Irish RS400 Inland Championship at Killaloe Sailing Club

Irish RS400 Inlands at Killaloe © Ryan Wilson

Irish RS400 Inlands at Killaloe © Ryan Wilson

William Findlay and Ben McMeekin during the Irish RS400 Inlands at Killaloe © Ryan Wilson

With the tail end of hurricane Lee sweeping the Island we saw numerous sailing events cancelled this weekend across Ireland. The team at Killaloe Sailing Club decided to go ahead as planned with the hope of getting some racing for the 33 boats entered across the three classes.

Saturday saw the fleet launch in 20kts of southerly breeze with the first race getting under way in strong but manageable conditions. Govan Berridge and David Coleman dominated the first race and held the lead throughout. Luke McIlwaine/Ryan Wilson and Chris Helme/Alan Claffey followed closely taking 2nd and 3rd.

Race two saw the wind increasing to survival conditions for the second lap, with the maximum gust recorded sitting at 38kts. A similar result sheet followed with Govan/David taking the win followed by Jocelyn Hill/Rowan Berry and Luke/Ryan.

Saturday evening commenced with news that racing would be moved forward an hour on Sunday to try and get 3 races in before the breeze built in the afternoon. The evening entertainment began with a BBQ, which saw a great attendance due to the majority of sailors camping on site. Later in the evening many enjoyed the rugby and stayed around until the early hours before retiring for an early start the next morning.

Sailors woke to a pleasant sunrise and winds of 12-15 kts. Race 3 saw an incident at the windward mark which removed Govan/David from the race following a protest. This meant Rob Hastings and Dan Sherriff (this time using a kite without missing panels!) were promoted to 1st place.

Luke/Ryan took the win in race 4 closely followed by Govan/David and Jocelyn/Rowan as they headed into the final race of the championship.

Race 5 saw the lightest conditions of the weekend as the heavens opened and the rain fell. Chris and Alan built an impressive lead over the fleet with Jocelyn/Rowan in 2nd and Dara McDonagh and Kevin Brazel in 3rd.

A closely fought championship saw Luke/Ryan take the win with Govan/David in 2nd and Jocelyn/Rowan 3rd with Jane McMeekin taking first masters.

Thanks to Killaloe Sailing Club for hosting a fantastic event and the 400 fleet look forward to returning in the future!

Overall Results:

Luke McIlwaine & Ryan Wilson win the Irish RS400 Inlands at Killaloe - photo © Robert Hastings