Royal Ulster Yacht Club has launched Bangor Regatta 2024 with the publication of the Notice of Race and Entry Form for the event, which will be run in Belfast Lough out of Bangor from 27th till 30th June.

Sixty boats turned out for the 2022 version of the Regatta, with the overall prize going to the Kelly family’s sailed J109 Storm from Rush and Howth Yacht Club. The good news is that Storm will be racing again this year. Ronan Kelly is looking forward to the event “Yes, it’s definitely on our list for 2024, we really like heading north for this. We plan to do the Wave Regatta at Howth in then onto Bangor”.

As Afloat reported in December, RUYC has rebranded Bangor Regatta for June 2024.

A boat new to the owner of the Limbo FA2 raced at Antrim Boat Club on Lough Neagh and new to Bangor Regatta is Charlie McAllister’s Jacques Fauroux Quarter Tonner called SKB.

She will be based in Belfast Lough, and Charlie hopes to participate in some club regattas. It’s a sistership to ‘Protis’ but without the modifications. SKB will race in Howth Wave Regatta and Bangor Regatta this season and Charlie will still keep the Limbo ‘FA2 for sailing at Antrim.

Bill O'Hara, OBE, Olympian and International Race Official, will be the Principal Race officer in his home waters. Michael Tyrrell, a Regional Race officer from the Royal Irish Yacht Club in Dun Laoghaire, will assist him.

Race Organiser is Rory Flannigan, and he aims to produce racing similar to that of the Bangor Regatta in 2022 with windward-leeward and triangular courses, he plans a Round the Lough race for each class taking in the Copeland Islands off Donaghadee, about five miles to the east.

New this year among the nine classes is racing for Impalas. The class has seen a fantastic regeneration in Strangford Lough, and the growing popularity of Coastal racing has been acknowledged as well and there will be a stronger focus on this in 2024.

The Race Committee is in discussion with RYANI Sailability, a non-profit organisation run entirely by a team of dedicated volunteers who assist in coordinating activities and enabling people living with disabilities to get afloat.

It is intended that there will be races during the Regatta for members of that organisation which in Belfast Lough has Carrickfergus Marina its base and in the northwest Foyle Sailability based at Foyle Port Marina.

The Race Committee said, “We understand that a number of boats will attend Bangor Regatta this year as a first, and we will be delighted to provide the great sailing and infamous hospitality at RUYC”.

The major trophies are: -

• Bangor Town Cup Trophy for the Best Overall Yacht Bangor Regatta
• Beaufort Plate for the Top Placed Scottish Yacht
• Channel Fleet Rose Bowl for Top Placed Sigma
• Hitachi Excavators Trophy for the Top Placed Strangford Lough Yacht
• Robin Davis Trophy for the Best Under 25 Crew
• Alex McVicker Trophy for the 1st Placed RC35 Yacht

Regatta Chair Gavin Watson is pleased with the Regatta progress; “Over the last month, the organising team for BR24 have been ramping up their activities and has launched the Notice of Race for this year’s event, alongside the entry form. Being ahead of our planned schedule is a great achievement, and we will continue to push hard to get more information out to the owners and sailors over the coming months. I do not doubt that we can succeed in 2024 as we did in 2022”.

____________________________________________________

Original article by Betty Armstrong, Afloat Magazine

First photo: The Kelly family’s J109 Storm from Rush and Howth Yacht Club was the overall winner of Bangor Regatta 2022 Photo: Afloat
Second photo: Bangor Regatta Principal Race officer, Bill O'Hara