Hot Toddy - results

17-18 October Mullingar SC

GP14 Autumn Open & Youth Championships - results

Greystones SC 26-27 September

Sailing photos copyright Aaron Jones (aarjon1@gmail.com)    https://www.facebook.com/pages/Jones-Productions/200262633499250
Prize Giving photos copyright Laura McFarland

Irish Youth Championship

Report by Adrian Lee

Edward Coyne of Youghal SC crewed by Colman Grimes of Skerries, was victorious in this year’s  Youth Championship raced in summer like conditions off Greystones in Co. Wicklow. David Johnson & Eanna Lawless of Sutton fought hard for second place just holding off 14 year old Sligo’s Jack Currin & Tim Corcoran who scored two seconds in the last two races and Adrian Lee & Ossian Geraghty from Youghal/Sligo who finished on the same points despite an OCS in race 3.

The first of the four race series was held in 12-16 knots with a strong Southerly tide. Ed & Colman lay down an early marker, winning from brothers Gareth & Richard Gallagher with  Peter & Steven Boyle in 3rd. Gareth & Richard bounced back to win race 2 from Adrian & Ossian and Dan & Hugh Gill in 3rd. This left the Gallagher brothers as overnight leaders counting a first and second.

Race 3 on Sunday changed things with David Johnson & Eanna Molony (last year’s youth champion) taking the win from Jack Curran & Tim Corcoran in 2nd and Samuel Wray & Alan Thompson in 3rd. Skippers Gareth Gallagher, Adrian Lee and Jack Buttimer fell foul of the black flag in this race which PRO Mark Usher resorted to using after numerous recalls due to a combination of enthusiastic starters and strong tide. In Race 4 Edward Coyne & Colman Grimes took another win again to seal overall victory with Jack Curran in second and Kevin Martyn & Norman Lee in 3rd. If there was a Hard Lesson Trophy, the heads up winners would have been Gareth & Richard Gallagher from Derry who sailed a great regatta and looked like clear favourites until they came unstuck with 2 OCS’s on Sunday while trying too hard, very unfortunate for them as they have been going so well all season.

Ed Coyne also scooped up the U18 Trophy with Jack Currin convincingly taking the U16 with 2 years to spare. Top home club team was Tom and Kevin Gillen closely followed by Grainne Allen & Neil Willis and Ciaran & Aine Keogh.

This was a really enjoyable event expertly run by hard working Greystones club members and should be the last run from the characteristic old clubhouse as Sisk have almost finished a fine new larger one situated prominently by the south harbour wall with commanding views over the harbour, the sailing waters and beyond to Bray Head, Killiney, Dalkey Island and Howth.

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Autumn Championship

Report by Niall Henry

There was a record entry of 24 boats for the GP Youth Championships hosted alongside the senior event, the Autumn Open last weekend at Greystones. With lots of sunshine on Saturday morning, a steady 15 knots of breeze a great weekends racing lay ahead.

Watching Shane McCarthy and Damian Bracken sail at the moment I am reminded of the scene in Father Ted when he (Ted) had to explain to Dougal the difference between a small cow and a far away cow. (Because either Shane and Damian are sailing a very small boat or they are very far away!)...thought some of you might have needed an explanation!

Anyway....race 1 was won by S&D with Ger Owens and Filup de Loosdan (distant French relation to Keith and Ken) with David Johnson and Eanna Molony Lawless coming in an excellent third place. The first two places were the same in race 2 with Keith de Louden and Alan Le Thompson in third place.

Races three and four of the Autumn Open were sailed in the afternoon on Sunday after two full races were sailed in the youths. JP and Caroline McCalden led at the windward mark but got into difficulty with their spinnaker and were passed by Tim Corcoran and Blair Stowaway who in turn were passed by Niall Henry and Ossian Geraghty. (When asked on shore what happened Tim said it was Blair's fault, and that he hadn't wanted to crew in the first place, but when we asked Blair, he told us that it was Tim's fault and that he was just wasn't a very good crew..?) Niall and Ossian just about held their lead to the end of the race as Shane and Damian sailing that very small boat were closing in very quickly downwind. Ger and Filp came in third.

