Willowbrook Foods Flying Fifteen British Championship at Strangford Lough Yacht Clu

Flying Fifteen British Championship 2018 at Strangford Lough © Simon McIlwaine / www.wavelengthimage.com

Strangford Lough YC in Northern Ireland hosted the Willowbrook Foods 2018 Flying Fifteen British Championships from 27th-30th June, which also incorporated the Irish Flying Fifteen Northern Championship.

The class hadn't visited Strangford Lough for some 18 years but by the end of the event the superb scenery of the venue, plus the even better hospitality of the host club, had us all vowing to come back much more quickly next time – and that was despite us managing to complete only a single day of racing!

On the first day of the event the strong fleet of 50 boats was poised and ready to race, and we even had a BBC camera crew in attendance to record the action – but unfortunately, with barely a breath of wind, there was never a question of the boats even launching so our moment of TV fame on the evening news became combined with a feature about Belfast Zoo struggling to keep their elephants cool in the hot weather. (Actually, that's being unkind – they dedicated a lengthy section on the show to the Flying Fifteens, including the ubiquitous interview with Steve Goacher – that man always manages to get himself in front of a camera...)

Flying Fifteen British Championship 2018 at Strangford Lough - photo © Simon McIlwaine / www.wavelengthimage.com

The second day again dawned with cloudless skies, zero wind and 30-degree temperatures, and again the fleet didn't launch. The club worked very hard to keep everyone entertained though, including organizing a bunch of members to take visitors on guided tours around the lough in a variety of craft, plus hiring a fleet of kayaks for further exploring and putting-on a movie night in the clubhouse. Cycling, swimming, golfing, Guinness-drinking and Titanic-museum-visiting were also the order of the day – all told it was turning out to be a very pleasant holiday for everyone concerned, sailing or no sailing.

Flying Fifteen British Championship 2018 at Strangford Lough - photo © Simon McIlwaine / www.wavelengthimage.com

Conditions were forecast to improve though, and on the third day the fleet did at last launch and for a while it looked like a race would be possible - but then the glassy-calm returned and the spirit of the Mary Celeste overtook a number of boats in the waiting fleet as fully-rigged Flying Fifteens became swimming platforms in the middle of the lough.

By the third day of the event the competitors had apparently already managed to drink the club bar dry on no less than three occasions – now though, with a decent wind forecast for the final day of the event and with the sailing instructions amended to allow a 9am start on the following morning, after another superb meal organized by the club people retired to bed relatively early.

Flying Fifteen British Championship 2018 at Strangford Lough - photo © Simon McIlwaine / www.wavelengthimage.com

The forecast held true and three 45 minute races were held in a good steady breeze on the final day. The no-discards all-or-nothing nature of the sailing now put added pressure on those at the front of the fleet, with a number of big names counting OCSs and UFDs in their overall results. The first race was won by Greg Wells and Andrew Jameson from Hayling Island SC, with current World Champions Steve Goacher and Tim Harper from Royal Windermere second and the Irish boat of David Gorman and Chris Doorly in third. Goacher & Harper went one better in the second race, winning from another Royal Windermere boat – that of Nigel and Gavin Tullet – in second place, and Ian Pinnell and Paul Busby from Northampton SC in third.

Flying Fifteen British Championship 2018 at Strangford Lough - photo © Simon McIlwaine / www.wavelengthimage.com

By this time another even-the-good-guys-make-mistakes factor was become apparent as a handful of boats, including top contenders such as Ian Cadwallader and Ellie Deveraux, fell foul of a rule in the sailing instructions that forbade boats from passing through the newly-set finish line whilst sailing downwind on the run.

The final race saw Goacher & Harper again take the victory, followed on this occasion by David Tabb and Chewey Sherrell from Parkstone YC and the consistent Wells & Jameson.

Flying Fifteen British Championship 2018 at Strangford Lough - photo © Simon McIlwaine / www.wavelengthimage.com

Overall then it was decisive victory for Steve Goacher and Tim Harper, who won so much silverware that it needed its own table at the prize-giving. Second overall was class stalwarts Greg Wells and Andrew Jameson, with relative newcomers Ian Pinnell and Paul Busby in third. First Irish boat, and therefore also winners of the Irish Northerns, was David Gorman and Chris Doorly in fourth overall.

Flying Fifteen British Championship 2018 at Strangford Lough - photo © Simon McIlwaine / www.wavelengthimage.com

So, with the fleet packing-up immediately after racing to catch various ferries home, all talk in the dinghy park was of what fantastic scenery and hospitality Strangford Lough YC had provided, with everyone having thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience despite the unprecedented loss of three days of sailing. We all appreciate the effort it takes for a smaller club especially to put on a major championship event, and SLYC and it's members did the job superbly. Huge thanks too to the main sponsors Willowbrook Foods, and the prize sponsors Goacher Sails and Hyde Sails.

Overall Results:
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Flying Fifteen British Championship 2018 at Strangford Lough - photo © Simon McIlwaine / www.wavelengthimage.com