Royal Ulster Yacht Club

At the end of last week the Irish Sailing Association announced that their nomination to the Olympic Council for Ireland for the Star Class representatives at this year’s Olympics in China would be Peter O’Leary from Cork with Royal Ulster YC member Stephen Milne as crew. The decision is not without controversy and some dissatisfaction from the other Irish Star class sailors but it was a unanimous decision by the Olympic Steering Group chaired by Colm Barrington.

Peter O'Leary and Stephen Milne on their way to a first place at the Star Class Worlds.

Although the day was a bit murky there was a good breeze for the fleet setting off to Glenarm for the first race of this year’s NI Offshore Points Series. Eight boats started at 0905 in the IRC fleet including five Sigma 33s. The course set by Race Officer Fiona Hicks took this class from a mark in Ballyholme Bay to Cloghan Jetty and then back to the South Briggs before heading for the Glenarm finish line. The Whitesail class of four starters went straight to South Briggs and then Glenarm. Thanks to the Battery Crew of Peter, Bill and Michael who turned early on a slightly chilly morning to get the race underway.

First round the South Briggs against a strong tide flow was Lynn Johnston’s Kacana followed by Blue Squirrel (Taylor/Furney) with Enigma (Adair/Johnston/Jordan) on their heels. After a run across the lough and a beat back, first IRC boat at the South Briggs was Alan Hannon’s BJaysus followed by Marc Ross’s Looks Like Trouble and the Donnan/Sheals owned Spindrift. The next five boats, all Sigma 33s rounded the South Briggs within a few lengths of each other; in fact some were even overlapped. In spite of a bit of early enthusiasm for launching their spinnaker before reaching the mark, Fandango managed to hold off the competition and was the first Sigma into Glenarm.

Results for the Glenarm Race will be finalised once all Declaration have been received. The racing participants were joined in Glenarm by the Cruise in Company boats and the afternoon and evening entertainment apparently went very well with an excellent Rear Commodore’s Reception hosted by Nigel and Joy Hamilton on Blues; this was followed by the bus trip to the Londonderry Arms where the assembled Royal Ulster YC contingent dined and were entertained with some music.

With some of the fleet returning home from Glenarm the cruisers proceeded to Campbeltown as the anchorage at Sanda was untenable. From Campbeltown the cruisers then headed for Portpatrick on Monday and arrived home through the fog in the afternoon. A good time was had by all in spite of some wet and rough weather.

As we are in the process of applying for IRC Ratings for the Whitesail fleet as well as other boats new to the scheme we will be calculating results for Whitesail retrospectively once the ratings come through.

The RUYC Golfers had their annual outing at Bangor Golf Club last Friday with a bite to eat and some refreshments back at Royal Ulster YC in the evening followed by a prize giving.. The play was generally of a high standard and leading Lady Golfer was Lillian Downie and leading gentleman player was John McKee.

Congratulations to Royal Ulster YC member Stephen Milne who was this morning advised of his selection for the Irish Olympic Team, representing the Star Class. Along with Helm Peter O'Leary of Royal Cork Yacht Club, Stephen will travel with the team to Beijing in August. The Regatta takes place at Qingdao Olympic Sailing Centre from 9-21 August.

Stephen and Peter have had some great successes in recent Star Class events with two excellent first places, the most recent at the Star World Championships at the Coral Reef Yacht Club in Miami. The achievement is all the more exciting as this pairing have been the two youngest participants in this highly competitive one-design fleet.

“Today’s sixth race was won by the Irish team of Patrick O’Leary and Stephen Milne who could be deemed the comeback kids of the series. They were a solid candidate for a top five finish in race four but they lost their mast on the second downwind run.

“We never gave up at any time during the race today or during the entire week,” said O’Leary. “We chipped away at every opportunity after an awful start and we are absolutely delighted to have won today’s race,” he said.

No doubt this determination was a contributing factor to the pair’s selection for the Irish Team in Beijing.