The final race of the championship was again won by S&D (such a pity Damian's not called Maurice) with the Skerries duo of Colman Grimes and David Lappin showing great speed to come in second followed Curly Morris and Laura Thompson.

Shane and Damian were over all winners and are just one event off a clean sweep, with Ger and Filp in second place overall followed by Niall and Ossian in third spot.

The Silver fleet was won by David and Eanna with Katie Dwyer and Michelle Rowley in second and Michael Cox and Josh Porter in third.

Adrian Lee and 2015 youth champion Edward Coyne were winners in the bronze fleet with Tom and Kevin Gillen in second just ahead of Seamus O'Cleirigh and Stephen Tiernry in third.

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Overall Youth GP14 2015
1st – Ed Coyne + Colman Grimes – Youghal SC/Skerries
2nd – David Johnston & Eanna Molony Lawless - Sutton DC
3rd – Jack Currin & Tim Corcoran – Sligo YC

Youth Under 16  - Jack Currin & Tim Corcoran – Sligo YC
Youth Under 18  - Ed Coyne & Colman Grimes – Youghal SC/Skerries

Overall GP14 Autumn Open 2015
1st – Shane MacCarthy & Damien Bracken – Greystones
2nd – Ger Owens & Filip De Loosdan – RSt George
3rd – Niall Henry & Ossian Geraghty – Sligo YC

Silver Fleet 1st – David Johnston & Eanna Molony Lawless - Sutton DC
Bronze Fleet 1st – Adrian Lee & Ed Coyne - Youghal SC

Race 1, 2 and 4 winners – Shane MacCarthy & Damien Bracken – Greystones
Race 3 winner – Niall Henry & Ossian Geraghty – Sligo YC

Youth Overall Results

Autumn Overall Results

Championship of Ireland

29-31 Aug Newtownards SC

McCarthy & Bracken Dominate GP14 National Championships

Report by Tim Corcoran

Shane McCarthy and Damien Bracken have won the GP14 Championships of Ireland with a dominant display of top class sailing in tricky conditions at Newtownards Sailing Club.

Five races were completed over three days on the northern end of Strangford Lough. 

The 37 boat fleet was made up of sailors from clubs throughout the country, including Youghal, Dun Laoghaire, Sligo, Derry, Sutton, Greystones, Skerries, Mullingar and the home club of Newtownards.

There was a large youth attendance mainly from Sutton Dinghy Club, they sailed hard and partied hard long into the night.  The fleet also included two boats that travelled from the UK, the International Class President Duncan Greenhalgh & Sam Watson who finished 2nd at the GP14 Worlds in 2014.

Race 1 on Saturday started in an 8-10 knot westerly breeze.  McCarthy and Bracken led around the first windward mark and were never in danger from the chasing pack.  There was a lot of place changes on the second and third beats due to some large shifts and variations in wind strength.  At the finish it was McCarthy & Bracken from Niall Henry & Ossian Geraghty who were closely followed by Alan Blay & David Johnson.

Race 2 was sailed in bit more breeze which had shifted round to the southwest, again it was McCarthy and Bracken showing the way at the first windward mark closely followed by Dan & Hugh Gill, Sam Watson & Nick Deveraux.  As the race progressed it was Henry & Geraghty who pulled through to 2nd with the fast charging Ger Owens and Mel Morris finishing in 3rd place.

The silver and bronze fleet competition was fierce, leading the silver fleet at the end of day 1 was Dan Gill and bronze fleet leader was young Peter Boyle crewed by his dad, Stephen.

There were three races scheduled for Sunday but the forecast was for little wind.  The fleet stayed ashore until 1pm, a light breeze brought the fleet to the starting area but it was short lived and the PRO abandoned for the day shortly after. 

Day 3 was to start at 10am in order to get a further three races in before the 14:30 deadline, a light offshore breeze of 8 to 12 knots with shifts of up to 20 degrees was the order of the day.

