Lough Neagh Sailing Club at Kinnego Marina, Northern Ireland hosted the first 2022 event for the Flying Fifteen class which was designed to support personal development of crews through practise starts followed by a series of races.
Participants were welcomed from Strangford clubs, Belfast Lough and Dublin and Dun Laoghaire. The event took place on Saturday 9 April 2022.
With most crews at Kinnego by 1100 hours boats were set up and tea and scones were consumed while the race organisers monitored the wind and set a beautiful course with a wind axis of 300 degrees and a nice gentle breeze of 4.2knots gusting 7knots. All was well with the world as the crews briefed at 1200 hours.
Upon arrival at the race area however, the beautiful course was found in disarray. The wind which had been at 300 degrees had veered by a full 90 degrees to 060. Mark layers began the process of moving everything from West to East.
By 1317 hours all was in order and the practice starts commenced with crews jostling for starting positions while timing their arrival at the line to coincide with the removal of the starting flag. Crews completed 3 starts with only a little bit of misbehaviour which necessitated the preparatory flag being switched from Papa to black to keep the unruly bunch of sailors in line.
The plan was to run 6 practice starts before the racing began, but the wind had different ideas. It would appear that Brexit or COVID or fuel prices meant that while the order for sun had been delivered in abundance the order for wind was still stuck at a port somewhere, or maybe someone didn’t put enough money in the meter. Either way, after the third practice start the wind dropped to 0 knots gusting 0 knots from a direction of nowhere. And so it began…the Flying Fifteen drifting event in basking April sunshine on the millpond of Lough Neagh.
The patience and the resilience of the sailors was eventually rewarded about 45 minutes later when the wind filled in to the grand sum of 1.7 knots gusting 2.1 and a short course was hastily set with a constantly shifting wind axis causing havoc for mark layers. After 2 laps the course was reset again and a second starting sequence was hastily commenced. Crews headed out for a second race and again completed 2 laps before another wind shift necessitated another course lay to be arranged. The money in the meter clearly ran out again and the guy with his wind machine in Antrim obviously heard the Grand National was on so packed up and headed home. The wind on the course fell again to 0 knots and it was time to call it a day and drift or grab a tow back down Kinnego bay to the slipway and the awaiting BBQ in the club house.
Thanks to all the participants and to the crews afloat and the crews ashore, those who organised and served food and provided so warm a welcome and hospitality for all.
Lough Neagh Commodore (left) presents the prize to David Mulvin
The event was won by the crew of “Ignis Caput” David Mulvin & Ronan Beirne NYC who donated their winning voucher from Sands Marine Chandlery and Boat Supplies to The Lough Neagh Rescue at Kinnego.
Results were as follows
Race 1 – 030 degrees 1.7 knots – 2.2 knots
Boat Name Time Place
Stiflers Mom Sail No 3892 12.35 1
Ignis Caput Sail No 4068 13.46 2
Simply Gold Sail No 4074 14.12 3
Taking it easy Sail No 3963 14.34 4
Phoenix Sail No 4083 15.36 5
Freyja Sail No 3454 17.04 6
Freya Sail No 2290 18.33 7
Race 2 – 000 degrees 2.1 knots – 2.3 knots
Boat Name Time Place
Taking it easy Sail No 3963 12.43 1
Ignis Caput Sail No 4068 12.49 2
Phoenix Sail No 4083 13.16 3
Simply Gold Sail No 4074 13.30 4
Stiflers Mom Sail No 3892 14.17 5
Freya Sail No 2290 16.28 6
Freyja Sail No 3454 17.37 7
Results
Boat Name Points Place
Ignis Caput Sail No 4068 4 1
Taking it easy Sail No 3963 5 2
Stiflers Mom Sail No 3892 6 3
Simply Gold Sail No 4074 7 4
Phoenix Sail No 4083 8 5
Freya Sail No 2290 &
Freyja Sail No 3454 13 6
