Portaferry pair on fire

Portaferry pair on fire

19 June 2013

KILLYLEAGH Yacht Club played host to the Flying Fifteen Southern Championship last weekend with 24 boats turning out to compete in the five race championship held in Strangford Lough.

The local fleet of 15 boats were joined by nine visiting yachts with sailors arriving from the National Yacht Club in Dublin Bay and Waterford Harbour Sailing Club.

And it was the locals who dominated with overall victory going to Shane McCarthy and Jeremy Rodgers, from Portaferry, in their brand new rocket ship, Final Fling.

Killyleagh pair Andrew McCleery and Colin Dougan took the runners-up spot and the brother-and-sister pairing of Peter Lawson and Jo Bridges brought more honours to Portaferry by finishing third, while Malcolm Crichton and William Findlay, who led overnight, having to settle for fourth.

Despite a forecast of light winds and cloud, the first race on Saturday started with a bang in strong winds and McCarthy and Rodgers romped around the course to take a commanding victory ahead Fflapping Eagle under Neil Logan and Barry Bridges who finished second.  Claiming a convincing third were National Yacht Club visitors Ian Matthews and Keith Poole in Grufflo.

Torrential downpours and massive wind shifts made life hard for race officer David Young and his team but eventually the second race got underway and McCleery and Dougan made their mark with a convincing first place.

Strangford Sailing Club claimed second and third place as Gerry Reilly and Patrick McMeekin in Over the Moon and Malcolm Crichton and William Findlay in Art Gekko were hot on their heels.

With yet another course change required, race three saw Lawson and Bridges in Friggit nip ahead of Crichton and Findlay to take line honours.

After the opening day’s sailing local boats who topped the table with Crichton and Findlay the overnight leaders ahead of McCarthy and Rodgers and Lawson and Bridges.

Sunday’s racing got off to a much finer start with light southerly winds filling in quickly along the Killyleagh shore.

A swap to the Olympic triangle course configuration suited the stalwart Strangford sailor Gerry Reilly to a tee and he claimed the first race well ahead of visitors, Niall Meagher and Nikki Matthews in The Big Bow Wow with McCleery and Dougan sliding into third.

With all to play for in the final race it was a visiting yacht who showed the locals how to do it, as Matthews and Poole in Grufflo nipped across the line in a close finish, pushing the ever consistent Final Fling into second place, with Too Fast n Furious claiming another third.

The consistency of their results saw McCarthy and Rodgers lift the cup.

In the silver Fleet, it was a Strangford Sailing Club victory for Philip and Anna Sandford in No Excuses, with the furthest travelling visitors, Charlie Boland and Andrew Paul, from Waterford, second and Oliver Curran and Tony Quail from Strangford SC third.

In the bronze fleet, the National Yacht Club lifted the first and third places, which went to Peter Murphy and Andy Marshall in Hi-Fibre and John O’Sullivan and Ken Ryan in The Last Resort respectively.  Splitting the difference in second was the evergreen Seamus Byers and his crew, Paula Mahon, from Portaferry in Sea You Later.

Despite the sometimes testing conditions, the event was an overall success and many thanks must go to local company Erindar and Down District Council for their very generous sponsorship.

Results: 1st Final Fling, Shane McCarthy and Jeremy Rodgers, PSC; 2nd Too Fast ‘n’ Furious, Andrew McCleery and Colin Dougan, KYC; 3rd Friggit, Peter Lawson and Jo Bridges, PSC.

Silver fleet: 1st No Excuses, Philip and Anna Sandford, SSC; 2nd Hard Currency, Charlie Boland and Andrew Paul, WHSC; 3rd Dreamcatcher, Oliver Curran and Tony Quail, SSC.

Bronze fleet: 1st Hi Fibre, Peter Murphy and Andy Marshall, NYC; 2nd Sea You Later, Seamus Byers and Paula Mahon, PSC, 3rd The Last Resort, John O’Sullivan and Ken Ryan, NYC.