Once again the forecasters got it wrong and instead of a wet breezy Saturday for Opening Day at Royal Ulster YC and Ballyholme YC we had a superb sunny afternoon’s racing. The Opening Day Race counted as the final race for the T Oscar Rollins Spring Series which has been running on Sundays in April. Well over 40 boats were on the water competing over both long and short courses with three rounds from a Royal Ulster YC start line. Due to recent inclement weather not all the big boats were able to launch in time for Saturday’s racing but there were three Sigma 33s including the newly refurbished Sula under new management of David and Elaine Taylor and Tolson and Linda Sherwood. Sula couldn’t quite match Blues (Milne/Hamilton) on the water but you should see her scatter cushions!

There were four RS Elites racing and hopefully the Royal Ulster contingent will be larger still in the very near future. John Patterson’s Momentary Laps showed the others a clean pair of heels with a convincing win. The IRC Class isn’t up to full speed yet but as this was the final race of the Spring Series Blues came away as winner in that division also.

The Whitesail Class had five starters and much to the surprise of the owners Blue Squirrel (Furney/Taylor) just took first place by a few seconds from the guys on Enigma (Adair/Johnston/Jordan). Enigma still finished as first overall in the Spring Series.

In the dingy handicap division the first laser home was Chris Boyd’s and L Ramsey was the winning Topper. Soup and rolls were enjoyed by competitors after racing at Royal Ulster to the strains of some musical entertainment.

By the time you are reading this, Peter O’Leary from Cork and Royal Ulster sailor Stephen Milne will know if they have been selected to represent Ireland in the Star Class in the Beijing Olympics. In a stunning final race at the Star Worlds in Miami O’Leary and Milne, the youngest competitors in the event, had a tremendous first place leaving them 17th overall, just a few points behind the other Irish hopefuls Treacy and Shanks. But for a mast break earlier in the series the young pair would have finished in the top ten - in the world! The Selection Committee met last night, Wednesday 30th to make the final decision as to which team would travel to China in August.

This Saturday is the first race of the Northern Ireland Offshore Series (NIOPS) and will take the fleet to Glenarm. The courses could possibly take in several marks around Belfast Lough as well as those off Larne on the way North. Dinner has been booked at the Londonderry Arms and transport from Glenarm has also been arranged. If you want to join the dinner and avail of the transport you need to advise the Sailing Secretary by Thursday. It would also be useful if entrants would make sure their entry forms and entry fee are with the Club Office before Saturday morning. Sailing Instructions are available on the Club web site. www.ruyc.co.uk.

Several new items of ladies’ casual wear have been added to the range of RUYC branded clothing. New this year are a sleeveless polo shirt in a more flattering fit for the ladies and a fitted drill shirt with contrasting collar trim and cuffs with a neater stretch fit. The drill shirts are navy blue, polos are available in navy blue of course and the slightly less traditional bright pink.

A new Sunday Lunch for families is being tried out on 18 May. This will involve lunch being served in the Gloucester Room with a more relaxed fun atmosphere than formal dining in the Dining Room. Details can be obtained from the Club Office.

The May Ball bookings are well up and members are reminded that tickets for this and all other Club functions should be paid for on booking. Any delay in confirming with payment results in additional work at the Club Office. It is also desirable that the names of everyone in a party where one person does the booking are given to the office at the time of booking to prevent duplications.

The Northern Ireland Offshore Series, sponsored by the Northern Bank, gets off to a start fairly soon with the Glenarm Race on 3 May. There will be classes for IRC Unrestricted and Whitesail. The latter will have results calculated on both local PY system and IRC if certificates have been received by that stage. Anyone contemplating this handicap should contact Fiona Hicks for details of a discount offer for first time applications. Anyone processing these applications is encouraged to get them to Fiona, care of the Club Office as soon as possible. It would also be useful if entrants for the IRC classes could include a copy of their current certificate with the entry form. Notice of Race and Entry Forms are available for download from the Sailing page of the Royal Ulster YC web site, www.ruyc.co.uk. Sailing Instructions and declaration forms will follow shortly

Shaun & Cathy Dornan's Caesium one of the RUYC boats competing in the Inshore and Offshore Series this year

The race to Glenarm is in addition to the initial leg of the first Cruise in Company of the year. A booking is being made for dinner at the Londonderry Arms and anybody participating in the Club event, either racing or cruising, should ensure that they have entered their boat name and crew numbers on the notice board in Royal Ulster YC as places may be limited. Transport will be available to and from Glenarm Marina.

