Narrows Series is still the No 1 sailing event

Narrows Series is still the No 1 sailing event

10 July 2024

AN earlier than usual start to this year’s Narrows Series did nothing to deter the 80-boat fleet that lined up to take part in the series precursor, the Bar Buoy race, on Friday night.

Under the watchful eye of Strangford Sailing Club’s evergreen race officer, Gerry Reilly, the yachts raced off towards the bar mouth, driven on by a light breeze and, for once, dry and bright conditions.

Such was their enthusiasm to get under way, that some lined up early in the tidal rush, to then struggle against the current while trying to retake the line. 

In the big boat IRC1 class, Peter Holden’s Going to Red and Elixir, under Brian Wilson, finished only nine seconds apart after 90 minutes of racing and although line honours went to Elixir, it was Going to Red which took first place overall. 

The YTC1 class on the other hand was dominated by visitors from Belfast Lough, with D’Arcy and McClernon’s Sheep Dawg leading the flock home ahead of Stocker and Menice’s No Quarter in second.

In YTC2 however, it was a battle of the Albin Expresses with Findlay and Ramsey’s Self Expression snatching victory just 22 seconds ahead of Scott Hagan’s Midnight Express.

In the one design classes, Peter Kennedy’s Team Ridgeway showed the Flying 15s a clean pair of heels, while Mipaal under Stephen Lynn led the way in the Impalas.  Kenny Smith secured yet another first in River Laragh, while John and Heather Gilmore claimed the Glen victory in Glenoe. 

In the large restricted sail class it was a Dark and Scary night for Stevie Andrews in his Hanse 375, while Ryan Kelly’s Scampalong took a commanding victory in YTCRS2.

Showing experience never grows old, Wychcrafts took the podium places in the Dinghy Handicap class, beating all the modern fibreglass fliers with John Murray’s Bernadette in first and Oliver Curran’s Master McGrath in second. 

After a well-attended celebration on Friday night, Strangford Regatta kicked off on Saturday in a magnificent downpour with torrential rain and hailstones making for very unpleasant conditions all round.

This didn’t deter Elixir, which finished seven minutes ahead of Supersonic in second, with Going to Red in third.

However Portaferry Town Regatta on Sunday saw Going to Red take the podium position, leaving it all to play for on day three. 

As the final race gave race officer John McAlea a good breeze and glorious sunshine, Going to Red chased their rival around the course, and with a corrected time just 19 seconds ahead, pipped Elixir to take the podium spot.

The Impala class was also closely contested with Mipaal and Alycone both taking a first and second place, going into Portaferry Sailing Club Regatta tied on three points each. However, a final victory from Mipaal gave them the top spot overall. 

In YTC1, Adelante, owned by the Dark and Stormy Syndicate, had an excellent win at SSC regatta, but visiting boat Sheep Dawg and Jane Buchanan’s The Love Bug showed the value of consistency with Sheep Dawg claiming pole position with The Love Bug in second.

In YTC2 a costly mistake at their home regatta saw Self Expression unable to finish the race on Saturday, leaving rival Midnight Express in first place, while a battle of the SLYC Sonatas had William Browne in Blue Horizon just ahead of clubmate Niall Eames in Mr McGregor going into day three.  A final first in the last race gave the Narrows prize to Midnight Express while Blue Horizon finished second.

Close racing in the competitive Flying 15 class saw Roger Chamberlain’s The Final Resort, Brian Bailie’s Fflapping Eagle and Andrew McCleery’s Foxtrot Oscar in the top three places on day one and two, but a victory for Chamberlain on day three meant The Final Resort won the series with Fflapping Eagle in second overall.  Kenny Smith was once again king of the River class, scoring three bullets over the three days, with three second places putting Chris Andrews in Shimna into second place overall. 

