National Junior Helmsman Championships
HYC - 10 / 11 September
420 sailor Fionn Jenkinson, from Howth Yacht Club, is the Anglo Irish Bank Junior Champion helm. Laser sailors George Kenefick from Royal Cork Yacht Club and Will Atkinson from Lough Derg came second and third respectively.
The Ladies Championship also took place on Sunday with Diana Kissane from Howth who qualified through winning the Optimist National Championships. 420 sailor Lynn Reilly from Howth Yacht Club came second with mirror sailor Rachel Guy, also from Howth, in third place.
The two day event at Howth Yacht Club brought together sailors from all over the country in an 'All Ireland' event for sailing with an entry list reading like a 'who's who' from the current Irish sailing circuit. The weekend saw close exciting sailing in blustery weather on Saturday with lighter winds prevailing on Sunday.
The breezy sloppy waters off Howth on Saturday 10 th September saw the start of the qualifying series in this years prestigious Anglo Irish Bank / Irish Sailing Association Helmsman's Championships. Six races were sailed by the Class Championships of all the Irish Junior Classes. The sailors from the 420 class had the best of the day with Fionn Jenkinson and Conor Rhatigan winning 5 races and scoring a 4th in the sixth race. They were followed by current 420 Junior European Bronze Medalists Kenneth Rumball and David Moran from the ISA wild card nomination and current top ranked ladies 420 sailor Lisa Tait and her crew Ronan Wallace.
From the 6 races on Saturday the top 8 sailors qualified while the rest of the sailors got a second bite of the cherry in the 2 race repechage series on Sunday morning from which 4 more teams joined the finals.
The final series of 5 races was sailed in light airs and flat water in total contrast to the conditions on Saturday and the competition at the top of the fleet was intense with many nail biting finishes with Fionn sealing victory with a first in the last of the series after scoring consistently in the top three in his earlier races. George Kenefick from the Royal Cork and Will Atkinson of Lough Derg YC were close rivals on a final day.
In the Junior Ladies competition, Diana Kissane won 3 of the five races in the final on Sunday afternoon. Diana's crew was her brother Alistair (currently competing in the Laser Radial class) whose previous experience crewing for Fionn Jenkinson last year in the 420 was surely a factor in her success. Lynn Reilly, also from Howth, with her crew Freya Macken, provided tough opposition with some close racing during the day.
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Junior Championships
Fionn Jenkinson HowthYC 420 Class 2,3,2,3,0.75. 11.75
George Kenefick Royal CorkYC Laser Std 4,6,0.75,4,2. 14.75
Will Atkinson Lough Derg YC Laser 4.7 0.75,4,6,0.75,4. 15.5
Cian O'Regan Kinsale YC Optimist 5,0.75,3,2,11. 22.75
Lisa Tait Waterford Harbour SC 420 Class 3,2,8,11,6. 30
Ross Vaughan Royal North of Ireland YC Optimist 7,5,4,10,3. 29
Kenneth Rumball Royal St George YC 420 Class 6,7,5,5,8. 31
Geoff Tait Waterford Harbour SC 8,8,11,7,10. 44
Ronan Cull Howth YC Mirror Class 9,9,7,6,5. 36
Ryan Seaton Ballyholme YC Laser Radial 11,11,10,9,7. 47
David White MYC/Howth YC Laser 4.7 10,10,9,8,9. 47
Girls Championship
Diana Kissane Howth YC Optimist Class 0.75,3,2,0.75, 0.75. 6.5
Lynn Reilly Howth YC 420 Class 4,2,0.75,2,3. 8.75
Rachel Guy Royal St George YC Mirror 2,0.75,5,3,2. 10.75
Katie Tingle Royal Cork YC SC Optimist 5,4,4, 4. 17
Christine Lynch Galway Bay SC Laser Radial 3,6,3,6,6. 18
Lisa Marie Maskey Cushendall Topper 6,5,6,5,5. 22
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