Pent up energy from Sunday resulted in a number of general recalls and the use of the black flag was required to keep the fleet in order.
Race 3 was again dominated by Championship leaders McCarthy and Bracken who took the gun from the returning Mark Taylor and crew Amanda Crosswaithe, Ger Owens and Mel Morris took 3rd place.

Mark Taylor’s 2nd place moved him to the top of the leader board of the Bronze fleet while the Silver fleet leader was now Steven & Jonny Nelson.

Unknown to the competitors, race 4 was being filmed by a drone operated from one of the safety boats.  The video footage can be viewed on https://vimeo.com/137921455.  The story of this race was that McCarthy and Bracken were not at the front, the front runners were Dan O’Connell crewed by Laura McFarland and Ger Owens & Mel Morris. Dan and Ger managed to put baby talk aside for a while and swapped places a number of times during the race. In the end though, Dan & Laura hit the last leeward mark allowing Ger & Mel to sail away to victory, Tim Corcoran & Brendan Brogan took 2nd with McCarthy and Bracken 3rd.

With time remaining for only one more race, Shane and Damien were crowned National Champions.  It is believed that history was made on two fronts, Shane becomes the first Irish helm to hold the title of Irish and British GP14 Champion in the same year, a remarkable achievement.  Not to be out done, Damien becomes the first Irish sailor to win the GP14 Championship of Ireland as both helm and crew.  Word has it that next year, they will reverse roles with Damien on the helm and Shane in the front?

Race 5 would determine the winner of the Silver and Bronze fleets, Dan & Hugh Gill needed to see off the challenge of Steven & Jonny Nelson to secure the win, they sailed an excellent race to finish 5th , which left them 7th overall and Silver fleet Champions.

The Bronze fleet was between Adrian Lee & Edward Coyne and Mark Taylor & Amanda Crosswaithe, Mark and Amanda sailed another good race to claim the title of Bronze fleet Champions.

The battle for 2nd and 3rd in the Gold fleet was between Owens, Henry and Corcoran.  A 4th place finish in the last race for Ger & Mel secured 2nd overall while a 2nd place for Tim & Brendan gave them 3rd overall.

The top youths were Sam Watson and Nick Deveraux who finished just ahead of Dan & Hugh Gill.

A big thank you from all the competitors to Newtownards Sailing Club for hosting the event and putting on a great event both on shore and on the water.

Gold Fleet
1st  Shane McCarthy & Damien Bracken
2nd Ger Owens & Mel Morris
3rd  Tim Corcoran & Brendan Brogan

Silver Fleet
1st Dan & Hugh Gill
2nd  Steven & Jonny Nelson
3rd Gareth & Richard Gallagher

Bronze Fleet
1st Mark Taylor & Amanda Crosswaithe
2nd Adrian Lee & Edward Coyne
3rd  Conor Twohig & Sinead Dickson

Leinster Results 2015

Ger Owens & Mel Morris have won the 2015 GP14 Leinster  Championship which was held at the Dun Laoghaire Regatta.

8 races were held over 3 days with only 1 discard.  The GP14s raced in the South Bull area on alternating inner and outer trapezoid courses.   The sailing was tough ranging from very lights winds to strong gusts and that was generally over each race.  Wind Guru could not predict the winds inside the Dublin Bay area.

The DL Regatta committee put on a great event both on and off shore. 

Stephen Boyle also put in a huge effort to make sure the GP14s were well catered for before and during the event.  Well done and thank you Stephen!

Report by Alan Blay:

With the Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta running this year, the GP14 class were invited to compete in addition to 30 other classes that also included 8 other dinghy fleets. To make the event that extra bit special it was decided to make it our Leinster Championships. The GP14 fleet was one of the largest classes in the regatta and the whopping 35 boat entry had some notable names including two former Olympic sailors and the current world champion crew, Andy Tunnicliffe. From the outset, it promised for an exciting event with some fabulous racing.

