Lough Erne Yacht Club

News > J/24 Series 4 Innisdoney & Captain Irvine Cups

Created: 6/24/2009 6:06:41 AM, Updated: 7/8/2009 3:43:17 AM

Final two races in this fourth series of J/24 racing this season sees Jet taking home the Inishdoney Cup. Captain Irvine Cup to Jade.


Inishdoney Cup - 6 Races

1st, Jet, Michael McCaldin (helm)
2nd, Jigalo, Tim Rippey (helm)
3rd, Skipjack, Michael Whaley/John Kane (helm)

The final two races for the Inisdoney and Captain Irvine Cups took place at Lough Erne Yacht club on Tuesday evening 7th July with seven J/24 class yachts taking part.

Race Officer Mark Taylor, assisted by young Conor Rippey, set a course into a westerly breeze from Gublusk Point to the Divan racing mark. With the two leading boats, Tim Rippey's Jigalo and Michael McCaldin's Jet on equal points from the series' previous four races, tough competition was expected. Several boats were over the starting line and had to return to "dip" the line to start again. Jigalo managed to hold off Jet and take race one with John Kane's Skipjack in 3rd place.

In race two the strong winds had abated somewhat. Jet made the best of the windshifts and took race two with the very consistent Skipjack taking second place ahead of Jigalo.

Jet and Jigalo finished this very close sporting but competitive series on equal points of seven each. The Racing Rules of Sailing had to be consulted to divide them, with Michael McCaldin and his crew of four taking the Inisdoney Cup.

The Captain Irvine Cup was won by Sean McCosker's Jade which continues to improve in this J/24 fleet with an impressive display in race five of this series.

Barry Humphreys
J/24 Fleet Captain, LEYC

Busy J/24 Fleet
So far this 2009 season, counting Tuesday evening races from mid-April to 7 July and the Western Championship, Erne J/24s have completed 29 races that variously involved ten boats, up to 60 sailors, and the award of ten cups to eight boats. Mejoolie, Barry Hupphreys, John Mulholland’s Jasper, Tim Rippey’s Jigalo (2), John Kane’s Skipjack, Michael McCaldin's Jet, Sean McClosker's Jade and Michael Clarke’s Jeriatrix for Tuesday racing and first and second Westerly prizes to Jet and Jorvik at the Western event. These statistics show a busy active fleet enjoying good racing with success and participation acknowledged and shared across the fleet.


Reports on first four races below

Fourth J/24 Series Race 1 & 2
The season’s fourth Tuesday J/24 series began with two races on 23 June in a warm south east breeze, almost 30 sailors in shirtsleeves and some in shorts on six boats. Fleet Captain, Barry Humphries' Mejoolie was gate boat for both on a course from Bay (which was offset northward by about 150 metres) up to Rossfad marks, the first race two rounds, the second one. Michael McCaldin’s Jet and Tim Rippey’s Jigalo won first and second races respectively and each were second to the other likewise.

Third and following positions were the same in both races, Skipjack, helmed by Michael Whaley in John Kane’s absence, then Mejoolie, and Michael Clarke’s Jeriatrix in the final spinnaker runs just managing fifth close ahead of sixth placed John Mulholland’s Jasper. At prize giving after racing, Jigalo received the FB Maguire and Jeriatrix the Mahon Cup, first and second overall in the previous third series.

Fourth Series Races 3 & 4
As last week, this Tuesday evening Fleet Captain Barry Humphreys set courses from Bay upwind to Rossfad, two rounds, with the second race shortened to one round in fading wind. The seven boats were not all fully crewed, so about 25 sailors were out.
Jeriatrix with only two, Michael Clarke and June Clarke, did very well, fifth in the first race, second at the windward mark in the second race, then chasing wind where it was not there, in a soft spinnaker air, let Michael McCaldin's Jet through and on to win, crew Bertie Forsythe and Harold Johnston, then Tim and Bridget Rippey’s Jigalo to finish second, crew Pat Cassidy and Catherine Roberts. However the Jeriatrix two were pleased with third, ample reward for hard ingenious deck work usually done by four or five.
The first race saw a great battle among the three top crews, Jigalo, eventual winner, Jet second. Third and close throughout was Michael Whaley helming John Kane’s Skipjack, crew Jo Thompson, Brendan Lilley and Roy Spence. Barry Humphreys in Mejoolie with Anne Sheehy and Eva Doyle were up with the top three at first, then set the spinnaker on its side, an odd sight, fell back but had done enough to hold off Jeriatrix, fifth. John Mulholland’s Jasper crew, Warren Cooper and Stephen Carson, sixth, also had sail handling problems, a tangled spinnaker drop at leeward Bay mark let Jeriatrix through.
Jet and Jigalo, each with two firsts and two seconds are equal first, a tie to break in next Tuesday’s final two races of this series. Third so far is Skipjack, three thirds and sixth.