Rockshore / Bosun Bobs RS400 Winter Series at Royal North of Ireland Yacht Club - Overall
by Robert Hastings 27 Dec 2024 22:59 GMT
3 November - 22 December 2024
Sadly, the final day of racing was not to be. The forecast was for extreme wind, so it was called off the day before. On arrival at the club there was no doubt that this was the right call. There was no way a rescue rib could have been launched as the waves were massive.
Belfast Harbour was recording Force 10 winds; all the ferries were suspended and lingering in the lough and to top it off there was the surprise dump of snow on the top of the Belfast hills.
Even though we couldn't get sailing, there was still important business to attend to. We had our Christmas Party and Prize Giving and the beer supplied by Rockshore wasn't just there for show. With sailing cancelled, it was great to see such a good turnout, with more people turning up than anticipated, meaning more chairs and tables had to be found to accommodate everyone in the club dining room.
After a great Christmas feast, the prize-giving started. RNIYC was thanked for hosting the event, along with Gerry Reid our Race Officer and his team of helpers, rescue and marker layers for putting on a great series. Gerry thanked our sponsors Bosun Bob's Chandlery, Rockshore and Steven Kane From Ridgeway who supplied the wine for the tables.
Our veteran sailor Liam Donnelly, has been in the fleet for a considerable length of time. He was thanked for all that he did at the Champions Cup this year and for all the support, advice and cheek that he generously dishes out to the fleet. He was awarded a bottle of Laphroaig which probably didn't last long or touch the sides.
The wooden spoon award was handed out to the person who turned up the most but might not be at the right end of the result sheets and surprisingly, this was handed out to Gareth Flannigan and his crew Knox Wilson which they took in good spirit. Gareth is no stranger to picking up silverware, so it goes to show how tough the fleet is.
After running through the nominations for the hotly contested award of the prestigious W Anchor t-shirt, it was decided that it should be awarded to two people, Bob Espey and his crew Michael Ferguson as they had the audacity to turn up on the first day in yellow bibs with the number 1 printed on their backs which certainly raised a few eyebrows. The red t-shirt was discarded, and two yellow W Anchor t-shirts were produced and awarded to the chaps. Michael Ferguson came forward and put on the t-shirt to thunderous applause and lots of laughs.
Over the series we lost three days of racing due to storms but in total we managed to get 16 races in. We had twenty six RS400s in the yard representing nine different clubs. That's over fifty people who have taken part, with an age range from 14 to 73 which is brilliant to see. We also had Luke McIlwaine and Paul Robinson appear into the dinghy park this series with very fresh 15## numbered boats which is exciting.
We had five separate race winners, and the biggest cheer went to Brian Holmes and Rose White who won a race on the first day. Brian has been in the fleet for a long time, and it was great to see them pick up some bottles of wine for their achievement.
To the results and in 3rd place representing RNIYC was Ross Kearney and Andrew Vaughan in 1436. In 2nd place representing SLYC & RNIYC were the previous winners Peter Kennedy & Stevie Kane in 1522. Winning the event and taking 9 bullets, representing BYC & RUYC was Bob Espey & Michael Ferguson in 1533 who were awarded the Bosun Bob's Trophy. Unfortunately, Bob couldn't make the prize-giving due to family commitments, but Michael gracefully received the trophy and thanked all involved.
2024 has been a strange year for the fleet. The first event at Larne had to be abandoned as there was zero wind on both days. At the Nationals at Carrickfergus, we lost a day due to too much wind and we also lost a day at the Southerns in Killaloe due to zero wind. Fingers crossed that in 2025 the weather behaves itself. The 2025 calendar has now been released and the dates are as follows:
- RS Northerns - Strangford Lough Yacht Club (Whiterock) - 18th & 19th May - RS400, RS200 & RS Aeros
- RS Inlands - Blessington - 5th & 6th July - RS400, RS200, RS Feva & RS Aeros
- RS400 UK & Irish Nationals - RNIYC - 4th to 8th August
- RS200 & RS Feva Nationals - Greystones - 9th & 10th August
- RS Southerns - Baltimore, Co. Cork - 6th & 7th September - RS400, RS200 & RS Aeros
The big event of the year will be the combined UK & Irish Nationals at RNIYC in August. It was last held at the club in 2019 and was won by Nick Craig and Toby Lewis. Bob Espey was second in that event but in an older boat than he has now. Can Bob & Michael beat the visitors from England? It will be an exciting year ahead.