The Glen class has been going strong at SLYC for 50 years and this year an amazing 12 strong fleet competed in the Narrows.  Phil and Jenny Martin in Glen Orchy led the pack in style with two firsts, claiming the overall podium position, but it was Corin MacKenzie’s Glen Moyle and Roger Pannell’s Glen Cuan who battled for second place in the series, with a win on day three putting the silver position in MacKenzie’s hands. 

In the YTC1 class, East Down team-mates Green Ginger and Madrigal of Saltash took first and second place overall, despite the best efforts of Stephen Andrews in Dark and Scary.

Veterans from the Narrows say local knowledge of the tides is key to a victory and this was certainly the case for Ryan Kelly’s Scampalong, who took two firsts leading to an unassailable win ahead of Screwball in second. 

Another set of double bullets saw Matthew Patterson’s Little Boat decimate the Leisure 17 fleet, but it was a win at PSC regatta that split Mark Dow’s Serenity from the rest of the fleet, giving them a second overall.

A poorly attended Squib class saw just two boats vying for the overall prize, with both David Hanna’s Blue and Steven Bridges’ Firecracker tied on three points each. However, overall victory went to Blue by virtue of a first in race two. 

In the large Dinghy Handicap class Patrick Hamilton lifted three bullets in RS400 Trudi taking the overall victory, with Henry Greer and Adam Fermor coming second and Jakub Ozarek in his 29er in third.

A battalion of volunteers from both Strangford and Portaferry Sailing Clubs are required to manage the Narrows series, for many the biggest and best regatta series in Northern Ireland, and without them the event would not be the resounding victory it is, year after year.

Many thanks must go to the race officers, safety boat teams, shore teams and all the other volunteers involved, not to mention the main event sponsor, Freeman’s Fuels, who once again sponsored the event, alongside support from North Down and Ards Council. And if you missed the fun this year, the dates for next year are already set!

Overall results

IRC1: 1 Going to Red, Peter Holden; 2. Elixir, Brian Wilson; 3 Supersonic, Stuart Cranston.

YTC1: 1 Sheep Dawg, D’Arcy/McClernon; 2 The Love Bug, Jane Buchanan; 3 Sid, Patterson/Robinson.

Impala: 1 Mipaal, Stephen Lynn; 2 Alcyone, Thompson/Watson; 3 Maverick, John Patterson.

Flying 15: 1 The Final Resort, Roger Chamberlain; 2 Fflapping Eagle, Brian Bailie; 3 Foxtrot Oscar, McCleery/Dougan.

YTC2: 1 Midnight Express, Scott Hagan; 2. Triad, Robert Darnley; 3 Mississippi, Don Bridges.

YTCRS1: 1 Green Ginger, Maria McGrogan;  2 Madrigal of Saltash, Stephen Dow; 3 Dark and Scary, Stephen Andrews.

River: 1 Laragh, Kenny & Sonya Smyth; 2 Shimna, Chris Andrews;  3 Quoile, McVea/Edwards.

Glen: 1 Orchy, Phil & Jenny Martin; 2. Moyle, Corin McKenzie; 3 Cuan, Roger Pannell.

Squib: 1 Blue, David Hanna; 2 Firecracker, Steven Bridges.

YTCRS2: 1 Scampalong, Ryan Kelly; 2 Screwball, Paddy Graham;  3 Nirvana of Rhu, Simon Watson.

Leisure 17: 1 Little Boat, Matthew Patterson; 2 Serenity, Mark Dow;  3 Orby, Keith Nash. 

Large Dinghy Handicap: 1 Trudy, Patrick Hamilton; 2 RS400, Greer/Fermor; 3 29er, Jakub Ozarek.

Topper 4.2: 1 Oliver Patterson.

Topper Argo: 1 Ryan and Leo Curran.

Topper: 1 Jonah Kelly, 2 Paddy Sherrard, 3 Anna Fitzpatrick.

Laser 4.7: 1 Rose Kelly, 2 Caitlin Kearney.

Laser Radial: 1 Isabella Kelly, 2 Cillian Kelly, 3 Sam McClernon.