Report on the Fenit Keelboat Regatta, 7 & 8 June 2008.22 boats took part in this Regatta, half of which were from outside the club. Boats travelled from as far away as Clifden, Galway, Kilrush and Foynes. We had two days of fantastic racing, despite light winds. The overall winner of the Dr Denis Buckley Perpetual Memorial Trophy was Liam Burke, from Gort, Co Galway, on the boat AWOL. Best of the local boats were Powder Monker ( Liam Lynch ) who was second overall in Class 2 IRC . “Rooster” ( Mark Prenderville ) was first and “ Ridire Ban” ( Mike Mc Donnell ) was third overall in Class 2 ECHO The aim of the weekend was to prepare the local boats for WIORA. As a result of the Regatta, we managed to get a number of boats into the water, which might otherwise not have launched for another few weeks. Alan Crosbie, the officer of the day, assisted by our owen Peter Moore , arranged Olympic-style windward, leeward courses, which gave us plenty of opportunity to practice our starts and jibes. We also had a coastal race, which was very challenging as a result of the wind dying completely for a half hour in the middle of the race. Preparation for the Regatta was well organised by Dan Counihan. All clubs along the west coast were informed well in advance. The Regatta was included in the West Coast Superleague, which ensured a good attendance. It was also organised so that it could act as a feeder race for the 100-mile OSM race to Clifden. Saturday morning went off smoothly. . Steven Hand , Dominic Rafferty and Paddy Lang , did a fantastic job laying the heavy marks and providing safety back up . The committee boat, which was kindly provided and skippered by Mike Woods, was very comfortable. Jackie Browne and Joyce Walsh did a wonderful job calculating the results. Alan Crosbie and Peter Moore laid perfect courses, and very good start lines. Hazel O’Connor and Diarmuid MacNamara did a great job running the race office. The results for the day were read out on Saturday night, and was followed by an enjoyable night in the bar which was well attended by both locals and visitors .. Sunday racing went off very smoothly and a big crowd gathered in the bar for prize giving . We are very grateful to the sponsors for the weekend including Ballygarry House Hotel , Dan Counihan , Paul Keogh , and KCK partners (Nigel Crowe) and Graham Kelliher ( E+D Marine ) . In summary, the Fenit Regatta was a great success thanks to all the hard work from all the club members who helped out and Alan Crosbie , the PRO for the regatta . Results are available in the Results page David Buckley Commodore TBSC 24 June 2008 |