An Irish First for Simon and Sidonia in the Silver Fleet on Lough Derg

L to R: Sidonia, Simon & Tyson Barwood with Commodore Dennis Hassey, Lough Derg  Yacht Club

An Irish First for Simon and Sidonia in the Silver Fleet on Lough Derg

Two boats representing RFBYC travelled to Ireland to compete in the 15^th Mirror World Championships and the pre-worlds regatta - the Irish Nationals, sailed on Lough Derg from July 22 to August 2nd. This was the first World Championship sailing regatta ever held on Irish inland waters, a source of significant pride for the host Lough Derg Yacht Club, one of Irelands oldest. The picturesque club sits adjacent the ruins of Dromineer Castle and the sense of history was palpable.

Irish and British boats made up the majority of the fleet with five other nations represented including South Africa, Canada, Sweden and the Phillipines and five boats from Australia. The Australian team comprised RFBYC’s Rex Henderson (70) with outgoing IMCA President Celia May (63) from NSW as crew, and Simon (47) and Sidonia Barwood (13) also from RFBYC. Dunsborough’s Richard Rowell (46) teamed with daughters Matilda (9) and Rosie (11) over the two regattas and Bunbury’s David (46) and Timothy Pilbeam (8) sailed only the Worlds. The fifth boat was sailed by Tasmanians Ken Barnes (61) and Alex Kingsley (11).

In Australia the Mirror is predominantly sailed by adult (often parent) and child combinations and as the ages of the sailors above show, the class exemplifies the notion of sailing as a sport for life. While there were also adult/child teams from other nations the IRL and GBR squads were about three quarters junior and youth teams. These sailors are young, fit, smart and fearless thanks to their well organised coaching and competitive regatta circuit.

We arrived two days before the Irish Nationals began and proudly took delivery of a brand new Winder boat with the aim of having some practice time. The notoriously wet Irish summer turned into bright sunshine and temperatures in the high 20s, but no wind. The first decent breeze arrived on measurement day. Measurements started at midday so we were first in the queue causing a headache straight up when the scales showed the boat was almost a kilo underweight. To cut a long story short common sense prevailed and once we had the required amount of lead in the boat we were allowed to sail the first regatta.

The first two days of Irish Nationals were sailed in shifty light to moderate winds, conditions we were used to on Freshwater Bay. We scored 10, 12, 17 and then in the fourth race a close second to the Phillipino Olympians who were dominating the regatta. On the third day the wind arrived. Mirror crews should ideally be between 90-110kg, at 126kg Sidonia and I are on the heavy side although the Phillipino’s at over 140kg were showing that it’s better to be smart than light. The stronger conditions should have suited us but we had our worst day yet with a 16^th and 20^th.  We were clearly unprepared and had forgotten how to sail in pressure, having had few opportunities last summer.  The final day in light air was better for us with a 9^th and 3^rd that saw us finish the regatta in 9^th place from 66 boats.

After two lay days spent day tripping to see the sights in Blarney, Galway, Cork and Limerick and a practice race abandoned after a 180 degree wind shift we were eager for the Worlds to begin.

With 25 extra boats on the start line and multiple postponements, general recalls and BFDs it was clear that the ante had been upped for the ‘main’ regatta. We had a reasonable first race finishing 24th but had been involved in a mark room incident at the bottom mark but felt confident as we were inside and on starboard. The second race was a shocker when we were caught on the wrong side of a windshift on both beats to finish 55^th. Our day didn’t get any better when the protest went against us, never good to have used both drops on the first day.

Our performance did improve and the Australians had moments of glory as we came to terms with the big fleet starts and stronger winds.  Team Pilbeam scored a 6^th in the second race and won race 6 but were plagued with inconsistency carrying a few big numbers. Team Rowell and the Tasmanians were both sailing consistently with most of their results in the top half. After day two the fleets were split and all Australians were in the Silver Fleet (second third) except for Rex and Celia, battling away bravely toward the top of the Bronze Fleet. The fleet designation did not affect the racing with single start lines for each race.

Our results had been consistent after the first day with most places in the 20s and two 14ths. In one of those we led at the first mark but dropped back as we couldn’t fly the spinnaker having broken our pole in the previous race. The last two days were sailed in heavy conditions 18-25 with gusts to 30 knots. In race 11 we were 3^rd around the top mark the second time, then narrowly avoided a capsize when a gust put the boat ahead over.  We overtook the leading boat that wasn’t flying  spinnaker on the reaches and led for two legs before paying the price for not covering on the last, very short beat to be pipped by less than 6 inches on the line. The 3^rd place was at the same time our best result and our greatest disappointment. It was a thrill to have led the fleet for so long but devastating to have thrown our chance for a race win away.

The South African brother sister team of Ryan (16) and Michaela (13) Robinson sailed a beautifully consistent regatta, with all top ten finishes, but were only a few points clear of the powerful Phillipino’s going into the last day. They gained four boats over the PHI team in the first race before being pushed over the line for a BFD in the final. Agony turned to relief when they realised the Phillipino’s had also been black flagged, they had won the regatta without having to sail the last race. The Robinsons were last boat ashore, surrounded by the entire South African team to a rousing reception.

We finished the regatta in 24^th position and won the Silver Fleet trophy and were fourth in the family (parent/child) category. Ken and Alex finished 43^rd and placed third in the Masters (helm over 50yrs) category with team Pilbeam in 40^th, the Rowells 41^st and Rex and Celia 66^th in a fleet of 91 boats, a creditable performance given the challenging conditions and the fact that their combined ages were more than four and a half times that of the winning team.

We loved our time in Ireland and plans are being made for the South African Worlds in January 2015 where accommodation will be in a safari tent village. The spectacular venue – Theewater - is a very large dam in the mountains ninety minutes outside Capetown and promises another new experience, sailing at altitude, we can’t wait.  Simon Barwood.

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