#rssailing – Sixty one Feva's, RS200's and RS400's descended on Galway Bay Sailing Club (GBSC) from the 8th to the 10th of August to compete in what was each class's 2014 National Championships writes RS Ireland Class communication officer David Rose. This organisational marriage of classes from RS continues to work really well together and brings with it a wide range of sailors from all over Ireland. There were many new faces in all classes and the atmosphere was really inclusive and enthusiastic for the competition ahead.

GBSC was represented fantastically by its members with amazing support for the event. Launch and recovery was aided by a team of helpers, and the race officer and commodore David Vinnell and team were outstanding throughout, providing a tactical and interesting race course every time. All races were sailed in planing conditions. For the strong breezes, the sea was tame for the west coast, but was still challenging, as crews worked for each wave upwind and down. True beats and good lines make for great racing and we had them throughout.

RS Feva Nationals, 9 Races, 2 Discards, 15 Boats

The Feva is one of Ireland's most successful boats and they have become visible on the water sailing out of most of Irelands sailing clubs. They provide a platform for young people to race competitively in a high performance boat with a modern configuration and build that makes them damn near indestructible. The Nationals this year was a superb showcase for the boats, with young sailors coming together to fight it out on the same course as the larger 200 and 400's. This generation of two handed sailors look set to have a great impact on Irish sailing going forward.

The racing was excellent, and one team stood tall with an amazing display of speed, recording eight race wins and a fifth. It is always an outstanding achievement to discard a bullet, and that is just what happened for the Blessington SC team of Alison Dolan and Grainne Younge.
The battle for second was an altogether tighter affair, coming down to the last race and being edged by only a point by Grace O' Beirne and Helen O'Beirne of RstGYC over Triona Hinkson and Katherine kelly also of the RstGYC. Local sailors David Carberry and Ciaran Jordan showed great pace and represented the host club with a string of seconds and thirds to remain competitive in fourth.
Chatting in the dinghy park with the parents who help make this class tick, it was clear that the event had been a great success, with many teams camping around the club in all classes and the kids and adults alike having fun late into the evenings. The comparison was drawn to the Mirror hay days, and it's hard to ignore this fleet as an option to any parent wanting their kids to sail a boat that requires teamwork and that is exciting to campaign.

There are some great ideas for enhancing the RS Feva Circuit further next season, but if you feel you could help us with these please don't hesitate to get in touch, as we are at the planning stages for next season already.

RS-200 Nationals, 9 Races, 2 Discards, 14 Boats

Roy Van Maanen and Kevin O'Rourke (GYC) have dominated the RS200 Nationals from start to finish, recording an impressive 6 race wins and a second after discard.
Stephen Craig fought back on day two and three with a string of seconds and bullets but it was never going to be enough to outdo the other pairing. Graeme Noonan and Harry Noonan were consistent throughout and finished 3rd on 18 points, with Trevor Fisher and Heather Craig also in the vicinity on 21 points.

Congratulations also go to the John McKelvie and Sarah Watson, 2013 Irish National Champions for their strong showing in Garda recently recording a 9th in a strong 28 boat fleet.

This was competitive, fast and furious racing in a class that looks set to grow in 2015, as the profile of the RS sailing increases throughout Ireland and the many excellent features of the 200 become better known. This is a design that has advanced from the success of the RS400 and has a hugely strong UK and Irish fleet.

RS 400 Nationals - 9 Races, 2 Discards , 31 boats 
In the 400 Class, after an opening day and 4 races, McCready Sailboats sailed by Gareth Flannigan and David Fletcher were showing the form of past and future champions and led clear of the pack. There was to be no resting on ones laurels however as several boats were still within striking distance with a gaggle of teams on 12 and 13 points overnight.

It had been a fast and furious day, with no let up from hiking after the weather mark, and no shortage of adrenaline as the fleet came thundering downwind trying to out gybe and think each other on lay-lines. With 3 rounds, there was ample time to work your way into better or worse positions on the race course.

Interestingly the following pack included sailors from every corner of Ireland, showing how strong the class has now become throughout the country, including "The Full Irish" single handed sailor Dave Kenefick who at his first event teamed up with Sandy Rimmington of MBSC eventually finishing 11th overall, David looking exhilarated after day one, described the boats as "all the fun of a 49er without the swims".