Overall Results:
| Pos | Sail No | Helm | Crew | Club | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | R6 | R7 | R8 | R9 | R10 | R11 | R12 | R13 | R14 | R15 | R16 | Pts |
|---|
| 1st | 1533 | Rob Espey | Mike Ferguson | BYC/RUYC | 2 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | (5) | (5) | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 23 |
| 2nd | 1522 | Peter Kennedy | Stephen Kane | RNIYC/SLYC | 4 | 4 | (12) | 2 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | (7) | 3 | 1 | 36 |
| 3rd | 1438 | Ross Kearney | Andrew Vaughan | RNIYC | 1 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 8 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 2 | (DNC) | (DNC) | DNC | 66 |
| 4th | 741 | Jocelyn Hill | Rowan Berry | CAYC/CSC | (12) | (12) | 8 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 11 | 7 | 79 |
| 5th | 1405 | Liam Donnelly | Rick McCaig | CSC | 3 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 11 | (14) | 10 | 5 | 8 | (13) | 12 | 9 | 2 | 5 | 8 | 83 |
| 6th | 1283 | Patrick Hamilton | Sam Kelly | East Down YC | (13) | 10 | 4 | 12 | 9 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 10 | (RET) | 9 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 9 | 98 |
| 7th | 1001 | Adam Lockhart | TC Mulvenna | RNIYC | 8 | 9 | 6 | 11 | (RET) | (DNS) | 11 | 7 | 8 | 12 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 11 | 10 | 6 | 121 |
| 8th | 1004 | Tom Purdon | Olivia Hayes | SLYC | 10 | 14 | 13 | 8 | 7 | 12 | 4 | 8 | 6 | (RET) | (DNS) | 14 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 11 | 130 |
| 9th | 1353 | Robert Hastings | Rory Higgins | SLYC | 5 | 11 | 7 | 10 | 11 | 6 | 7 | 12 | 7 | (DNC) | (DNC) | DNC | DNC | 9 | 2 | 3 | 138 |
| 10th | 1259 | Gareth Flannigan | Knox Wilson | BYC | 9 | 6 | 11 | 16 | 18 | (RET) | 9 | 9 | 9 | 6 | (DNS) | DNS | DNS | 5 | 4 | 5 | 145 |
| 11th | 877 | William Findlay | Peter Gilmore | Strangford SC | (DNC) | (DNC) | DNC | 9 | 17 | 10 | 12 | 6 | 11 | 11 | 4 | 13 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 10 | 157 |
| 12th | 1179 | Ben Martin | Rory Flannigan | RUYC/BYC | 14 | 13 | 10 | 17 | 6 | 9 | 13 | RET | DNS | 9 | 11 | 10 | 13 | (DNC) | (DNC) | DNC | 181 |
| 13th | 1316 | Stephen McLernon | Edwina Ternan | CSC | (DNC) | (DNC) | DNC | 4 | 3 | 8 | DNC | DNC | DNC | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | DNC | DNC | DNC | 193 |
| 14th | 1440 | Simon Hutchinson | Ben Williams | RNIYC/SLYC | (DNC) | (DNC) | DNC | 7 | 13 | RET | 10 | DNS | DNS | 10 | 8 | 11 | 11 | DNC | DNC | DNC | 219 |
| 15th | 1530 | Luke McIlwaine | Ryan Wilson | CSC | (DNC) | (DNC) | DNC | DNC | DNC | DNC | DNC | DNC | DNC | 7 | 10 | 7 | 14 | 3 | 9 | 4 | 222 |
| 16th | 1178 | Brian Holmes | Rose White | CSC | 7 | 5 | 1 | 13 | 16 | 15 | (DNC) | (DNC) | DNC | RET | DNS | DNS | DNS | DNC | DNC | DNC | 229 |
| 17th | 1322 | Dave Cheyne | Susan McKnight | SLYC | 11 | 8 | 9 | DNF | 12 | 16 | (DNC) | (DNC) | DNC | DNC | DNC | DNC | DNC | 12 | 12 | 13 | 234 |
| 18th | 762 | Zak Dalzell | Max Robinson | RNIYC | 16 | 16 | 16 | 15 | 19 | RET | (DNC) | (DNC) | DNC | 14 | 15 | DNS | DNS | 14 | 13 | 14 | 235 |
| 19th | 1188 | Will Browne | Rachel Browne | SLYC | (DNC) | (DNC) | DNC | 18 | 10 | 13 | 8 | RET | 12 | RET | 14 | 15 | 15 | DNC | DNC | DNC | 236 |
| 20th | 1366 | Hammy Baker | Richie Ferron | SLYC | (DNC) | (DNC) | DNC | 14 | 14 | 7 | DNC | DNC | DNC | 13 | 12 | 9 | 10 | DNC | DNC | DNC | 247 |
| 21st | 1506 | Paul Robinson | Adam Robinson | CSC | 6 | 7 | 14 | (DNC) | (DNC) | DNC | DNF | 11 | 13 | DNC | DNC | DNC | DNC | DNC | DNC | DNC | 259 |
| 22nd | 1044 | Andrew Irvin | Aisling O'Grady | National YC | (DNC) | (DNC) | DNC | DNF | 15 | 14 | DNC | DNC | DNC | DNC | DNC | DNC | DNC | 13 | 14 | 12 | 281 |
| 23rd | 1379 | Anthony Strain | John Ferguson | RNIYC | 15 | 15 | 15 | (DNC) | (DNC) | DNC | DNC | DNC | DNC | DNC | DNC | DNC | DNC | DNC | DNC | DNC | 309 |