The race last Sunday in the T Oscar Rollins Spring Series was blown out so no results. Hopefully slightly more benign weather this Sunday will bring out a few more boats; my 5 day forecast is giving rain with winds WSW 15 knots so at least it should be a flat sea! The final race of the Spring Series is on Opening Day, Saturday 26 April. Please Note: This will be an Afternoon start and not the early morning one as for the Sunday races.

The RS Elite fleet continues to grow in Belfast Lough with one boat delivered to Royal North of Ireland YC this week and a couple more on order/awaiting delivery at Royal Ulster YC. The Class is delighted to have had a trophy re-presented via Royal Ulster YC by George and Lynne Ralston. This is the Insouciance Cup, previously raced for in Dragons but now to be sailed for in RS Elites.

A quietish time socially at Royal Ulster YC with just the Committee Dinner this Friday and the final Theme Night of this spring, the Italian on 24 April. Members and guests are encouraged to get into the spirit of the evening and, like the staff, reflect the Italian theme in their outfits for the evening.

The final Quiz Night of the winter season was last Thursday and proved to be another great fun evening. Thanks are due to Stephen and Carol for putting all the hard work into giving us such mind stretching entertainment. A benefit of the modern technology that is wireless broadband is that Stephen was able to go ‘on-line’ to check some of the answers if a belligerent participant thought they know better.

Coming up there is a Wine Tasting scheduled for 17 April and early booking is normally necessary as these evenings are also very popular and the May Ball on 16 May.

Not a modern day terrorist as you might at first think but one of sailing’s best known sportsmen - no other than Sir Thomas Lipton. The Man Who Challenged America is the title of a biography of Thomas Lipton by Laurence Brady who gave us a very interesting talk at the Club last Wednesday. Laurence’s talk gave us some insight into the Glasgow background of Thomas Lipton and the elements of his upbringing, work and travels in later life that made him a most extraordinary character. He spoke of Lipton’s innovative ideas in business and his success in turning one small Glasgow shop into a global business empire. He was highly regarded in all parts of the world as a business man and philanthropist and mixed at the very highest levels in society and in business. Laurence Brady’s book on Lipton’s life and obsessions, the America’s cup in particular, is a lively and informative volume and copies are available from the Club Office.

Laurence Brady signing copies of his biography of Sit Thomas Lipton at the February Club Night

The next Club Night on Wednesday 12 March is with Winfred Mulryne speaking on Education. Wilfred is a past Principal of Methodist College, Belfast and is a fascinating and entertaining speaker. The talk will take place in the Gloucester Room starting at 8.00pm.

The Sailing Instructions and Entry Forms for the NI Offshore Points Series and the individual races are now available on the Club web site. The Series this year will comprise races to Glenarm and Portpatrick, both day races and the Ailsa Craig and Isle of Man Races, both overnight races. In an interesting twist to the format of the race to Douglas in August, once boats have passed the South Briggs mark of the course they will be able to chose which way to round the Isle of Man to get to Douglas as fast as possible.

The next gourmet experience will be the Austrian cuisine theme night on Thursday 21 February, this is well booked up and will feature the cuisine of our Chef, Fritz Machala’s home land. There are two more Theme Nights planned for 20 March, a Spanish experience and the delights of Italian cooking on Thursday 17 April. As ever the dining room staff will be entering into the spirit of the theme and will be suitably attired. Diners are encouraged to do likewise. Also coming up soon is the Sigma 33 Dinner on Saturday 8 March. The Annual Motor Boat & Rib Dinner is on Friday 14 March and on Sunday 16 March we celebrate St Patrick’s Day with an Irish bash at the Club.

As a result of requests from members, two new Family Friendly Sunday lunches are being held on 27 April and 22 June. These will be held in the Gloucester and Lipton Rooms with a TV set up in the latter room for the younger members. A special bar will be situated upstairs and, although the dress code will be relaxed to smart casual, the no denim rule is still in force for adults and children. The usual Sunday menu will be available with the addition of some special items for the children.

