130 days missing for the next 2020 Laser Radial Youth European Championships & Open European Trophy in Bangor, North Ireland.
The event will run from July 4th to 11th at Ballyholme Yacht Club.
More than 200 sailors have already applied for this event, limited to 400. Sailors wishing to enter must first complete an application form. Initial allocation of places will close on April 25th.
About Bangor
Bangor is most well known as a Victorian sea-side resort that used to cater for thousands of tourists from Scotland and across Ireland. It’s situated on the south-east of Belfast Lough – the greater area being known as North Down. It functions as a commuter town for the Greater Belfast area with which it is linked by rail and the A2 road.
Tourism is becoming more important again with lots of development planned over the next 5 years along the coastline and on the Bangor seafront.
The city was home to St Comgall who built a huge monastery in Bangor in 558 which catered for over 4000 monks? St Columbanus who studied there, travelled across Europe, also building a monastary at Bregenz, Austria, teaching in Bobbio and Milan and ending up in Andora, Italy. Bregenz is twinned with Bangor and there are strong ties to Andora – BYC have hosted a number of Italians in recent years. The “St Columbine Way’ runs from Bangor to Bobbio.
Sailing fans may be more interested in our links to the Americas Cup – Thomas Lipton launched five campaigns in his Shamrock J class yachts from Bangor and our neighbouring Royal Ulster Yacht Club. You are welcome to visit RUYC during your stay and we can help you organise lunch or dinner there.
Music lovers may know that we are home to Van Morrison, Two Door Cinema Club and Snow Patrol who played in our Ward Park this year.
About Ballyholme Yacht Club
The yacht club can be found on Ballyholme Bay within the town of Bangor. The location is superb with a sheltered bay allowing safe sailing and racing for the numerous dinghies and keelboats within the club.
As well as regular Sunday racing for dinghies all year and Tuesday evening racing during the summer season, they regularly host many other sailing events including Ballyholme Regatta, Sea Bangor, and Regional, National and International events for Optimist, Topper, Laser, RS200/400, Multi-hull dinghies and others. You can find much more information about their sailing activities at ballyholme.com
The yacht club has 2 dinghy parks – North and South, and 2 main slipways. There is free car parking on the roads beside the club.
There’s also a tennis courts opposite the club and a childrens play area – “the sunken gardens” to the north of the club.
There’s limited room for motor-homes with electrical tie-ups. Please let them know if you plan to come with a motor home to determine how much space they have.
About Royal Ulster Yacht Club
Royal Ulster Yacht Club is just 5 minutes walk from BYC and has generously offered to make its facilities available to friends and families of competitors during the event. There are bar and restaurant facilities available throughout the day, and rooms that you can book for dining if you want to organise a private function.
They have also made their “tennis courts” – the lawn area to the east of their clubhouse – available for camping during the event. The Club celebrated its 150th birthday in 2016.
Their most famous member was Thomas Lipton who launched his 5 Americas Cup campaigns from RUYC between 1899 and 1930 with Shamrock to Shamrock V. Shamrock V was the first British yacht to be built to the new J-Class rule and although refitted several times, she is the only J-class never to have fallen into dereliction.
About the Racing Area
Sailors are lucky there to have 40 square kilometres of unobstructed sailing waters to the north of Bangor and Ballyholme bay. 2 main race areas are only 15 minutes sail normally from the clubhouse. There is little tidal current in the area and the area is relatively shallow which allows us to alter our courses easily if required.
About the Weather
Daily temperatures in July average around 19 C (10 C low) with a few showers throughout the month. There’s a wide range of wind conditions although the prevailing winds are southerly or south-westerly. They rarely lose days of racing due to lack of wind – in the F18 Worlds 2014 and Topper Worlds 2016 championships combined, they only lost one race.
Useful links
Important Dates
- Application opening date: Fri 15th of November 2019
- Close of applications for initial allocation: Sat 25th of April 2020, 23:59 GMT
- Ranking of applications by National Laser Associations: Sun 26th of April until Mon 11th of May 2020, 0:00 GMT
- Late application opens: Mon 11th of May 2020
- Entry closing date: Sat 30th of May 2020, 23:59 GMT
Coach registration & team/coach/support boats
- All coach/support boats shall register here before Sat 30th of May 2020