Day 1 for the GP14 class was Friday the 10th July. After some spine tingling stories of demasted cruisers from the day before, it was fair to say nerves were tense for some competitors. Racing was postponed for 2 hours as the race committee waited for the heavy winds to abate. A quick run to the shops to stock up on food was welcomed by everybody. As the winds started to calm the sailors prepared for the inevitable launch and tough races. The race area was moved to the Salthill race course for the day. With Flying 15s and Squibs starting before the GP14’s, the competition had well and truly heated up and there was a general recall on the first GP14 start. Eventually though we were underway and after a tough upwind leg Niall Henry & Ossian Gerraghty rounded the weather mark in first chased closely by Alan Blay & David Johnston. It was the Blay/Johnston team who managed to claim 1st followed by the McGuinness brothers and Ger Owens sailing with stand-in crew Max Treacy. Race 2 got off to a much smoother start with current world champion Andy Tunnicliffe and crew Lee Tennant grabbing the top spot. Race 3, and final race of the day went to Ger & Max who after a fine performance throughout the day, scoring a 3rd, 2nd, 1st  were the overnight leaders.

Day 2 of the Volvo Regatta started off with some confused faces as a quick look at the results from the previous day made for some interesting reading. Fortunately all queries were sorted out quickly. After reaching the race area out by South Bull the racing was underway shortly. Race 4 went the way of GP veteran Curly Morris and crew Laura McFarland pursued by Ger Owens & Melanie Morris. Race 5 was taken by Alan & David earning their second race win of the event. Shane McCarthy & Andy Thompson made their presence known by knocking in a 2nd in race 5 and followed that up with a 1st in race 6.

The final day of this event was greeted with calmer winds but tired legs. Arriving to the race area with a wide range of boats including J24s, SB20s, Flying 15s, Squibs, and Wayfarers, the starting area was packed. Ger & Melanie went into the final day with 5 point lead over 2nd placed Andy & Lee and 3rd place Alan & David a further 3 points back. The Blay/Johnston team snatched their 3rd bullet in race 7 to keep their hopes alive. Little however could be done to stop Ger & Melanie following up with a 2nd. The final race of the event still provided a glimmer of hope to catch the leaders. Alan & David and Ger & Melanie raced right to the end and crossed the finish line within 2 boat lengths of each other. It was Alan & David who came out on top but it still wouldn’t be enough to topple the former olympian from the top spot. Sailing in and it appeared that Ger & Melanie would be crowned champions, with Alan & David 2nd and Andy & Lee 3rd. However ashore it had come to light that the Blay/Johnston team were OCS in the last race dropping them down to 3rd place overall, just one point behind Andy & Lee.

With a great event over and 8 fantastic races sailed, the Leinster championships went to Ger Owens & Melanie Morris deservedly. A notable mention however goes to the winners of the Bronze fleet, Gareth & Richie Gallagher, who were no pushovers slotting in plenty of top 5 scores and finishing in 6th position overall – an outstanding result.  Everyone went home happy to have had such great racing and superb hospitality by the Royal St. George Yacht Club who kept us all well fed and well “hydrated” in the evenings. A great event enjoyed by all.

Photos below: David Branigan/Oceansport

Photos below : Gareth Craig  (fotosail.com)

Link to more photos which can also be purchased: http://www.fotosail.com/events/2015dlregatta/saturday_southbull/sat_sbull_gp14/

Ulster Championship

13-14 Jun Lough Erne YC

Photos Copyright Donnie Phair www.donniephair.com

Ulster Championship 2015 Report by Ger Owens

Always be apprehensive of a venue described as picturesque...

Lough Erne was described as the most picturesque venue one would ever sail and it definitely delivered on that promise. I got to see every nook and cranny of the beautiful venue as we tried to navigate our way around the very trying race course. We arrived Saturday morning with the sun splitting the slipway and the breath-taking views were teeing up a very exciting event in Rory McIlroy's second favourite venue for golf. A great turn out of boats meant a large fleet would make any defending champ (in this case, Alan Blay) nervous at the prospect of holding onto a title. We rigged and launched eager to get around the corner to see the sailing venue for the racing.

