It’s a double bill this weekend at Royal North of Ireland Yacht Club on Belfast Lough where the RS Elite Irish Nationals and the McMillan Shield for Squibs will be held.
It has been a busy year for the local Elite fleet, with many of them having travelled to England for various events, culminating in the Brewin Dolphin RS Elite International Grand Prix in Cowes, with 43 boats on the start line. Of these, Royal North’s Simon Brien finished fifth in Kin. The Irish Elite event will be smaller with ten expected, to be joined by ten Squibs.
It looks as if the RS Elite lineup could be an open field this year with Stephen Polly on Storm and Mike Browne’s Love Bug stiff competition. Polly took runner up in last year’s Irish Nationals Tiffany Brien will be helming the family’s Kin and given past performance will be in the pack. Jeff Ralston will also be a contender in Up Front along with the Vaughan family on Joint Venture.
The Squib Easterns at Howth Photo: Paddy Judge
The Squib line up for the McMillan Shield looks like being headed up by Gordon Patterson on Fagan who won the Northerns at Killyleagh in May and more recently the Easterns at Howth. The RNIYC Squib Fleet are super competitive, and David Eccles on Inshallah will want to win this event. Hot on his heels will be Peter Wallace on Toy for the Boys who might be a thorn on the side. The Killiners are on Maximus are relatively new to the fleet so it will be good to see how they progress.
Race Officer is Sam Lynas, formerly of Squib Worm, and he will have a good understanding of both these fleets but given that the forecast is for light winds, may have to deal with delicate situations!
Racing gets underway on Saturday (27th) at 11.30 and again on Sunday 10.30 at Cultra.
