Lough Erne Yacht Club

News > LEYC NATIONAL J/24 CHAMPION

Created: 9/10/2009 6:57:09 AM, Updated: 9/20/2009 1:41:59 PM

Mary Anne Sutton, LEYC Commodore, on behalf of Committee and all members is delighted and congratulates Michael McCaldin, Irish National J/24 Champion for a second time, winning the 2009 event on 12 and 13 September.


The picture shows Michael McCaldin's Murder Picture, sails soft trimmed, leading the national J/24 championship fleet in light airs on Lough Ree.

This same crew, Michael McCaldin, Michael Whaley, Joey Kelly, Bertie Forsythe and Ed Beattie, had won the National Championship back in 2000, when it was also on Lough Ree, a Shannon lake north of Athlone, with smaller but similar waters to Lough Erne.

Joking at prize giving, Michael McCaldin said his trim team were under the 400 Kg combined crew weight limit, but their ages totalled 300 years. So the national J/24 champions are also Ireland’s most mature J/24 crew.

Lough Erne was strongly represented among 90 sailors in 18 boats from 6 clubs at Ireland’s 30th National J/24 Championship, an event first held in 1979. Among J/24s and crew from Lough Erne was another past National Champion, Diarmuid O’Donovan, winner of the 2003 National Championship in Virjin on Lough Erne. Helming Sayonara, he was second among the LEYC boats on the Ree, and made eighth place overall, best a third in the second race.

The Racing
Principal Race Officer, Robin Gray, from Bangor, Co Down, managed to set five races on Saturday in light shifty winds that often frustrated course setting and the racing. But the sunshine was magnificent, a rarity this summer. A fair start for an eager fleet was difficult in the first race. The black flag rule was invoked - a boat not behind the line in the final minute to the start is disqualified. Two boats were penalised, Chris Shackleton’s Johnny Bravo from Malahide, and defending champion, Flor O’Driscoll in Hard on Port from Dunlaoghaire.

The day’s remaining four races, with two each won by Michael McCaldin and Flor O’Driscoll, were tests of patience, sail trim and wind judgement over a long hot day that saw the fleet not all ashore until six o’clock. Overnight positions were Michael McCaldin first, Flor O’Driscoll second and, third overall, local hero, Andrew Mannion in Jeb Stuart from Lough Ree YC.

Sunday Fog
On Sunday, with three remaining of eight races planned, the fleet set out and into a fog bank on the race area to wait for wind. It lifted and eventually a light wind allowed a start for a sixth race during which a big shift in wind direction greatly lifted some and set back other boats. Flor O’Driscoll won this race but Michael McCaldin, caught in that big shift, finished fifteenth. The wind died and after a long wait the last two races were abandoned.

Scoring, One Point Difference
Sailing results use a system where overall place is set by the total of race scores omitting worst. Murder picture counted three firsts a second and a third, and omitted Sunday’s fifteenth place, making 8 points, just one better than Hard on Port’s 9 points, counting three firsts and two thirds, and omitting the black Flag penalty.

Thus did Michael McCaldin narrowly become second time Irish National J/24 Champion 2009, nine years after being Champion 2000.

Other Erne Crews
Tim and Bridget Rippey, with regular crew Patricia Compton, Pat Cassidy and Catherine Roberts in Jigalo, the boat that won the 2005 World Championship, emerged ninth overall, best a fourth in the fifth race. This keen and competent crew did very well on home Erne waters in this season’s Tuesday evening racing, and greatly enjoyed the Ree outing.

Brendan Gallagher in Jorvik, loaned by Shaun Sowden, and first time helming in a big J/24 event where knowledge of rules is vital, described the final race as great, great fun!. Helped by that wind shift, from near last he came up to finish ninth, with club mates astern in Mejoolie, Jigalo, Murder Picture and Luder.

During the summer at LEYC, Brendan Gallagher was loaned the Jeriatrix helm while owner Michael Clarke was on holiday. He won a Tuesday cup, was much enthused, and then also helmed Jorvik. He took her to Lough Ree with crew son Donnchadha, Wayne Anthony, Ruth Richie, and Richard Smith, from the Erne Yeoman fleet. Jorvik’s team made fifteenth overall and fifth among seven in the Silver fleet.

Barry Humphreys, J/24 Fleet Captain at LEYC, was well pleased with his fleet’s strong support of the event, and that an Erne crew won. He made sixteenth overall, best a twelfth in the first race, with a Cavan crew, Ann Sheehy, Eva Doyle, June Clarke and daughter Aisling.

Clarke J/24 Trophy 2009
Robin Eagleson in Luder Too, from Lough Neagh SC, made eleventh overall, best a fourth in the fourth race, and got a prize for second in the Silver fleet, collected by crew Nessa Murnaghan of LEYC. Robin is also an LEYC member and President of the J/24 Association of Ireland. In this role, he presented the 2009 Clarke J/24 Trophy to Flor O’Driscoll, whose achievements included winning June’s Western J/24 Championship on Lough Erne.

Moreover, Flor O’Driscoll was overall champion of the Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta. The Irish Independent and Ireland Afloat magazine deemed him Sailor of the Month for July after an inspirational performance which saw his veteran J/24 Hard on Port emerge as supreme champion from a fleet of more than 450 boats on Dublin Bay. The annual Clarke Trophy, named after the former J/24 President, Michael Clarke, of LEYC, is to mark and reward significant participation in J/24 racing.

LEYC Autumn Regatta
Lough Erne’s Autumn Regatta is to be a full weekend event this season, on 10 & 11 October. Hopes are that the local J/24 fleet will be joined by visiting J/24s, including J/24 President, Robin Eagleson’s Luder Too. With enthused support from the LEYC crews last weekend on the Ree, an autumn regatta with championship style racing courses, for J/24s and for Yeoman keelboats, could become a real top class racing event to finish the 2009 season.

Earlier Preview
LEYC will be well represented among over 100 sailors in more than 20 boats at the J/24 National Championship on Lough Ree, on the weekend12 & 13 September.
This event is Ireland’s 30th National J/24 Championship. Among J/24s and crew on the road south from Lough Erne will be two past National Champions, Michael McCaldin’s crew in Murder Picture, 2000 winners, when it was also on Lough Ree, and Diarmuid O’Donovan, the 2003 National Champion on Lough Erne, in Sayonara.

Tim Rippey will be there in Jigalo, the boat that won the 2005 World Championship with Tim in her crew. Jigalo’s keen and competent crew has done very well in this season’s Tuesday evening J/24 racing at LEYC, which finished last week.

Barry Humphreys, J/24 Fleet Captain at LEYC, delivered his J/24 Mejoolie to LRYC last weekend. Her canny Cavan crew also did well in Tuesday racing. Brendan Gallagher, who was loaned the Jeriatrix helm while owner Michael Clarke was on holiday, won a Tuesday cup, was much enthused and also helmed Shaun Sowden’s Jorvik. He too has gathered a crew and Jorvik is off to Lough Ree.

Early plans for John Kane’s Skipjack fell through, likewise Jeriatrix, whose crew are variously on Mejoolie, Jorvik, Sayonara and Robin Eagleson’s Luder Too, from Lough Neagh SC. Robin is an LEYC member, motor cruiser October Dream, and President of the J/24 Association of Ireland. On the way home from Lough Ree, he plans to leave Luder Too at LEYC for October’s Autumn Regatta.

In all, the LEYC contingent will number over 25 sailors in five or six J/24s. Details of the racing etc. are on both J/24 Ireland and Lough Ree YC websites – links on right hand side of LEYC website home page. Results will be posted when available.

Michael Clarke, Webmaster, Thursday 10 September 2009