Sligo YC in Sligo, Ireland hosted the J/24 Northern Nationals. It was a fantastic weekend for the 19 teams (over 100 sailors), with six great races, nice winds, flat water and amazing location. Thanks to Gary Stafford from Lyon’s Cafe for the meal and Blackwater Jack for the music. IRELANDS EYE KNITWEAR-Kilcullen have won the J/24 Northern Nationals in Northern Ireland. The team sailed an incredibly consistent series, finish with just 8 points after counting a 1-2-2-1-2 record. The K25 girls (and Ryan) finished eighth overall, a promising result for their first J/24 event with a lot learnt by this new team. It was great racing in tricky conditions for the fleet. The ladies team on SCANDAL improved throughout the weekend in their first J/24 event. The IRELANDS EYE KNITWEAR Team captain had this to say, “We are delighted to announce a partnership with the next generation of our family as official sponsors of the Howth Keelboat Under 25 Team Kilcullen. The incredible story behind the team and ‘the knitted boat’ is a heartwarming one. The K25 Kilcullen team is an under-25 team, sailing out of Howth Yacht Club in Dublin. They compete in the J/24 class, in which they are the current European Under 25 Champions. The K25 Programme is an exciting initiative by Howth Yacht Club, and we at IRELANDS EYE are delighted to be supporting it. Cillian Dickson will helm the team with Gordon Stirling as Tactician, our very own Sam O’Byrne as trimmer, Cian Manley at the mast and Luke Malcolm on bow. When the boys told us the story behind their Kilcullen boat, it captured our hearts. The boat was found abandoned in a ditch, full of water a few years ago by an Irish sailor who fixed it up and sailed it at Howth Yacht Club. However, disappointed with the little boat’s performance, he left it abandoned again without any prospects. That’s when the boys rescued it and decided to spend a summer working on the boat, putting what little resources they had and all the time they had into it. Eventually, they went on to win the Under 25 section of the J/24 World Championship in 2013!” Learn more about the IRELANDS EYE KNITWEAR J/24 at http://blog.irelandseyeonline.com/theknittedboat/.
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