Mirror Easterns Regional Championships Malahide 2005

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  The first qualifying event of the 2005 season, Mirror Eastern Regional Championships, took place over the Easter weekend at Malahide Yacht Club.  A strong team of 7 Mirrors from Royal North travelled to Malahide.  The team consisted of Ross Kearney, Adam McCullough, Woo Kearney, Craig Martin, Michael and Adam Hill, Andrew Todd, Paddy Luft, Andrew Vaughan, Ryan Gilmore, Peter and Jenny Todd, Catherine Vaughan and Zoe McCullough. The team from Royal North had been training hard on Sundays throughout February and March, often in cold and difficult conditions, in preparation for this event.

A large fleet of 60 Mirrors from all over Ireland had journeyed to Malahide to take part.  Many of last year’s crews had made the switch to helming and a few wild cards for helms hoping to compete in the World Championships in Sweden in August were up for grabs. 

  Malahide’s Broadmeadows waters, where the club’s dinghy clubhouse is situated, proved to be an ideal venue for this early season event.  On Day 1 racing was delayed for an hour due to sea fog.  Principal Race Officer Neil Murphy set three Olympic courses.  The wind conditions were a light and shifty force 2.  Ross Kearney was the top Royal North boat in the first race, finishing 6th with Michael Hill next in 10th place.  Ross confirmed his good form when he took an early lead in the second race, rounding the windward mark a minute ahead of the fleet and winning the race by a comfortable 2 minute margin.  A 4th place finish in the third race left Ross and Adam as the overnight leaders, with Mike Hill and Andrew Todd lying 4th and 7th respectively, after a good first day’s racing.  Andrew Vaughan was unfortunate to be ruled OCS in the first race, but showed consistent form in the top half of the fleet in the next two races.  Peter Todd and Catherine Vaughan also showed how much they had benefited from the winter training with improved results from last year.

  After a barbecue at MYC Clubhouse in Malahide village and the loss of an hour’s sleep on account of the clocks going forward, racing resumed on Day 2 in good conditions, with a slightly stronger force 3 wind.  Ross cemented his lead with another win in the first race, much to the delight of the strong Royal North supporters club, with Michael and Adam Hill finishing in 3rd place.   Four of Royal North boats rounded the leeward mark in procession, battling hard for places in the fleet.  The breeze steadied and the race officer was able to set a windward/leeward course for the last race.  This was a close run race on the water but Ross and Adam finished as winners for the third time in the event, making them convincing Champions on 7 points by a 12 point margin from Gerard O’Sullivan of Howth YC.  With consistent top 10 results and his son Adam, one of the youngest crews in the fleet, Michael Hill finished 5th overall, eligible for a World Championship team place.  Andrew Todd and Paddy Luft finished 4th in the last race, giving them an 8th place finish overall.  Andrew Vaughan and Ryan Gilmore took 5th place in the Silver fleet with a consistent set of results all in the top half of the fleet.

For a while there has been a lack of regional wins in Mirror championships for Royal North sailors.  Last year Woo Kearney, Ross’s cousin won the Northern Championships.  Royal North supporters and Ross’s many friends on the circuit were delighted by his win with Adam as his new crew.         

All in all this was a very promising start to what is hoped will be an exciting and successful season for Royal North of Irelands Mirror sailors.

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