National Sailing Championship comes to Lough Ree Yacht Club

A major Irish sailing championship will take place on Lough Ree this weekend (September 12th to September 13th), when Lough Ree Yacht Club will host the 2009 J/24 2009 National Championship. The J/24 Class Association expects anywhere from 80 to 100 crew members, coming from across the country, to participate. Over the two day event on Lough Ree, the boats will fight it out to determine who will be the National Champion. Tara Mooney, Cruiser Class Captain, Lough Ree Yacht Club, said: "We're absolutely delighted to host this prestigious event in the club and bring sailing visitors to Athlone. This is a unique opportunity for people from the region to get a chance to see the J/24s in action. We welcome people out to the club to view the event from the clubhouse. "The J/24 is the world's most popular one-design Keelboat, with more than 5,000 sailing in fleets around the world. While the racing is purely amateur, and more about bragging rights than anything else, to win this regatta is very prestigious among the sailboat racing fraternity, as the winner will then be eligible to sail in the World Championship." Eight windward/leeward (upwind/downwind) races, are planned each day. All boats are involved in every race, which can make for a very long starting line, and tight competition at each rounding mark. Local sailors know that the currents and wind pockets, combined with pretty consistent breezes will be a factor in determining the winner.