Following the success of the International Sailing Association Federation (ISAF) Team Racing World Championships which were held in beautiful Schull, Co.Corkin late August and early September of this year, team racing enthusiasts were expecting more of the same in this weekend’s National Championships; and they were not disappointed.

With 20 teams including six British entries all vying for the title the racing was at times fast and always intense, with wind speeds up and down for the entire weekend. The racing was undertaken using a Swiss League format, whereby if a team won their first race they would then face a team who had also won their first race and so on. This basis of this system means that teams should find themselves racing sides of a similar standard to themselves as the event progresses with random allocation being used to determine which sides faced each other in race1. In following with the team racing point scoring system, one point is granted for first place, two for second etc. The team with a points tally of ten or less is determined the victor.

UCD entered three teams for this event, with UCD1 and UCD2 being drawn against each other in the opening tie which proved to be an enthralling encounter. UCD1 took a lead early into the first mark in light breezes with a less than solid 1,3,6 combination but the lead nonetheless. They then strengthened their hold on the race textbook style converting to the more stable 1,4,5 combination leaving UCD2 trailing behind with a 2,3,6 score of points. Disaster then for UCD1 as one of their boats was deemed to have infringed Rule 42 by repeatedly rocking the boat and was issued with a two turns penalty by the on the water jury. Suddenly UCD2 were in the lead, rounding the final mark and heading up the last leg to the finish with a 1,4,5 combination. Once again the jury were involved in proceedings, and UCD2 managed to cross the finish line in a 1,3,4 combination – a tally of 8 points which was enough to earn them a victory and get their weekend campaign off to winning ways.

In other results UCD2 managed another win against UCC2 in their second match, before losing to three British teams: Wessex Exempt, GBR2 and Royalty Vultures in quick succession, leaving them with a disappointing 2 wins from 5 after their great start on day one. UCD1 managed a turn of form, beating UCD3 and UCC1 comprehensively in their next two races before falling to the sword of British teams Southampton and Southampton Male Voice Choir – the Brits thoroughly enjoying dashing UCDs hopes of being title contenders. UCD3 were unlucky with some difficult draws in the early stages, racing current Irish University Sailing Association title holders UL, UCD1, and last year’s champions the George Knights in their first three races. With nothing to show for themselves, losing became a habit and they failed to secure a win that day.

Sunday brought new hope to UCD teams following a disappointing first day all across the board but it also brought fresh offshore breezes causing problems for the race committee to organize racing. With gusts of over 20 knots (close to 30mph) the reduced storm sails were deployed in an effort to continue on with racing. UCD2 started with renewed vigor seeking to finish up ranked first university team and their opening race of the day against UL was the perfect motivation. They started perfectly with two boats fast off the line and the other making a nuisance of themselves complicating matters for opposition boats. With UL doing spins and UCD in a 1,3,5 it looked as if that elusive third win was on for sure. However gear failure to first placed UCD boat resulted in a costly swim and capsize for the lead helm with the team failing to recover. Their request for redress was not accepted due to a procedure technicality, and UCD2 were left sucking lemons once more.

Defeat toIreland’s second placed Team Zephyr meant that after their fantastic start they failed to win a race thereafter. UCD1’s fortunes did improve slightly with a win against UCC1, but a demoralizing defeat to youth team Schull – who representedIrelandin the aforementioned World Championships in August – left them with 3 wins from 7 for their event. The less said about UCD3 the better, with seven consecutive losses against tough opposition leaving them well and truly demoralized.

The George Knights were eventually crowned Irish Team Racing National Champions and deservedly so.

UCD would like to thank ITRA Secretary Gordon Davies and his team for organizing the event as well as Royal St. George Yacht Club for offering their facilities and boats. We look forward to competing again next year.

UCD1: Simon Doran and Aoife Cooney

Rory Murphy and Zoe Flood

Andrew O Donoghue and Iarlaith Kennedy

UCD2: Michael Harrington and Ciara Browne

Ciaran Hurney and Meadhbh Lavelle

David Fitzgerald and Eimear McIvor

UCD3: Eoin Duggan and Meghan Harbison

Aileen Boylan and Muireann O Sullivan

Dan McCarthy and Jen Dolan

Report by Michael Harrington