WOW! What an event! Fair play to Regatta Director Paddy Boyd and the amazing VDLR team for putting on an amazing show. It was the breeziest event I remember in Ireland for a long time. There were many, many tired and sore bodies every evening after racing and perhaps a few delicate heads in the morning too!
I was racing in the red-hot 23-boat IRC 1 division on "Blast On Chimaera" with Barry Cunningham and his great team. It was the second biggest fleet and effectively very tight one-design racing. We were racing with our 2017/2018/2019 sails which are still FAST against many boats with newer gear. It is very satisfying to see the longevity of our North Sails kit.
As we all know, sailing is a game of "ifs, buts and maybes"! We missed the finish mark in race one whilst lying 3rd - necessitating hoisting the jib, dropping the kite and re-finishing in 13th. This cost us 10 points and a certain 2nd overall. C'est la vie - excuses, excuses............here is a pic of us going upwind with our 2018 North Sails 3Di Main and Code 2 jib. There is only one person not hiking - ME!
"Chimaera" hammering upwind with her North Sails 2017 3Di mainsail and 2018 Code 2 jib - Photo: Shona Gibson
My colleague Nigel Young was racing on the magnificent Elliott 57 "Opal" in the offshore class. Here is what Nigel had to say............
For this year I had the pleasure of sailing with Frank Whelan on his new Elliot 57 Opal. This was my first experience sailing a canting keel yacht and I really hope it's not my last. This boat can generate some serious power and we really had fun sailing her on the Offshore course. Conditions for the weekend were amazing and it was really special to have three days sailing in such strong winds.......Congratulations to all the North clients that found the podium this weekend; you know who you are!
Shane Hughes, the third member of our team was racing on "Snapshot" in IRC 1 - finishing a fabulous 2nd overall.............Shane and his team were also burning the midnight oil, especially on the Friday night, repairing and servicing over 30 sails successfully.
Shane onboard "Snapshot" en route to 2nd overall in IRC 1 - the biggest fleet in 2023 VDRL - flying her North Sails 3Di Main and Code 2 jib - Photo: Michael Chester
Here are a few words from Shane..........
What a great event! First and foremost, well done to the organisers and the race teams for running it in challenging conditions. I sailed with Mike and Richie Evans and the great team on Snapshot in Class 1. The competition there was intense with so many boats. John Minnis, Gareth Flannigan and the whole team on Final Call 2 deserve great credit for dominating the results and showing great consistency all week. We were delighted to take the final race win and finish in second place overall after a great tussle with White Mischief, Joker 2 and Chimaera over the weekend. Quite aside from that, I would like to give a big thanks to Niall Paskins and Paul Keal who worked with me in the overnight service, helping to keep as many boats going as we could. There were a few late nights!
The regatta was a fantastic success for our great customers and sailing friends across all the fleets. Here are the North Sails-powered podium results in order of class size...........well done everyone!
Offshore Class (25 boats competed)
"Checkmate XX" surfing into the finish flying her North Sails NPL Tour mainsail and 3Di Code 3 jib - Photo: Robert Bateman
1. "Checkmate" - Beneteau First 50 - David Cullen and Nigel Biggs - North Sails
2. "El Gran Senor" - J122e - Jonathan Anderson - North Sails
3. "Mojito" - J109 - Vicki Cox & Peter Dunlop - North Sails
IRC 1 (22 boats competed)
A dominant performance! A35 "Final Call" flying her North Sails 3Di mainsail and HELIX Code 2 jib - Photo: Afloat
1. "Final Call" - Archambault 35 - John Minnis - North Sails
2. "Snapshot" - J99 - Mike & Richie Evans - North Sails
3. "White Mischief" - Timothy & Richard Goodbody - North Sails
Flying Fifteen (19 boats competed)
2. Phil Lawton & Neil O'Hagan - North Sails*
IRC 2 (17 boats competed)
1. "Swuzzlebubble" - Farr Half-tonner - Jameseee & Dave Dwyer - North Sails
2. "Lambay Rules" - J97 - Stephen Quinn - North Sails
3. "Jeneral Lee" - J97 - Colin Kavanagh - North Sails
Water Wag One-Design Class (15 boats competed)
Sean Craig & Heather King winning the Water Wag class in Puffin - Photo: Afloat
1. "Puffin" - Seán Craig & Heather King - North Sails
IRC 3 (13 boats competed)
2. "Snoopy" - Joubert/Nivelt Quarter Tonner - Martin Mahon & Joanne Hall - North Sails
3. "Illegal" - Ceccerelli Quarter Tonner - Kieran Dorgan - North Sails
Beneteau First 211 One-Design (11 boats competed)
1. Yikes - Joe Smyth - North Sails
2. Chinook - Andrew Bradley - North Sails
3. Bees Wing - Pat Shannon - North Sails
Dragon One-Design (13 boats competed)
1. "Phantom" - Neil Hegarty, Emma, Hilary & Emma Williams - North Sails
2. "Little Fella" - Cameron Good, Simon Furney & Henry Kingston - North Sails
3. "Sir Ossis Of The River" - Denis & Joseph Bergin & Rory Byrne - North Sails
Fireball One-Design (13 Boats Competed)
Josh Porter & Cara McDowell smashing it flying North Sails - Photo: Afloat
1. Josh Porter & Cara McDowell - North Sails
J80 One-Design (12 boats competed)
4th overall - Jonathan Craig and Stephen Day flying their brand new MR-5 complete with North Sails graphics - Photo: Michael Chester
1. "Ram Jam" - Austin Kenny - North Sails
2. "Family affair" - Owen Laverty - North Sails
3. "Joint Custody" - Hugh Blaney - North Sails
Sigma 33 One-Design - 10 Boats
"Insider" flying her North Sails Norlon 75 class spinnaker and 3Di OCEAN 330 mainsail - Photo: Afloat
1. "Insider" - Stephen Mullaney - North Sails
2. "Leaky Roof 2" - Alan Harper - North Sails
3. "Squawk" - Paul Prentice - North Sails
IRC 0 (9 boats competed)
"Rockabill" flying her North Sails 2018 mainsail and 2023 Code 2 jib - Photo: Michael Chester
1. Rockabill VI - JPK 1080 - Paul O'Higgins - North Sails*
2. "Searcher" - Jeanneau Sunfast 3600 - Pete Smyth - North Sails
3. "Prima Forte" - Beneteau First 40 - Patrick Burke/Seán Lemass/Fergus Rigley - North Sails*
Beneteau First 31.7 One-Design (9 boats competed)
Levante flying her 3Di Mainsail and light-medium No. 1 genoa.jpg
"Levante" flying her North Sails 3Di mainsail & No. 1 genoa - Photo: Maurice O'Connell / North Sails
2. "Levante" - Michael Leahy & John Power - North Sails
3. "After U Too" - Michael Blaney - North Sails*
Non-Spinnaker 1 (8 boats competed)
2. "White Pearl" - Elan 333 - David Greene*
IDRA 14 (8 boats competed)
3. "Dart" - Piere & Yves Paul Rémy Long - North Sails
Non-Spinnaker 2 (7 boats competed)
2. "Menapia" - James McSweeney - North Sails
Cape 31 (6 boats competed)
2. "Tokoloshe" - Mike & Dave Bartholomew - North Sails
3. "Katabatic" - Lance Adams - North Sails
Roll on Calves Week Regatta in early August, everyone - another highlight of the sailing calendar!
Sail FAST.
Your North Sails Ireland team - Nigel, Shane and me, Prof.
Maurice O'Connell
