RS Elite Irish Championship 2025 at Waterford Harbour Sailing Club
by Barry McConnell 11 Sep 12:31 BST
6-7 September 2025
With a new fleet of seven RS Elites, all added over the previous year, 2025 has seen a great season of RS Elite racing at Waterford Harbour Sailing Club, culminating in the hosting of the Irish Championship on the weekend of September 6th and 7th.
In the run up to the event the forecast varied from 5 to 50 knots with calm to 3.5m seas and so we would firstly like to acknowledge the commitment from the visiting boats to make the journey despite those variable forecasts. Saturdays winds moderated and while the seas were lumpy we had a very nice 18 to 22 knots Southerly and 3 clean starts for the 3 races on Saturday, something that was much appreciated by the race officials.
Race 1 immediately showed the experience and fine tuning of both Legs Eleven from Hayling Island and Storm from Royal Ulster Yacht club and Ballyholme Yacht Club who, having gotten clear lanes, showed impeccable technique over the waves to take the lead into mark one and through the first race. The following 6 boats all rounded mark one within several meters of each other making for fiercely competitive downwind competition. A little wet, tired but exhilarated all 8 boats finished within 2 minutes first to last which is great in a 50-minute race.
The race officer Michael Conway had stated at the morning briefing that he wouldn't be waiting around between races and some were surprised to see how quickly we rolled into starting sequence for race 2.
The results through races two and three remained similarly dominated by Paul Fisk and Crew on Legs Eleven and Stephen Polly and crew on Storm but the 6 WHSC boats were definitely getting closer and learning loads in the process.
On coming back ashore the bar was quickly filled with stories and explanations of the days events, but all were happy with a challenging and very enjoyable day in the bay, although the rolling swell had tested the resilience of those on the committee boat and mark laying boats.
All entrants and race management were invited by Shane and Trudi for pre-dinner drinks and nibbles at their house prior to our event dinner at Azzurro in Dunmore. 35 attended the dinner which was a lovely way to interact with the visiting crews and was a great opportunity to relax ahead of the final days racing on Sunday for which the forecast had thankfully moderated.
As Sunday morning dawned we realised a front was still passing over with winds expected to shift 90 degrees once the sun came out, so the decision was made to AP ashore until the wind settled.
The start of race 4 saw another 20 knot breeze (about 10 knots more than forecast) in a more shifty Westerly direction that added some extra tactical elements as we raced towards the shore. That race finally saw some of our local fleet get towards the front of the fleet until a complete shut down in wind on the final run saw wind shift 90 degrees again, drop to 5 knots near the finish and shuffle the order, although Paul Fisk, Richard Tucker and Pippa Jubb on Legs Eleven showed their ability to get the lead early and maintain through the variable winds for a deserved second race win of the event.
This immediately necessitated a complete move of course position as the wind had died completely in the start finish area while there remained a steady 16 knot breeze at the windward mark. After a quick lift and resetting of all marks, race 5 begun with 18 knots and increasing sea state further from shore. Legs Eleven from Hayling Island showed exceptional skill upwind through the waves to lead the 5th race ahead of Elle from WHSC who had by this stage managed to get competitive with the visitors around the course. On completion of race 5 the wind decided to shift once again and with time running out to lift and reset the course once again the right decision was made to abandon race 6 and complete the series with 5 great races sailed.
Following quick lifting of the boats we had prize-giving on the decking in some nice sunshine with drinks and food to deconstruct what was happening with the wind over the day, that is however the best part of sailing, the unpredictability.
Thanks to the RS Elite Association for their help in organising, all the participants and supporters, Race officer Michael Conway, mark boats, boat launch team, score takers, Peter Coad for use of committee boat, bar staff, Nathalie for the prizes, Shane and Trudi for your hospitality and to all club members and officers of Waterford Harbour Sailing Club for your help and particular thanks to the visiting boats who took home the prizes but left a wealth of knowledge behind them.
Overall Results:
| Pos | Boat Name | Sail No | Helm | Club | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | Pts |
|---|
| 1st | Legs 11 | 110 | Paul Fisk | Hayling Island | ‑2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| 2nd | Storm | 37 | Stephen Polly | BYC / RUYC | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | ‑3 | 6 |
| 3rd | Elle | 74 | Lee Statham | WHSC | 4 | 4 | 3 | ‑6 | 2 | 13 |
| 4th | Prolines | 36 | Rob McConnell | WHSC | 3 | ‑6 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 15 |
| 5th | About Time | 115 | Shane Statham | WHSC | ‑7 | 5 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 20 |
| 6th | Wild Cat | 82 | Julian Hughes | WHSC | 6 | 3 | 5 | (DNF) | DNS | 23 |
| 7th | Nero | 57 | Barry McConnell | WHSC | 5 | 7 | (DNF) | 5 | 6 | 23 |
| 8th | Kin | 111 | Mike Murphy | WHSC | 8 | 8 | 6 | 7 | (DNF) | 29 |