Day two was to be very similar and just as exciting and fun as day one. The story was of another team now sailing like champions and leading the pack. Alex Barry and Richard Leonard of MBSC and the RCYC were now sitting clear by a few points from Sean Cleary and Steven Tyner, the talented pair from GSC who were Eastern champions earlier in the season. Also a prominent challenger now was the UK pairing of Howard Farbrother and Dan Martin, who had featured well in the Europeans at Garda recording a seventh. Two Irish 400's had also made the trip to Garda for the Europa cup recently with Emmet Ryan and Jay Stacy finishing 10th and David Rose and Ian Heffernan Finishing 12th at that event and both teams were in the hunt here, as was the ever present Dave Cheyne and Richie McCullough. These teams were to fade away however by the end of day two when the final discard was applied after 8 races.
(Sean Cleary and Steven Tyner showing their class on day two) Day three was expected to be a huge storm, but the forecast had been inaccurate all week, and this appeared to be the case as the fleet launched in light air. This calm however was not to last long, and the race offers managed to squeeze in another exciting race for all classes, before an "End of the World" style storm cloud made for a spectacular and at intimidating scene in Galway bay. Visibility reduced and it blew very hard for a short period of time.

The Race officer had his regatta and called time on proceedings. It's a testament to the three classes that no rigs were lost for the entire event, and apart from some worried parents and competitors all was okay and the fleets got home safely to finish what had been a fantastic 3 days sailing out of GBSC.

When the dust settled, Alex and Richard of MBSC and RCYC had won the 400 Nationals, followed by Howard and Dan from QMSC and Sean and Steven in third. Alex had this to say after the event: "What a fantastic event, consistent breeze and excellent competition meant for exhilarating racing. The RS classes are the only place to be at the moment. It's great to see such prestigious sailors such as Ross McDonald and Dave Kenefick who had moved into the yachting scene back in dinghies and picking it up so fast. Thanks to all who were involved in the organisation of the event, delighted with the win, absolutely knackered now tho."

This movement of accessible high performance sailing dinghies continues to bloom, and be enjoyed by a wide variety of competitive and enthusiastic sailors of all ages.

We look forward to seeing you all at the final event of the season, the RS Southerns in Kinsale on the 13th and 14th of September 2014. For those on a budget consider the activity centre for hostel style accommodation. Kinsale is a great venue so please support the event

#rs – Some statistics from the Irish RS Sprint Championships 2014 at Ballyholme YC  last weekend. 46 individual competitors (including Neill Strain's swaps), 40 Flight Starts, 214 recorded finishes, 490 individual hoists and drops (taking out DNFs etc), and a lot of weary bodies, not just the competitors! Full Sprint results are available to download below as a pdf file.

The Irish RS400 fleet has a full calendar for the year, along with the RS200s and Fevas, but with the exam season in full progress, there is usually a gap in May. The Sprints have thus been moved to fill this gap, and the excellent turn out justified the ongoing inclusion of this event in the calendar.

23 RS400s and an RS200 rolled out for the Annual Irish RS Sprint Championships, held for the first time in the North, with hosts Ballyholme Yacht Club under the guidance of our favourite Race Officer Robin Gray, putting on a tremendous event, in what always seems to me to be a complete nightmare of an event to run. Robin clearly loves a challenge, as he has offered to do it again next year!

Always a great opportunity to get some boat handling practice in, it also provides a workout for those of us navigationally challenged, and more than a few salvages were provided on my boat by Steve advising me where to point the boat next. The whacky M course was a great success, sort of slaloming to the left, and then having an on the edge kite reach across the bottom, to make sure you didn't recover too much before the next race.
We have always asked that we are not kept sitting around too long, and Robin's team kept things pinging off at a furious rate, not giving you time to realise how your body was slowly disintegrating as the afternoon progressed. That said, I was pleased to see that some of the young ones were whinging as much as we elder statesmen, about how battered they felt.

In a Northerly there are few better venues than Ballyholme, with champagne conditions (can we finally park that expression, though it does serve the purpose I guess) of 15 knots steady, a 3-4 foot short swell allowing some fruity downhill slides. As good as it gets I'd say. Also clearly suits the locals, with Bob Espey and Gareth Flanagan and their respective engineers, Mike Gunning and Dave Fletcher, leading the way, along with Sean Cleary and Steve Tyner from Greystones, current Inlands Champs, in amongst the leaders. The flights were rejigged midway through Saturday, and again for Sunday, giving no-one any idea who was winning, apart from the obvious fact the Bob and Mike were running away with it. That said, everyone had a piece of the action, and as always, when the racing is good, we all go home happy.