About 20 motoring enthusiasts met at the Club on Wednesday 20 February to learn about herring bones and tulips. This does not signify an interest in fishing or gardening but motor rally navigation and this was the first meeting of vintage and classic car enthusiasts in Royal Ulster YC. Des McDowell and Mike Wilson guided the 'learners' through the intricacies of navigating the highways and by-ways. There are two more classes planned for March and April with the distinct possiblity of some practicle experience of getting lost up farm lanes all over Co Down. Thanks to Des and Mike and also to Myles Lindsay for getting the wheels rolling on this initiative - I'm off to do my homework.

By all accounts last week’s Quiz in aid of the RNLI was a great success if somewhat noisy. Everyone enjoyed the crack and the banter and over £300 was raised for the lifeboat service. With February and March taken up with quite a number of dinners and functions the next quiz is not until 3 April - note it in your diaries now.

The Cruising Dinner is being held on Friday 22 February and is of course the time when the awards are presented for the Cruising Logs. All logs should have been submitted to the Club Office by 11 February but I am sure one or two could be left in within the next few days and still be in with a chance. This year the logs are being judged by Conla McGuiness Rear Commodore of the Irish Cruising Club.

The Sailing Instructions and Entry Forms for the NI Offshore Points Series have been distributed to previous entrants and will be available on the Club web site within a few days. It is to be noted that the Unrestricted or Spinnaker Class is now being given results under the IRC rating only. The Whitesail Class is considering going with IRC but in the meantime boats with current IRC certificates will be given results under both Local PY and IRC.

Anyone interested in obtaining an IRC certificate for their boat, either new or renewing a previous lapsed one, should contact the Sailing Secretary, Gregg Taylor. It is hoped to hold an information evening in the near future for anyone interested in IRC Certification to assit them with queries regarding measurement, form filling etc. In the meantime, full details can be accessed from the RORC web site, www.rorc.org or www.rorcrating.com.

Coming up soon are the Sigma 33 Dinner on Saturday 8 March and the next Club Night on Wednesday 12 March with Wilfred Mulryne on the subject of Education. The Annual Motor Boat & Rib Dinner is on Friday 14 March and on Sunday 16 March we celebrate St Patrick’s Day with an Irish bash at the Club.

NEWS 06-02-08
RNLI Quiz
With the recent mishap with the Portrush Lifeboat it reminds us that this is a service where men and women risk their lives to go to the aid of others. In this instance luckily nobody was injured but this does not in any way diminish the skill and courage required to attempt a rescue at night in extreme adverse conditions. However, if you all come along to Royal Ulster YC on Thursday 7 Feb (tonight if you bought your Spectator as soon as it hit the street) you will have a chance to enjoy yourselves pitting your wits against fellow members in another of Stephen Graham’s fiendish quizzes while raising funds for the RNLI.

Sailing Programme
The Club Sailing Programme and Lough Regatta handbooks are currently being revised. If you have not advised the Club the details of any boats you might own, or no longer own, please contact the Club Office to give them this information. There is no use complaining once the handbooks have gone to print if you don’t give the information to the Club in time.

NEWS 03-02-08
New Sigma 33 on the block
The Sigma 33 fleet goes from strength to strength with yet another joining the fleet this season. Though not exactly of Dun Laoghaire proportions (yet), the group now numbers eight with the recent addition of Sula of Arne.

After years of sailing other people’s boats and hurtling around in a twin wire three sail catamaran David and Elaine Taylor and Tolson Sherwood have bought a yacht of their very own. Although Tolson’s speciality is foredeck, I understand that on Sula Elaine will work the foredeck as a wisp of a gorilla, David will drive, and Tolson will be somewhere in the middle. No doubt other crew of equally high calibre will join them and their aspirations are to race locally with a little cruising up the West Coast of Scotland. (The Hurricane will be rattled around in the winter in Ballyholme Bay with the occasional foray down south to keep up DT’s and Elaine’s credentials up on the Cat Circuit). Tolson will apparently just have to hibernate or work on the boat! So it looks as though the high fliers in the current fleet will have to look to their laurels and indeed this has already been mooted as Nigel Hamilton and David Milne plan to take Blues south to Strangford Lough at the end of March for some pre-season practice.

