For ILCA sailors Easter always means the Munster Championships in Baltimore Sailing Club in West Cork. Despite the early Easter this year the Munster Championships lived up to all expectations, with nearly a hundred boats travelling from around the country, all three ILCA fleets were very well represented.
Saturday brought a fresh Southerly 18 to 22 knots, with a rolling swell entering the harbour from below the beacon. Race Officer Ciaran McSweeney laid a trapezoid course with ILCA 4 and 6 racing on the inner loop and ILCA 7 on the outer loop. Three races were planned for each day, with an option of a fourth on day one. For once, all fleets got off the line without a general recall, which is a testament to an excellent course and line set by McSweeney’s team.
In the ILCA 4, Patrick Foley got off to a great start with 1, 1, 5. Riona McMorrow Moriarty was not far behind with a consistent 3,3,3 and Caoilinn McDonnell was in the mix with 4, 6, 1.
In the ILCA 6 Bobby Driscoll was untouchable with three bullets, close behind was Lewis Thompson 5,2,2 and Sam LeDoux 3,4,3. Hugh Delap led the Masters division with 11,10,11 and Philip Doherty lay second with14,13,13.
Royal St. George sailors from Dublin Bay preparing for day two of the ILCA Munster Championships in Baltimore, West Cork
Tom Coulter and Fiachra McDonell were battling it out at the front of the ILCA 7 fleet after their recent return from the U21 European Championships. Tom scored a 2,1,1. Fiachra was not far behind with 1,4,2, followed by Jonathan O’Shaughnessy with 4,2,4. Conor Byrne 5,6,3 and Colin Leonard 6,3,5 led the Masters.
Day 2 brought very different conditions with a shifty North Easterly breeze ranging from 15 to 8 knots. The Race Officer’s team set the course through the harbour and kept races to an ideal 45 to 50 minutes. With big shifts hitting either side of the course and the lousy rocks in the middle, it paid to pick a side, but whether to go left or right was anyone’s guess.
ILCA 4 overall winner Riona McMorrow Moriarty showed consistency across conditions with a 3,1,1 on day two, scoring top three results in all six races. Caoilinn McDonnell finished second with 7,5,3 and Patrick Foley third with 8,9,10.
In the ILCA 6, Bobby Driscoll started well with another bullet but scored a 15 in race two, which he was able to discard with a 3 in race six. Sam LeDoux had an excellent second day with 2,4,1 taking second place overall and Lewis Thompson finished in third with a 7,1,21. Hugh Delap led the Masters with 12,7,6 and Conor Barry finished as second master with 2,12,17. Special mention to Masters sailor Brendan Hughes who led the fleet in race 6 for the first two laps, the youth sailors were never far behind but it shows the quality throughout the fleet and the fact the ILCA is a boat for all age groups.
With tensions high and a slight current pushing the fleets over the line the ILCA 7’s were called for a general recall in race 4, but got away on the second attempt. Tom Coulter had an outstanding day two with a 1,1,9. Fiachra McDonnell finished second overall with a 7,2,6 and Fionn Lyden took third with 5,6,2. Conor Byrne 2,5,7 finished as the top Master on joint points with Lyden after six races. After a black flag in race 6, Colin Leonard finished as second Master with 3,10, BFD.
ILCA Ireland’s next event is the Connaught Championships taking Place in Lough Ree Yacht Club on the 27th and 28th of April. Registration and the ILCA event calendar is here
