Sailing!!!

After months of following various regattas online that have been going on in the states that have gotten me anxious to get back on the water, I was finally able to get back out there this weekend. Ronan O'Connell, who worked at Sea Cliff Yacht Club two years ago, gave me a call last week to see if I was interested in doing a J24 regatta this weekend, which was an offer I quickly accepted. After winning our lacrosse game on Friday we had a few drinks at the campus bar, but then I headed home since we were heading up north at 615 the next morning.

We sailed out of Carrickfergus Sailing Club which is located on Belfast Bay just to the Northeast of Belfast. When we got up there we were greeted by John White, who has instructed on the South Shore for the past two summers, and 15-20+ knots. It was really cold too. This was my first time on a J24, and it was surprisingly faster than I would have imagined. I figured it would be a heavy, slow boat since they seem to last forever, but they turned out to be pretty quick and enjoyable. My biggest problem with the boat was the low boom that made it a tad difficult to cross the boat during tacks, and had to watched carefully jibes. Unfortunately we had one jibe where I was not low enough, and got hit by the boom which resulted in a cut above my eye and a smashed lens on my sunglasses, but at least I stayed on the boat and was able to continue racing.

After racing we got the boat cleaned up, and headed back to our hotel to get a little sleep in since most of us were working on only a couple of hours. We then headed back down to the club for a "rum reception" which was enjoyed by all, and was followed by a nice dinner for all the competitors.

After waking up a little sore due to hiking with a toe rail under my thighs, we enjoyed a traditional Ulster fry which is often referred to as a "heart attack on a plate" which consists of bacon, eggs, sausages (either pork or beef), the farl form of soda bread (the farl split in half crossways to expose the inner bread and then fried with the exposed side down), potato bread and tomatoes. It was delicious.

Similar to this but without the mushrooms

Although the forecast was for slightly less breeze, we were welcomed to about 20-25 with gusts up to 35. During the first race these conditions continued, and we witnessed one capsize on the way downwind, but they recovered pretty quickly. J24 capsize rather easily in heavy breeze, and have been known to sink as well.

I haven't sailing in a competitive keel boat one design regatta more competitive than this one. All the boats were bunched throughout the racecourse, and spread between the first and last boat was usually about a minute. It was a blast to get back out on the water, and the crew was great. Brian, Skully, John, Ronan, and I didn't yell at all the entire time, and we all just enjoyed being out there and had a blast.