J/24 Irish Northerns at Carrickfergus Sailing Club

The 'Scandal' team of Andrew Algeo, Ben Cooke, Craig Mitchell, Laura Fitzpatrick and Emma Lovegrove narrowly win the Irish J/24 Northerns © Nigel Fitzpatrick

14 boats with 70 sailors from 7 clubs were at Carrickfergus Sailing Club for the Irish J/24 Northern Championship sponsored by Whiterock Yachts on 30 & 31 July.

Defending Champion, Andrew Algeo with Ben Cooke in Scandal from Royal St George Yacht Club, barely held on against remarkably strong challenges from David Taylor and Paul Barbour’s Taz of the host club, second overall, with a tie on total points and on race scores broken only by results in the last race, and from Stefan Hyde of Royal Cork YC in Ray Deasy’s Carabeg, RStGYC, very closely third overall. Carabeg’s team also won the Kinnego Plate for best old Westerly built boat competing.

In five of the seven races sailed, these three boats shared first second and third places in tight close battles among keen J/24 teams, in top form on windward-leeward courses set off historic Carrickfergus Castle, in a north east wind 15 to 15 knots, by race officer Jim Shields. Calm delayed Sunday’s racing, but a nice breeze came just in time in for a spanking final race, seventh of eight planned. The top three had close racing company with eager starts, crowded mark roundings, and most of the fleet finishing within just a few minutes after an hour’s racing.

Fourth prize, another Whiterock Yachts Plate, went to James Byrne in Gossip from Dundalk and Carlingford SC. Race prizes, each a cut glass goblet, went to fifth overall, Richard O’Connor in J-Spot, RStGYC, third in race seven, and to sixth overall, club-mate Desmond Fortune in Hard on Port, winner of the final race. Others went to Joey Kelly in Murder Picture, from Lough Erne YC, second in race six, Tim Sheard, in Europe’s first J/24, Jay Kay, built 1978, Lough Neagh SC, fourth in races five and six, and to next best Westerly, Robin Eagleson’s Luder Too, also LNSC.

This was the fourth of six events in Ireland’s busy J/24 keelboat circuit, and the first ever J/24 Championship on Belfast Lough in over a quarter century of J/24 racing by Ireland’s most important international keelboat fleet. Forthcoming events include the 26th National Championship in August, the J/24 World Championship in Britain in September, where selected Irish helms include some who sailed at Carrickfergus, Andrew Algeo, David Taylor, and perhaps Stefan Hyde.

Sailing’s world governing body, the International Sailing Federation, recently announced that the finals of its 2006 ISAF Nations Cup, a world-wide match racing competition, will be in Ireland,, hosted by the Royal Cork YC, and sailed in J/24s. Ireland’s J/24s are part of the world’s most widespread and numerous keelboat class, with J/24s in most yachting nations and local fleets everywhere, including, hopefully, yet another on Belfast Lough after this J/24 Championship.

J/24s are one-design so that the boats being the same, success depends only on crew team skills. They are 24 feet long, designed by Rod Johnstone, an American of Ulster descent, hence J/24. With fin keel and real spinnaker, a J/24 keeps her crew of five men and women all busy in superb team sport. Over 40 of Ireland’s sixty-four J/24s take some part in the six J/24 Championships. J/24s are much less costly to own and maintain to top racing standard than any similar boat, local or international. This has helped sustain their long standing popularity in Britain and Ireland.