Irish Mirror Northerns at Lough Neagh Sailing Club
by Jeff Harrison 28 Jul 2010 00:29 PDT
24-25 July 2010
Irish Mirror Northern Championships at Lough Neagh © Lough Neagh Sailing Club
The return of the Mirrors
19 Mirrors made the trip to Lough Neagh Sailing Club. This was the first time since 1983 that these boats had last competed on the Lough. Over the last couple of years Lough Neagh Sailing Club has worked hard to bring back dinghies into the club. Last year the club hosted the Ulster Fireball Championships and there has been an influx of Flying Fifteens which is very encouraging.
Three races where scheduled for Saturday and Race Officer Tom Beckett and his team set Olympic courses for the fleet in the light winds. It was Beth and Ronan Armstrong in Purple Monkey Dishwater who dominated the first two races clinching two well earned firsts. In the third race Adam and Toby McCullough in Untouchable mounted a comeback; having picked the shifts well on the second beat they cruised to victory to put pressure on Beth and Ronan.
On Sunday two further Olympic races where scheduled with the wind slightly fresher and the infamous Lough Neagh chop starting to appear, Untouchable took another first in Race 4 setting up a tense nail biter in the final race. Adam and Toby jockeyed well at the start getting a clear lane and dominating the first beat while Beth and Ronan where caught in traffic. After the windward mark it was plain sailing for Untouchable who picked up their third first clinching the Gold title by 2 points.
The Silver fleet was dominated by Mairin Ryan and Emile Sonne as they dropped only one race to second place Kevin Martyn and Jack McDermot. The Bronze class was won by Melissa Daly and Conor Morgan.
The event proved successful and Lough Neagh Sailing Club would welcome the Mirrors back anytime. Thanks have to go to the race officer and his team, the rescue boat driver’s and their crew, also the rest of the committee for their help with catering etc.
Overall Results:
Gold Fleet
1st IRL70511, Adam & Toby McCullough, 6pts
2nd IRL70580, Beth & Ronan Armstrong, 8pts
3rd IRL70333, Alfie Wisdom & Sam Warren, 13pts
Silver Fleet
1st IRL70355, Mairin Ryan & Emile Sonne, 41pts
2nd IRL69664, Kevin Martyn & Jack McDermot, 46pts
3rd IRL70620, Sinead Dickson & Aoife Burke, 51pts
Bronze Fleet
1st IRL70607, Melissa Daly & Conor Morgan, 59pts
2nd IRL70076, Robert Murphy & Cecilly Wisdom, 63pts
3rd IRL69572, John Williams & Jonathan Bell, 76pts