The first provincial regatta of the 2024 Irish Flying Fifteen season saw the fleet congregate in what has become, in a very short space of time, a very popular venue. In 2022, a small group of Dun Laoghaire Flying Fifteens headed west to sample the sailing waters of the west coast in a new venue in Galway as a trial regatta.
Competitors enjoyed a superb welcome with very warm hospitality over the two days, both at the regatta venue with teas, coffees, soup, a food van on the Saturday morning and sandwiches on Sunday afternoon and at a meal in a local pub on the Saturday night. This prompted a decision to take the Western Championships to the same venue in 2023 and this weekend past the trick was repeated.
Competitors who were able to get to Sruthan Pier on the Friday evening were afforded an opportunity to have a sail on a Galway Hooker, owned by the 2023 National Champion crew, Ronan O’Briain and a good number of Fifteeners availed of the opportunity on what looked like (from the WhatsApp photos) a glorious evening followed by a BBQ on the pier. The camaraderie continued into the evening and early morning for some with stories of taste buds and senses being treated to new experiences and tastes that some had forgotten.
Flying Fifteen crews enjoy sailing a Galway Hooker off Sruthan Pier, Connemara, Photo: Peter Murphy
Saturday morning wasn’t quite as glorious with overcast skies and an adverse forecast that suggested strong winds of 20 knots and gusts in the high twenties (XCWeather). With a mid-afternoon start and only two races planned, due to the tide, the midday forecast from Met Eireann was foreboding – Force 6 to 7 moderating later with showers. In short time the showers arrived and there was whistling in the rigging, but by the time the regatta briefing was undertaken by Brian Mathews (Dun Laoghaire), the wind appeared to have abated and the decision to race proceeded.
2024 Irish Flying Fifteen Western Championship results
Racing took place just outside the bay into which we launched and two Windward-Leeward races were sailed in quick time. A number of the fleet decided that discretion was the better part of valour and didn’t go out, but those who did enjoyed winds that were around the 18-knot mark with gusts that got up to 23 knots in the first race, won by a very comfortable margin by Shane MacCarthy & Hugh McNally (4116). Behind them there was tight racing in the front group of Lee Statham & Andy Paul (4070), Niall & Ronan O’Briain, the 2023 National Champions, club mates Dermot Flaherty & Joe McDonagh (4083) and the newest boat in the Irish fleet, Andrew McCleery & Colin Dougan’s 4120. Just behind this group were the NYC’s Tom Galvin & Cormac Bradley (3757), with Niall Meagher & Keith Poole snapping at their heels.
Race 2 was a much tighter affair with the National Champions and MacCarthy & McNally keeping close company with each other. And the chasing group was tighter as well as being bigger with membership of that group shared by Statham, Flaherty, Galvin, Court, Meagher and
Peter Kennedy & Stephen Kane (3920) a surprise member but better off than race 1 in which they recorded a DNF. For this race, the wind moderated to 15/16 knots with the gusts in the low twenties.
With two races down, the first two boats, MacCarthy & McNally and the O’Briains were tied, each with a 1,2 with the top spot going to the local boat on the basis of winning the second race. O’Flaherty & McDonagh were third (3,3) with Statham & Paul 4th (5,4) while McCleery & Dougan were tied on 11pts (4,7) with Galvin & Bradley (6,5).
The plan after racing was to reconvene at our dining venue, An Realt (The Star) in close proximity to where we had launched. Some admitted to using the intervening period to have a snooze – justified by the physical exertions of the day on the water and the lateness of the previous night.
A majority turnout of the competitors and organisers enjoyed a good night with a two-course meal, spirited post-mortems of the day and lots of craic! Some people made declarations of getting away early from the pub, but such was the atmosphere that a lot of those ambitions went astray.
Sunday, with a programme of three races, and a start time of 11:55, came about as a grey sky, slightly less wind with a change of direction, to the west. That necessitated a new sailing area, slightly further out to sea which also accommodated a larger course while sticking with the Windward-Leeward configuration. The timetable for the day, three races, put some pressure on the Race Officer but he allowed the first race to start under a conventional “P” Flag. However, the fleet reciprocated by going over the line early so a General Recall was signalled.
The subsequent start was under a “U” Flag and that flag was also used for the subsequent two starts, for races four and five.
MacCarthy consolidated his spot at the head of the fleet with two wins in Races 3 and 4. But to prove he didn’t have it all his own way, in one of these he had to come back from being fourth at the first weather mark. By the first leeward mark he had attained leadership of the race and never let it go.
The more moderate weather, combined with sunshine, prompted a full turnout of the fleet and to be expected some others had sorted out the “wrinkles” of the previous day to have a more meaningful presence at the head of the fleet. Most notable of these were Messrs Kennedy & Kane who scored two second places ahead of the O’Briains who scored two third places. The symmetry of places extended to Statham & Paul who scored two fourth places. Thereafter, it went askew with Flaherty & McDonagh scoring 7,5. Galvin, McCleery each scored an eighteen in race five with McCleery having terminal damage to a main and Galvin getting a letter score rather than a number score. Meagher & Court consolidated positions in the overall pecking order by having a two-race performance that was marginally better than the two races of Saturday. Neil Colin & Margaret Casey’s regatta came to a premature end with a broken shroud in race 3.
Kennedy and Kane won the day’s honours with a 2,2,1 to MacCarthy & McNally’s 1,1,4 and the O’Briains’ 3,3,2. It was enough to get them onto the podium for the overall regatta, behind MacCarthy & McNally and the O’Briains.
Niall Meagher & Keith Poole won the Silver fleet ahead of Alastair Court & Conor O’Leary. The Bronze fleet prize went to locals Mairtin O’Flaharta & Maidh O’hOibicin (3686).
FFC asked Cormac Bradley to present the Ben Mulligan Memorial prize to the youngest participant in the regatta – that went to Breandan McDonnacha (crew 3621).
Sruthan Pier, venue for the Flying Fifteen Westerns 2020, by Stephen Kane
Another fantastic weekend of hospitality and camaraderie had come to an end with great racing under the management of Brian Mathews and a local team of helpers. Flying Fifteen Chonamara have a wonderful community approach to this regatta, wives and partners all get involved, the chef who catered the Saturday night meal was back on the pier on Sunday afternoon with sandwiches and soup after racing and Class Captain Mike Hopkins (Maidh o’hOibicin) was offering cool “refreshments” to competitors from a cool box. The prize-giving on the pier was awash with the enthusiasm of the FFC members present.
