn Hill/Emily Hill and Martin Dews came in the top 2 after some close racing over 6 races. On the same weekend the RS Feva fleet had a mega turnout of 26 boats in Dunlaoghaire so things are promising thus far in RS fleets in Ireland.

The next event for the RS fleet is the big event of the year "RS FEST" in Blessington Sailing Club on 23-25th June, which is to cater for all RS400, 200, Feva, Aeros with camping onsite, activities and BBQ nearby at Avon RI. With even more boats expected to be there including 10 or more from Greystones SC, Dublin, Cork and more, it promises to be an incredible event both on and off the water. Entries open now at www.rsireland.com/rs-fest

Related Articles

ULTIM® Class presents its race programme
Ambitious sporting programme for the next four seasons Synonymous with excellence and innovation in the world of ocean racing, the ULTIM® Class presents an ambitious sport programme for the next four seasons, alternating single-handed, double-handed and crewed races. Posted today at 7:49 am
Hannah Mills OBE to share carbon footprint success
At World Sailing Sustainability Session Great Britain's most successful female Olympic sailor and strategist for Emirates GBR SailGP Team, Hannah Mills OBE, will headline as guest speaker at World Sailing's upcoming Sustainability Session on renewable energy in the sport. Posted on 8 May
iQFOiL Youth & Junior International Games day 3
Intense competition on Lake Garda: 30 course races today, 5 for each fleet Racing intensified on Day 3 of the iQFOiL Youth & Junior International Games on Lake Garda, as more stable conditions finally allowed a full program of racing. Posted on 8 May
Transat Paprec Day 19 - hours from the finish
The first boats are expected to arrive in the middle or late part of the night in Saint Barthélemy In less than 24 hours, we'll know the winner, the podium, and the full rankings of this incredible Transat Paprec. As they battle through a windless zone that's capturing everyone's attention, the competitors know that anything is still possible. Posted on 8 May
Stop Guessing, Start Winning
The Ultimate Cheat Sheet for Fast Rig Settings You know the boats that kept finishing ahead of you last season? They're not faster. They're just better at repeating what works. Posted on 8 May
SW108 Kiboko 4 wins Sailing Superyacht of the Year
At the 20th edition of the Boat International World Superyacht Awards Southern Wind Australia and New Zealand is thrilled to announce that the SW108 Kiboko 4has been awarded both the "Sailing Yacht" category win and the prestigious title of "Sailing Yacht of the Year" at the Boat International World Superyacht Awards. Posted on 8 May
Henri-Lloyd Dynamic Lite Jacket
Will it become your new favourite jacket? We all have that one favourite jacket, which no matter what the weather or where you're going, it's the one you pick out above everything else. The new Dynamic Lite Jacket from Henri-Lloyd is set to become the new fave jacket. Posted on 8 May
Tshcüss 2 eyes Transatlantic Race line honors
The competitors will cover a distance of approximately 3,000 miles Many people find comfort in the familiar. Not Christian Zugel, who spent his youth in landlocked southern Germany, but discovered, late in life, a passion for blue-water ocean racing. Posted on 8 May
2025 44Cup Porto Cervo Preview
Back up to 11 teams for the first time since 2016 With the RC44 fleet now safely returned from the Caribbean, competition on the 44Cup resumes again next week with the second event of the 2025 season taking place in the Italian sailing mecca of Porto Cervo. Posted on 8 May
World Foiling Congress 2025
Foiling industry aligns on certification framework After a successful debut in 2024, the World Foiling Congress returns to Genova on May 20th as the global reference event for the foiling industry — a full day dedicated to insight, exchange, and strategic vision for the future of waterborne mobility. Posted on 8 May
Boat Books Australia FOOTERCyclops Marine 2023 November - FOOTERRolly Tasker Sails 2023 FOOTER