 (L-R) Sean Waddilove, Theo Lyttle - President of Irish 420 Class Association & Robert Dickson |
| The 2014 420 Munster Championships were held in Schull on February 20th and 21st. There were 11 boats in the competition including teams Robert Dickson & Sean Waddilove and Ewan Mc Mahon & Colin O Sullivan from Howth. Due to extreme sailing conditions the event was sailed inside the harbour which made for short intense racing. The race officer David Harte managed to get 4 very good races on the first day despite the big clouds that forced the sailors to shelter behind the hills. Day 2 of the event was sailed even closer to the land because of the wind and cold fronts which brought 30 knot squalls along with rain and hail. 2 races were sailed on the second day which completed the 6 race series. After a capsize in the 5th race Robert and Sean managed to win the last race to earn them the Munster championship. Ewan and Colin despite being quite a light crew in the strong winds and one crew member being 'under the weather' with a bug, finished 6th overall. The win at the Munsters means Sean and Robert are showing good form ahead of ISAF qualification requirements which concludes with the ISA Youth Nationals being held at HYC between the 24th and 27th April. For HYC 420 sailors, there is coaching in the lead up to the ISA Youth Nationals - see www.hyc.ie Training & Dinghies, Junior Calendar for dates. It would be great for all our HYC 420 sailors to take part in the event. Also of note, is that 2 more boats will be joining the fleet in 2014. Authors: Robert Dickson & Des Flood |