Biggest thanks however have to go to the mark layers, who did an unbelievable job to lay and move so many marks with so little delay, outstanding.

Next up is the slightly less chaotic RS Northerns at Strangford Lough Yacht Club in late June, with usual format windyleewards; though if the size and intensity of the Easterns was anything to go by, carnage and chaos will return. We should have some serious entertainment, as the deep southerners, from the fast growing and worryingly talent packed Cork fleet, fresh from their own Sprint event, rejoin the fray. Great times for the RS fleet.

#rssailing – With single day entry for busy people, Ballyholme Yacht Club on Belfast lough is pulling out all the stops to make a big success of this month's Irish RS400 and RS 200 Sprint Championships. Staged on Saturday 24th and Sunday 25th May 2014 there will be 16 races over two days with new "M type" or "box type" courses.  The Notice of Race is posted below for download as a pdf file.

#rcyc – Weather obliged beautifully for PY 500 making a perfect Sunday morning event at Royal Cork Yacht Club writes Claire Bateman. And what a magnificent spectacle the PY500 (Portsmouth Yardstick) race turned out to be. The sun was shining and there was a Westerly breeze of some 15 knots lightening slowly during the race. The course was Windward/Leeward around laid marks and consisting of seven rounds.

The event consisted of a mixed dinghy race for vessels holding a PY Handicap of 700-1320. Results are downloadable below as a jpeg file.

Due to the thirty one boats participating and the different speeds involved there were officials in position at each mark to record each competitor rounding for each of the seven rounds. Due to the location of the course up and down the river outside the club magnificent spectator viewing was provided for the large numbers present.

There were many boats from different classes represented and they certainly provided spectacular viewing.

The representatives were from National 18s, 505's, RS 400, RS 200, a lone Finn, Fevas, Fireflies, Lasers of all rig types, a Rankin and the star of the show, a 29er that charged around the course showing such style with a fluorescent orange Gennaker. Spotted sailing his RS 200 with his wife Heather was Sean Craig from the RstGYC. Also sailing from the RCYC's own club boats were 2 Topaz, one Magno and one Omega.

In between all this flying action there were Optimsts, 420s and 1720s all setting out for training and all in all there was a tremendous buzz in the club.

Sean and Heather Craig travelled from Dun Laoghaire for Royal Cork's PY 500. More photos by Bob Bateman below.

It must have made interesting and delightful viewing in the lovely conditions for the members and friends arriving for Sunday lunch at the Club's Globe Restaurant.

All credit due to the organisers and so obviously successful and enjoyable they might consider a repeat performance.

#RSsailing – The RS Association has announced its event calendar for 2014. These events include all three RS classes, the Feva, 200 and 400 unless otherwise specified. 

Primary RS circuit events:

April 12/13th Greystones S.C. Eastern Championships.
June 21/22nd Strangford Lough S.C. Northern Championships.
July 19/20th Lough Ree Y.C. Western Championships.
August 8-10th Galway Bay S.C. Crewsaver Irish National Championships.
September 13/14th Kinsale Y.C. Southern Championships.

Sprint events:
May 24/25th Ballyholme Y.C. RS200/400 Sprint event.
June 7th Monkstown Bay RSFeva/200/400 Southern Sprint event.

UK/European events:

July 25 – August 1st Carnac, France Feva Worlds

July 27th – August 1st Fraglia vela Riva, Lake Garda, Italy RS 200/400 Eurocup
August 17th – 21st Hayling Island, UK RS200 UK Nationals
August 24 – 28th Mounts Bay, Cornwall UK RS400 UK Nationals.

#rssailing – A bad weather forecast means the planned RS demo day in Dun Laoghaire this Saturday has been postponed. The up and coming dinghy class is completely bucking the trend oulined in a recent piece that outlines some major problems for dinghy sailing in Ireland, acoording to class proponents.

This year 44 RS400's attended the nationals and 33 boats took part in the five event traveller series. In the past month five RS400's have been bought from the UK to join the Irish fleet. This includes the first two 400's based in Cork and one in Dun Laoghaire. 

The formula of running the RS Feva, RS200 and RS400 events together has proved hugely successful. At the combined nationals they had 72 boats in total. The classes give juniors and those above college age who may not have the aspirations or perhaps the means for Olympic sailing, a natural progressive platform for competitive racing. There are a lot people sailing in the RS classes that could have drifted away from sailing altogether.