America's Cup:
On 9th January this year TEAMORIGIN, with the Royal Thames Yacht Club (RTYC), lodged a Deed of Gift (DOG) Challenge with the Société Nautique de Genève (SNG). It called for a Match in 2011 in Valencia to be sailed in AC90 yachts and it outlined their willingness to consider a mutual consent match with a protocol along similar lines to the one signed in July last year.
Click Here

What a delight to see the Club buzzing and almost up to over flowing last Wednesday for the talk by Geoff and Penny Rawlings on their vintage car trip from Peking to Paris or as they named it ‘Driving from the back of beyond’. The evening was a great success and raised a handsome sum for the Riding for the Disabled charity. The Club Night on 13 February is on a subject close to the hearts of Royal Ulster YC members - Sir Thomas Lipton. Lawrence Brady will be regaling us with some stories of the Club’s most famous member and I am sure will produce a few fact not even RUYC members know.

Between now and then we have the Burns Night Supper, a chance for the men to show off their legs in kilts and to praise the virtues of the Lassies while consuming the traditional haggis, neeps and washing it down with some suitable liquor.

Last, but not least, the Draft Sailing Programme for this year is on the Club’s web site. Notices of Race, Entry Forms etc will be added soon and will be available for download from the site. There are a few new items this year including a Copelands Island Race as part of Northern Ireland Inshore Points and an overnight race to Douglas, Isle of Man as part of the Offshore Points Series.

And finally, the Club is proposing that all the racing previously under PY (Belfast Lough local handicap) for the unrestricted class will be under IRC handicap this year. If you are interested in obtaining an IRC certificate please contact the Sailing Secretary for more information.

Penny and Geoff Rawlings recounted their historic rally to a packed audience in the Gloucester Room

With your subscription request which you will have received recently is a form to complete with your address and boat details. Even if you do not have a boat, please fill in the rest of the form and return it to the Club Office as soon as possible. In order to keep in touch with the members it is vital we have your contact details correct and if we have your e-mail details all the better for communicating last minute news and updates. Another issue of Waterlines will be coming out soon and the Editor, Garth Corbett, will de delighted to receive articles of interest to other members. Send your contribution to him through the Club Office.

Heresay

JOHN THOMPSON QC 1953 -2007

As hundreds gathered in the Elmwood Hall to commemorate the life of John Thompson, there he was in that evocative photograph looking down on us from the cockpit of his beloved Avocet, with his favourite music playing in the background. His effervescent personality shone through in a picture which caught him doing what he loved best – sailing.

John died in Barbados as a result of an accident at sea in the ARC last December, a tragedy which devastated his family and all who knew him and many who didn’t. The dozens of messages on the Avocet website were testimony to the high esteem in which he was held by his friends, and by his colleagues at the Bar. But it was in a roller coaster of emotions ranging from laughter to tears on that January day in the Elmwood Hall that those present listened to the tributes paid to him. Beginning with an address by MC Sir Paul Girvan, every speaker portrayed a different aspect of John’s life and as a whole demonstrated just how vast were the influences of his big personality, big laugh and equally large and enduring friendships.

John’s professional career as a QC was recounted by Mr Brett Lockhart QC, his sailing exploits by James Nixon, his brothers Brian and Richard and son Daniel; his genuine, valued and long lasting friendship by Neil Gordon, and perhaps the most poignant of all, his family life through the words of his daughter Rachel. And it would have been difficult to find a dry eye when the occasion ended with a slide show portraying many aspects of John’s all to short life.

And so that John’s untimely death would not be in vain, his late wife Tina has set up a fund for an organ centre in Barbados. Donations by cheque can be made to the JD Thompson Donation Account, c/o Charles Stewart, Stewart Solicitors, 3 Regent Street, Newtownards, BT23 4AB