A chilly breeze was an early warning sign to anyone who thought this was going to be another sailing event. The Race Officer got the racing off to a quick start and it was clear from the outset that the training Shane MacCarthy and Damian Bracken had put in over the winter was paying dividends and provided them with the extra boatlength required when situations were tight around what was set to be the most tricky racing in the GP's this year.

Lough Erne was a venue where consistency and patience were currency, and no amount of money in the bank would have bought you a race without them. Keith Louden (our lake specialist) was also on form and determined to topple the Macarthy winning streak. Alan Blay, the defending champion, was fired up and ready, staying for the weekend with local tactical genius JP McCaldin to increase his chances of a successful defence. The leader in every race came from the left hand side, crossing the fleet and using the right hand side to approach the top mark. The wind shifted ferociously and the 'bold child' that was Lough Erne laughed as the rest of the fleet sailed in circles trying to deal with the shifting conditions. Tim Corcoran had left himself a lot of work after being over the line in the first race. Over the weekend the naughty GP fleet were to try the patience of the race officer on more than one occasion with multiple restarts because they could not stay behind the line.

Day two launching was similar to day one with gorgeous sunshine guiding our way - however everyone had gritted teeth this time and for good reason. The difficult shifty conditions were to continue and stringing a couple of consistent results together for anyone was rare. Everyone had glimpses of the front of the fleet but hanging onto a lead was virtually impossible. The positions throughout the races were yo-yoing to say the very least except those of Shane and Keith who had set themselves up for a deciding match race in the natural amphitheatre that was Lough Erne. The rest of the fleet could only marvel as two gladiators of Irish GP's wrestled their way through the pack to try and win the title of Ulster champion. The title swapped and changed between the two several times contending with bonkers shifts that literally tacked boats uncontrollably at times. Keith had the lead at the top mark and Shane kept him in his sights throughout the race. Pile ups at three of the marks meant getting around the race course unscathed was a skill in itself, (Not something yours truly managed to do).

A nail biting last broad reach decided the championship and Shane was a well deserved champion, the wind had shifted to favour the chasing pack and filled in from behind, Shane was to leeward and in front of that same pack and chose to use his last ace card to hold the inside lane on Keith at the leeward mark and clinch the title, the boat length which himself and Damian had worked so hard to gain over the winter had been the small inch required to win. The rest of the fleet had to watch and enjoy the spectacle going on around them as they tried to make sufficient sense of the conditions to finish the race.

Special mention must go to the youth sailors in the bronze fleet who showed some of the gold and silver fleet how it's done - Gareth and Richard Gallagher and Peter Boyle sailing with dad Stephen put in a great performance over the weekend. It was also fantastic to see the return of Richard Street - Richard, we've missed you.

And thanks again to the event organisers and members at Lough Erne Yacht Club for providing a warm welcome and great racing.

Shane MacCarthy and Damian Bracken have taken the GP14 Ulster Championship 2015. 

2nd Keith Louden & Alan Thomson

3rd Ger Owens & Mel Morris

Silver fleet

1st Steven & Jonny Nelson

2nd Simon Cully & Libby Tierney

3rd Gerry Gilligan & Lucia Nicholson

Bronze

1st Gareth & Richard Gallagher

2nd Peter & Stephen Boyle

3rd Adrian Lee & Edward Cayne

The awards were presented by Lough Erne YC Commodore Theo Nugent

A great weekend hosted by Lough Erne YC with 31 boats in attendance.

Purcell Trophy - Report & Results

Sat 2 - Sun 3 May Purcell Trophy Lough Ree Yacht Club

GP 14 sailors McCarthy and Bracken win the Purcell Trophy hosted by Lough Ree Yacht Club.

Report by Keith Louden
Fresh from their win at the O'Tiarnaigh challenge two weeks ago Shane McCarthy and Damien Bracken from Greystones Sailing Club took the honours in challenging conditions at Lough Ree Yacht club.
It had been nearly 20 years since the last time the GP 14 class had visited this beautiful club and jockeyed for position on the Lough Ree Yacht Club start line. Competitors had gathered from all four Provinces displaying the geographical appeal it now has. It was also the first time a GP 14 event had been twinned with the Mirror class and was a resounding success.

