Fifteen boats converged from all corners of the country for the 420 End of Seasons last weekend on Lough Derg.
Three days training by Olympian Gerbil Owens and 420 expert Rob Lehane were followed by two days racing in unseasonally summer like conditions.
With most of the sailors new to the class in the last number of months coming from the top end of the oppie fleet the racing was tight and good sport was had by all.
However in the end five of the six races were won by Royal Cork boats – Aodh Kennedy and Peter Stokes taking three and Patrick Crosbie and Grattan Roberts taking two.
Overall winners were the new combination of Patrick and Grattan from Robert Dickson and Sean Waddilove (Howth YC) with brothers Sean and Tadgh Donnelly (National YC) third. Aodh and Peter ended up a creditable fourth having severely handicapped themselves on the starting line on two occasions!
Sincere thanks are due to PRO John Leech and LDYC along with the coaches.
Full results are available on the 420 website – see here
The 420s will continue to sail and train in the Royal Cork on Saturdays and Sundays until mid Dec and a further training camp is planned for Baltimore for 4 days from Jan 3rd next.
The new influx of sailors augurs well for the class which is currently experiencing an upsurge in interest nationally. We are openly canvassing for new sailors to join the class locally – if you are interested please email me at 420@royalcork.com and we will do our best to help.
Tom Crosbie
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