Brewin Dolphin RS Elite Irish Nationals at the Royal North Of Ireland Yacht Club - Preview
by Gerry Reid 24 Aug 2022 19:30 BST
27-28 August 2022
RS Elite 56 Upfront on the way to winning the 2019 RS Elite Irish Nationals © S Douglas
The Brewin Dolphin RS Elite Irish Nationals is hosted this weekend at the Royal North Of Ireland Yacht Club, incorporating the Squib McMillan Shield.
It's being a busy year for the local elite Fleet, with many of them having travelled to England for various events, culminating in the Brewin Dolphin RS Elite International Grand Prix in Cowes, with 43 boats on the Start line. The Irish event is a bit smaller with 10 Elites expected, and a further 10 Squibs for the McMillan Shield.
The RS Elite line up could be an open field this year, Stephen Polly on "Storm" will certainly be in the top 3, although Mike Browne on "Love Bug" will give the boys stiff competition. Tiff Brien will be helming the families "Kin" and given past performance will be in the pack. Jeff Ralston on "Up Front" will also be a contender along with the Vaughan family on "Joint Venture" Some new faces joining the fleet this year, It will be interesting to see if they shake things up!
The Squibs are competing for the McMillan Shield. The line up here will be headed up by Gordon Paterson on " Fagan" who has been doing rather well recently at big Squib events, that said the RNIYC Squib Fleet are super competitive, and David Eccles on "Inshallah" will want to win this Event. Hot on their heels will be Peter Wallace on "Toy for the Boy" who might be a thorn on the side! The Killners are on "Maximus" newish to this fleet, it will be good to see how they progress.
Sam Lynas, has the task of Race Officer for this event, Sam formally of Squib "Worm". He will have a good understanding of both these fleets, and will need to as at the time of writing the wind for both days is forecast to be light.
Racing gets under way on Saturday 11.30 and again on Sunday 10.30 at Cultra.