Dinghy series at Killyleagh

Dinghy series at Killyleagh

12 October 2016

DESPITE a decimated Topper fleet, with the squad sailors called to training, the DieHard Dinghy Series continued at Killyleagh Yacht Club on Saturday with 16 sailors taking to the water to compete in two races in steady, if light, easterly winds. 

In the dinghy handicap class, last week’s winning helm was missing from the fleet. However, Gordon Reid’s RS Quest still retained the overall lead, despite a third and fourth place, under a hired gun, in this week’s racing.

With an excellent handicap and good tactics to boot, Bryan and Nina Monson were hard to beat in their Miracle, Soggy Bottom, taking two firsts on corrected time.

Having moved up to an RS200 this year, Catherine Pooler and Anna Wilson put in a good performance to claim a second and third on their first day at the event, while Laura Hampton in a Pico stuck with her much faster rivals to take a second place in race two. 

Killyleagh’s Adam Morrison, racing uncontested this week, extended his lead nicely at the top of the 4.7 fleet and is now sitting six points ahead of his nearest rival, SLYC’s Fergal Mooney.

And KYC did equally well in the highly competitive Laser Radial fleet, with Angus Ferris landing two firsts, moving him to the top of the leader board ahead of last week’s leader, Paul McMeekin.  A third and fourth place leave McMeekin in second overall, ahead of younger brother Ben in third.

On her first day at the event, Olivia Mooney, the only female in the fleet, put in a sterling performance to take a second in race one. However, an overly enthusiastic start in race two, left her OCS, despite powering around the course ahead of the rest.

With three boats at squad training, Anna Rose Kelly led throughout the day in the Topper fleet to take two firsts, putting her well clear at the top of the table.

Aimee Cushley’s second and fourth place were enough to move her into second overall, while the absent Colin Crichton remains in third. 

On her first day at the event, Sara Kelly made her mark with a second and third place and she is currently nipping on the heels of the leaders, just one point behind Crichton in fourth place.

Although some large leads are forming early in the event, with three weeks and six races still to go, and two discards to be applied, the top spots in all fleets are still open for the taking. 

Overall results to date are as follows:

Dinghy Handicap: 1st RS Quest, Gordon Reid, 9 points; 2nd Soggy Bottom, Nina and Bryan Monson, 10 points 3rd Wingbeat, Catherine Pooler and Anna Wilson, 15 points.

Laser 4.7: 1st Adam Morrison, 4 points; 2nd Fergal Mooney, 10 points.

Laser Radial: 1st Angus Ferris, 6 points; 2nd Paul McMeekin, 10 points; 3rd Ben McMeekin, 12 points.

Topper: 1st Anna Rose Kelly, 8 points; 2nd Aimee Cushley, 16 points; 3rd Colin Crichton, 20 points.