Irish Multihull Nationals at Galway Bay Sailing Club

This, the 40th Anniversary year of the Irish Multihull Association, saw a strong fleet of 41 boats line up for the National Championships at Galway Bay SC. Boats and competitors arrive from North, South and East to join the incumbent Western fleet.

The Hurricane 5.9 was of the largest of the individual fleets, followed closely by the F18's, Dart 16 and Dart 18s. In the Handicap fleet, the Spitfires were the predominant boat with a mixture of Hobie 16s and Rob Doyle in his 'A' class.

A pattern emerged across all the classes, which reflected both the training, club racing and international competition that has gone on, during the season. The Swords Sailing and Boating club dominated the Hurricane 5.9 racing, the Royal Cork Yacht Club dominated the Formula 18 ISAF class and Galway Bay sailing club did likewise in the Dart 16 Class, with no outsiders in the medal slots.

The race officer, Ken Atkinson, got all three races off on Saturday with superb efficiency, in a mix of light winds through to strong twin wiring conditions on the last race; there was something to suit all crew weights. As usual, Galway bay provided plenty of waves and swell to keep things exciting.

Sunday started off a rather frustrating day with thick fog and no wind. At midday, when the fog burnt off there was still no sign of the wind, leaving the officials little choice but to abandon the 2nd days racing, for some this brought shouts of joy and for others tears, as all that was needed for some was one more good result to change positions (isn’t that always the way).

Jim Sheeran RCYC after 31 years of sailing in the multihull class finally took a gold medal in the very competitive Formula 18 class, along with crew David Mc Gowan.

In the Hurricane class, Simon and Anne O'Gorman followed up their competitive performance at the U.K. Hurricane Nationals with a 1,2 and 3 and victory in their class. Elaine and David Taylor were unlucky on Saturday to miss the 1st race due to gear failure, but followed up with a 2nd and a 1st in the increasing wind. However they could not discard the DNS when Sundays racing was abandoned and ended up out of the medals.

A Youth attendance was also evident in the ISAF selected Hobie 16 multihull with spinnaker, the fleet looks promising for the 2005 season.

Hosting two events on one weekend, is no easy task, Galway Bay SC pulled it off in style, accommodating the Laser II fleet as well. Camping space was at a premium, but no one was left without a spot. The breakfast and dinner menu was packed with variety and the second dinghy parking section went down a treat. Sponsors Mc Swiggans Bar and Smirnoff vodka will not be forgotten as the 40th Anniversary T-Shirts are now spread across the country. Roll on 2005 season.

RESULTS
Hurricane 5.9
1st Simon O’Gorman & Anne O’ Gorman
2nd Stephen Duffy & Garry Duffy
3rd David Biddulph & Dave Hartley
All boats Swords Sailing & Boating club

Formula 18 (Hobie Tiger & Dart Hawks)
1st Jim Sheeran & David McGowan
2nd Jimmy Nyhan & Marita Buwalda
3rd Adam Mc Carthy & Mark Donnegan
All boats Royal Cork Yacht Club

Dart 16
1st Tim Breen & Anthony Murphy
2nd Ronan Greealish & Eamon Beatty
3rd Kevin O’ Byrne & Killian Lally
All boats Galway Bay SC

Dart 18
1st Garry Mangan & Irene Hogan Blessington SC
2nd Brian Murphy & Annette Murphy Blessington SC
3rd Simon Griffin & Jonathan Griffin Lough Erne YC

Mixed – Handicap Fleet (Spitfires / Hobie 16’s / A-Class)
1st Kevin Boyd & Rathnaid Long Spitfire KYC & RCYC
2nd Neil Mangan & Jenny Wallace Spitfire Blessington SC & RCYC
3rd AJ Lawrence & Carl Smith Spitfire Blessington SC

For full results coming shortly at: www.catamaran.ie