Being a strict one design and non-trapeze the boats are very accessible. Swapping and introducing new crews is not as much of an issue, particularly for those who haven't been in a dinghy for years or in some cases ever.

Another point that is worth making is the competitive level in the classes. For example, Ryan Seaton and Matt McGovern (49er Olympians) own and race a 400 when their 49er schedule allows. Gareth Flannigan is now an RS400 regular. Dave Rose from Cork and formerly of 1720 fame has just bought a 400. This will be Dave's first time back in a dinghy in fifteen years. At the competitive end of the RS200's, Sean & Heather Craig have just bought a boat from the UK. Their son has commandeered the current family 200.

The boats are deemded good value due to the large UK second hand market. An RS400 cost €4,000 and has no problems competing at the right end of the fleet. 

#RS200 - The RS200 fleet is running a demo day at the Royal St George Yacht Club in Dun Laoghaire at 2pm on Saturday 2 November. All are welcome and slots can be booked by emailing Heather at [email protected].

There will be five or six boats on the water on the day, with one onshore to look over and a little windward/leeward course afloat to put the boats through their paces.

The RS200 fleet is mainly located in Leinster so far, with 22 boats in Greystones, seven at the Royal St George and a few more dotted around the country. Up north there are boats in Newcastle, Ballyholme, East Down, Royal North and Cushendall.

There were 20 boats at the 2013 Nationals and new boats have been bought since. Regattas are highly sociable affairs with events shared with sibling classes the RS Feva and the RS400.

The RS200 has a number of points in its favour:

• High performance asymmetric non-trapeze double hander
• Great build quality and value: excellent second-hand boats from €2,500, and even 10-year-old boats have won Irish Nationals
• Wide weight range from 110-160kg, manageable for all ages and standards - hence a big family involvement
• Hugely popular in the UK, with a 100-plus-boat National Championships, and is also big in Scandinavia, US and Australia, so no resale risk
• Attractive overseas events for serious Irish racers: 2014 calendar includes Carnac (Brittany), Lake Garda and Hayling Island in the UK

Do come along for a sail or even just a chat and a gander at the display boat. There will be a similar demo on the northside of Dublin soon (venue and date to be decided) so that may suit some people later.

And if you're attending the ISA Dinghy & One Design Convention at the National Yacht Club that morning, it’s just 100 metres to the Royal St George!

RS – After five races sailed Robert Espey and Mike Gunning won the RS400 Northern championships hosted by Ballyholme Yacht Club this weekend.

Despite the absence of wind forecast, and despite Charlie Horder not showing up, the weekend turned out to be a roaring success, with ever reliable Robin Gray as PRO slotting the perfect duration races into the various wind slots that existed, giving the three fleets great racing.

It was exciting to see some new faces in the RS Fevas, since McCready Sailboats took over dealership, and have been promoting and lending out boats. All 6 of the boats, in the fleet that normally travels from Dublin or Greystones, were from the North. This must augur well for the future, with several parents present realising they could have actually have been sailing in the 400s instead of acting as shore crew.

In the RS200s, Clive Coffey from Newcastle, was dominant in the generally f2-3 conditions, taking first overall from Greystones regulars Frank O'Rourke in second, and Sarah Byrne in fourth, with East Down's Trevor Fisher splitting them in third.

The main event though was in the RS400s, where a super strong line up including current Irish Olympic 49er sailors, and winners of this year's Weymouth Sail for Gold World Cup Series' Championship, Ryan Seaton and Matty McGovern headlined a strong line up of past National and European Championship winners from a multitude of classes. Racing was tight, with the front 6 or 7 generally working through, but with anyone capable of making a podium slot. Overnight it looked to be all about Bob Espey vs Emmet Ryan, but Sunday saw things get a lot tighter, with Gareth Flannigan and Dave Cheyne staying consistent, and nearly turning things around in race two, when Flannigan's lead was slashed on the final run of race two, in what would prove a decisive moment, allowing the Olympic duo a little breathing space as the 3rd,4th and 5th boats rolled the leading pair on the final approach, Espey grabbing an essential win. Race 4 saw Emmet and brother James struggle and take a discard, so it was advantage Espey/ Gunning again.