After a short delay on Saturday morning to let the wind ease a little, race Officer Liam Maloney assisted by his daughter Nessa lowered the postponement flag to signal his intentions to start the 2015 Purcell Championship. Out on the water he set up triangular courses which included long beats and fast broad reaches in force 4 gusting to force 5 conditions.

In race one Shane McCarthy and Damien Bracken took advantage of the shifting conditions and established an early lead at the weather mark, with the chasing pack rounding close together they were able to extend the lead while the battle behind ensued. With McCarthy and Bracken winning, John and Donal McGuinness finished second and Max Treacey and Ronan MacNamara showed good early pace finishing in third.

In the silver fleet Peter Fallon and James Peter Hockley who narrowly beat Simon Culley and Libby Tierney, and Bill and James Johnson respectively established an early lead.
The Bronze fleet was won by Peter and Stephen Boyle with Gareth and Richard Gallagher in second place and Adrian Lee and Edward Coyne in third.

Race two began with Keith Louden and Alan Thompson taking an early lead only to relinquish this position towards the end of the second beat to McCarthy and Bracken who had recovered impressively from a poor start to take the win. Louden and Thompson just managed to hold off the McGuinness brothers in a close battle for second place. The silver fleet was won by Cully and Tierney followed by the Johnsons. The Bronze fleet was won with a very impressive fifth overall by the Gallagher brothers followed by Lee and Coyne.

With the wind rising and capsizes increasing in race three, some crews decided to make for the shelter of the club house where soup and rolls were distributed.  McCarthy and Bracken must also have smelt this because they didn’t hang around long before taking another impressive win. Second was the Mc Guinness brothers and Louden Thompson in third. In the silver fleet it was Fallon and Hockley followed the Johnsons, and in The Bronze fleet the Gallaghers were followed home by Lee and Coyne.

Sunday morning began with lighter winds much appreciated by the crews who survived the Saturday afternoon. Once again the start line and the courses were set impeccably by the race officer and his team. McCarthy and Bracken came through to continue their good form from the Saturday to take the win, with Niall Henry and Ossian Geraghty who didn’t make Saturdays racing taking second, third was Fallon and Hockley who also finished first in the Silver, with Culley and Tierney second and Katie Dwyer and Michelle Rowley third. Bronze was Peter and Stephen Boyle from the Gallaghers followed by Lee and Coyne.

Race five began with some large shifts which oscillated from side to side and varied in strength, however, McCarthy and Bracken won the race and with it the Purcell Trophy. McGuinnesses came second and Henry and Geraghty in third.

With McCarthy and Bracken’s weekends work done they decided to take an early shower and leave the rest of the fleet to battle it out for the last piece of silverware of the weekend. With the wind dropping away during some heavy showers, then rising to planing conditions just before the next shower this was a race which was never going to be won easily. At the first gybe mark McGuinnesses led, followed closely by Treacey and Macnamara, Cully and Tierney, and Curly Morris and Laura McFarland. After seeing the first three boats sail high on the reach Morris and McFarland steered a low course and rounded the leeward mark in first place. This was a position this pair did not relinquish despite the challenge of the chasing pack and the continually changing conditions. Second was Henry and Geraghty and third was Cully and Tierney.

Overall Positions:

Gold Fleet
1st  Shane Mc Carthy and Damien Bracken
2nd  John Mc Guinness and Donal Mc Guinness
3rd  Keith Louden and Alan Thompson

Silver Fleet
1st  Peter Fallon and James Hockley
2nd  Simon Cully and Libby Tierney
3rd  Bill Johnson and James Johnson

Bronze Fleet
1st  Gareth Gallagher and Richard Gallagher
2nd  Adrian Lee and Edward Coyne
3rd Peter Boyle and Stephen Boyle

Report by John McGuinness

"The GP14's kicked off the season with the Riocard O'Tiarnaigh Challenge sailed at Swords Sailing Club on the weekend of the 18th and 19th of April. A total of 20 boats turned up to compete for the championship which was run in individual fleets Gold, Silver and Bronze over the Saturday and Sunday. The top four in each fleet qualify for the final three race sail-off to determine the overall winner on the Sunday afternoon.

