Class Association
Greystones Sailing Club – Third Annual Ladies Regatta – 25th August 2012
Earlier in the week the weather forecast had looked rather unpromising with the distinct possibility of a rescheduling of the event on the cards. However being the eternal optimists and having been blessed with great weather for the last two regattas we stuck to our guns and decided to run with the scheduled date. The weather on Saturday the 25th was wet and windy and certainly not for the fair weather sailor. However the intrepid Greystones ladies turned out suitably decked in pink (with part of the entry fee being donated to the Irish Breast Cancer Society) and ready to sail and party in celebration of women on the water.
The days started with a restorative coffee/tea and scones while racing was postponed for one hour. Fiachra Ethchingham (OD) talked participants through the art of capsizing, using photos of the previous ladies regattas to highlight his points much to the embarrassment of some and the collective amusement of others! This proved very useful to some, who were so excited that they managed a dry capsize, that they had to repeat it multiple times during the day to show that they really were listening.!
Racing got underway at 12:30 with four back to back races. There was come close racing within the RS 200 fleet with positions changing over the course of the four races. However Stephanie Taylor and Gill Shiels (both recent returnees to the water) proved too good for the rest of the RS fleet and romped home in first place. Second and third places were tightly contested with Gabrielle Igoe and Trish Clery narrowly beating Celine McGiure and Joanne Ruane into third place.
First place in the Feva fleet went to Alice Brennan and Isobel O’Grady who stormed home with four firsts.
First place in the Slow Sundries went to Sophie Van Mannen and Aishling Laurence, followed by Adrienne Michel Long and Rachael Goode in second place, for whom it was their first ever Regatta. They successfully managed to stay upright for the entire event, sailing all four races and still arrive on shore smiling and laughing all the way. Ann Wildes was in third place.
First place in the Adult Sundries went to Monica Schaeffer, Christine Heath and Jill Wright who sailed three up in a Wayfarer. The safety crews (virtually all sailing instructors) provided friendly advice guidance and much needed encouragement to all the female sailors and got everyone around the course.
Off the water the party continued with restorative cocktails being served for one hour only following by a sumptuous BBQ prepared by the Vice Commodore Rodney Beahan and his wife Louise. The party continued on until late in the night with everyone vowing to be back next year for more fun and frolics on the water!