Race 5 was held in sparkling Ballyholme sea breeze and sunshine, with Dave Cheyne and Stevie Kane from RNIYC breaking clear of the pack, chasing the Ryan brothers. As the two teams extended, it looked like the goose was cooked for Espey, but a last attack on the right corner gybe allowed the fat old boys from Royal North to roll Ryan, and take the win. This instantly threw the result back to Espey and Gunning, who were suddenly back level on points, but with a pair of bullets, to the Ryans only one now, the title went to Espey in dramatic fashion, and past Irish Champions Emmet and James left to lick their wounds. Awesome racing as ever, with some new faces feeling the heat, as those new in last season starting to move up the leader board after a year of hard racing under their belts.

Lots of new boats arriving by the week, with several more expected in Ballyholme in time for the Autumn Grange Wine Merchants Series at Bangor on Sundays from the 8th September, before the fleets head to Crosshaven on September 21/22nd. The hope is the 4 or 5 potential new 400 owners in Monkstown SC in Cobh will have boat boats in time, to compliment the new arrival of Aidan Macsweeney, and also Dave Doherty who currently have boats in the area.

Full results for all divisions are downloadable below as an attached html file.

Two races were sailed today in predominantly light conditions at the combined RS Championships at Ballyholme Yacht Club. The race officer made a good call to postpone proceedings until Sunday when the afternoon breeze completely shut down.

There are 18 RS 400's, 8 RS200's and 6 RS Fevas competing.

RS400 Results:
1st E.Ryan J.Ryan R1(2) R2(1)
2nd J.Espey M.Gunning R1(1) R2(3)
3rd D.Cheyne S.Kane R1(3) R2(5)
4th M.Ferguson J.Tomalin R1(7)R2(2)
5th R.Seaton M.McGovern R1(5)R2(4)
6th G.Flannigan D.Fletcher R1(4)R2(7)

RS200 Results:
1st C.Coffey H.Cassidy R1(2) R2(1)
2nd F & K O'Rourke R1(1) R2(5)
3rd R.Milligan P.Blamphin R1(5) R2(2)

RS Feva Results:
1st N.Eames M.Fekkes R1(3) R2(1)
2nd B.Coburn A.Mitchell R1(1) R2(5)
3rd R.Fekkes A.Harley R1(1) R2(6)

#RS – After a few weeks rest following the bumper turnout RS Nationals in July, the action moves to the new RS400 fleet's home at Ballyholme in Bangor.

Ballyholme has seen a great influx of RS400s to go with the RS200s already there, and has attracted some of Ulsters top racing talent, evidenced by July's two top Irish performances from Bob Espey/Mike Gunning, and Michael Ferguson/ Jeremy Tomalin at the Nationals. Whilst they will undoubtedly form the strongest teams to beat this weekend, there will be plenty of other talent tackling them, with Irish 49er Olympians Ryan Seaton and Matt McGovern flying back for the weekend from Marseilles, multiple Irish Laser and SB20 Irish Champion Gareth Flannigan, and recent top youth helm at the British Nationals, Chris Eames.

All the old timers will be there, licking their wounds from the recent shoeing handed out by the new boys in the fleet. Liam Donnelly will be fresh from the UK Nationals, and always as competitive as ever, at 60 something years of age, spearheading the RNIYC charge, along with Whitehead's John Lewis, another Scorpion veteran, who will be keen to see how he goes in his first RS400 event. From RNIYC, former Squib Irish champion Gordy Patterson has been spotted practising, and seems to be getting to grips with the faster boat (though he has years of SB3ing to call on), and someday Ruan O'Tiarnaigh will get his boat out too; whilst the Southern efforts will be led by Emmet Ryan and Simon Herriott, along with up and coming Sean Cleary and Any Verso from Greystones.
Rumour has it 4-5 good teams from the Cork area are on the brink of getting 400s, which could lead to further strengthening of the fleet in Ireland, along with some good new Dublin sailors, and 5 new boats have arrived into other Northern clubs in the past fortnight, so turnouts should be increasingly strong going into 2014.
McCready Sailboats have recently been appointed as RS Boat Dealers for Ireland, following a few years of direct sales only, and are especially keen to push the RS Feva, supplying three boats for crews to test, and hopefully we will start to see a resurgence in this great youth boat next year, with their support.
The RS200s at Ballyholme will face some stiff competition from the ever strong Greystones contingent, who usually take the prizes home, and it would be great to see this class strengthening in the north as the RS Family gain a stronger foothold.
Racing in the Bay runs Saturday and Sunday, with beer and grub on Saturday and some decent northerly breeze looking set to roll in some surfing waves and maximise the craic.