Lough Foyle Yacht Club

A pleasant evening of sailing with no shouting or crashing of boats.
Light but viable winds (up to F3).
Course from the perch to Muff to Faughan to Power station X 2.
Anton H and Cecil T had a good gybing battle in race 1.

George G LFYC handicap in the Solo has been revised to 1300.

Cecil T sailing in Alan T’s Phantom has been awarded an LFYC handicap of 1150

In race one Joe Kelly and Danny G collided near the mark at the power station. This resulted in damage to Danny G’s boat putting him out of race 2.

The first of the Culmore series of Punt races took place tonight.

Two Punts raced.

Danny Gallagher/Gareth G/Owen McC

James Hockley Jnr/Kevin Lynch/Alan T

Light winds, strong tides. Start at the perch, beat down to Conniborow, over to Faughan, back up to the power station.

James P H and crew were over the line and had to go back, Danny G and crew made a better start but may have been too near the shore and lost wind soon to be overtaken by Hockley and Co. Hockley and Co sailed on and went far in to keep out of the tide. The wind veered giving Danny G and Co very nice lift and a clear shot to the windward mark while the other boat was near marooned.

Thats how it ended, congratulations to Danny G and Co. The race was shortened to one lap due to light winds. The second race was cancelled.

Racing today started at early at 10.00am. Gareth G and Richard G were sailing their family GP14 and have been awarded PY in the LFYC handicap. The first race started from the perch to powerstation to faughan to conniborrow X2. A big tanker leaving port caused the OD and the coxswain to delay the start of the second race while the tanker completed its swing around in Culmore bay. Once clear, the second race started. The wind had changed so the course was changed. Sailing now in Culmore bay, starting off the slipway to powerstation and harts and the culmore green mark through the line X2. The wind picked up to F4/5 and very gusty and changeable making sailing challenging.

Congratulations to Gareth G and Richard G who won line honours in race 2. Four boats crossed the line in 17 seconds making for an exciting finish. Congratulations to Anton H who seems to be getting the hang of his new Laser.

Two races tonight. Race two was very much faster than race one, race tow taking just 15 minutes compared with race 1 at 31 minutes.

Bill J was sailing the club GP14 with guest crew and has been awarded an LFYC handicap of 1190.

I did not see this race so I cant comment on the course or the weather, but I assume it was windy and got windier and that accounted for the faster race times in the second race….

Racing today in breezy conditions. Great to see Bill J and Joy were out in the club GP14. Most boats were away at the GP14 event in Swords. (BTW there is a great event report here: http://www.yachtsandyachting.com/news/175988/GP14-Riocard-OTiarnaigh-Challenge)

At one stage Bill and Joy lost their rudder (fell off pin and gudgeon), but somehow managed to get it fixed back on. A tricky enough operation!

Anton H should learn the difference between Port and Starboard before he shouts out Starboard! LOL.

We have a nice new bright Green mark in place in Culmore bay. Hopefully that will shorten the “which mark do you mean” (points with finger into distance) conversations heard before most races and the subsequent “oh I thought you meant that other mark” conversations after the race.

Thanks as usual to Liam H and Peter F as Coxwain and OD.

PS. Don’t forget to give your £2 per sail to the OD on each race day.

Light wind action this am (10am start). Very sunny and warm. In race 2 Anton H got stuck and had to wait for the wind which could be seen across the bay carrying Ken and Davy L and Alan T home to the finish line. Peter F and James H drifted alongside a tug boat at the dock forcing a rtd. Thanks to Peter F Snr who waited at the line for Anton H to finish race 2.

Two short races tonight with results combined to give a single result. Light winds in both races but in the second race the wind dropped a strong flood tide made finishing an accomplishment in itself with three boats RTD. Congratulations to Joe and Richard who scored their first win (second race). Many thanks to L Harrigan who towed a few boats home today!

A very fine evening with sunshine and wind. F3 SW. Start at the perch, up to harts, run down to Conniborrow (a very dead run near conniborrow, causing a dodgy moment for Anton H in the Laser) reach over to Faughan back to a mark near the slipway back to conniborrow, faughan, finish.

Congratulations to Alan T who skippered Peter F’s GP14 and sailed it very well indeed helped and guided of course by an expert crew in James Peter H.

Anton H went well in the Laser. James J and Bill J accidentally hit a mark and earned a nasty scratch. Mark rounding in deceptively strong tide is always tricky in Culmore!

Welcome back to sailing to Danny and Gareth G.

Thanks to Liam H as Coxwain and to Peter F as OD.

Very windy day. There was a long wait while people decided to go or not. Eventually just three boats ventured out. Anton H in his Laser got as far as the start line and made a start but concluded that falling in was an inevitability rather than a possibility and RTD and headed for the shore. Bill and James and Peter and James sailed on and had two good races. A good few LFYC spectators watched the action from the warm dry safety of their cars parked on the slipway. They were additionally entertained by a couple of lads who were struggling to launch a powerboat – a bit cruel yes, but in fairness it was quete funny.
Bill and James went for a swim over near Harts but recovered well.
Many thanks to Liam H and George D who were out in the new rescue boat.