With a steady 13 knot breeze the bronze fleet were first to take to the water and the young Gallagher brothers Gareth and Richard showed early form to lead the first race from start to finish. In the silver fleet it was Simon Cully paired with his old crew Richard Street who took line honours  while in the Gold fleet it was the Tim Corcoran and Brendan Brogan, back after a year's sabbatical who showed the early form and took the first race.

As the day progressed it was the young Gallagher brothers from Culmore who dominated the bronze fleet winning all but one of the six races on the Saturday. It was young Peter Boyle crewed by the auld fellow Stephen who won the last race of the day to hold second place overnight in the bronze fleet. Third place overnight was Adrian Lee and Edward Coyne from Youghal. Adrian and Edward sailed a consistent series finishing either second or third in each of the six races.

The silver fleet was hotly contested with Simon and Richard taking three of the six races but two DNS meant they were relegated to third overnight. Colman Grimes and David Lappin took two of the six races and were the overnight leaders in the silver fleet. Bill and James Johnson won one of the six races and finished the day in second place.
 
Despite Tim and Brendan's early showing it was Niall Henry and Ossin Geraghty who dominated the first day in the Gold fleet taking two of the first six and finishing second in three of the others. Shane MacCarthy and Damian Bracken finished the day in a creditable second place taking one of the six races and finishing second and third in the rest. The Mc Guinness brothers held third place overnight with consistent top four finishes.
 
On Sunday morning there was still three races to sail in the qualification series and qualification open to almost all the fleet. The Gallagher brothers, who after their strong showing on the Saturday had already qualified for the final didn't need to sail but decided to go out and get a feel for the course in preparation for the final. They sailed the first race and then came ashore to rest while the other battled it out for the remaining qualification spots. Peter and Stephen Boyle, Adrian and Edward from Youghal and Michael Collender with Brian Walker from Mullingar took the other qualification spots for the final. In the silver fleet it was Colman and David, Simon and Richard, Bill and James with Gerry Gilligan and Lucia Nicholson who qualified for the silver fleet. In the gold fleet the qualification places went to Niall and Ossian, Shane and Damian, John and Donal with Tim and Brendan taking the final spot.

The first race in the final saw Simon and Richard a little to eager to start and earned a black flag for their troubles. Niall and Ossian lead at the weather mark and held it all the way to the finish. Shane and Damian were second with Tim and Brendan third. Race two saw a reversal in the top two positions with Shane and Damian taking the first place and Niall and Ossian taking second. With double points for the last race, the overall result would depend on which of the two inform teams could come out on top. In the end it was Shane and Damian who won the race and the championship with Niall and Ossian finishing second overall with the McGuinness brothers taking the last of the podium positions. Colman and David took the top honours in the silver fleet while Adrian and Edward were the overall winners in the bronze fleet."

Congratulations to Shane MacCarthy and Damian Bracken on retaining the O’Tiarnaigh trophy 2015.

O’Tiarnaigh Challenge Overall Fleet winners:

Gold Winners - Shane MacCarthy and Damian Bracken Greystones SC

Silver Winners - Colman Grimes & David Lappin Skerries SC

Bronze Winners - Adrian Lee & Edward Coyne Youghal SC

20 boats raced in their own fleets in the qualifying races on Saturday and Sunday morning with only the top 4 of each fleet going through to the finals.

Photos courtesy of Robert Conlon:

Swords 2015 O'Tiarnaigh (Part 1 of 3)

Swords 2015 O'Tiarnaigh (Part 2 of 3)

Swords 2015 O'Tiarnaigh (Part 3 of 3)

Results of the finals below.  3rd race counted as double points, no discard.

Qualifying results listed on O’Tiarnaigh Challenge page.