Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta - Day 3
by David Branigan 8 Jul 2017 12:25 PDT
6-9 July 2017
A sea breeze brought changes to the leader board in several classes in the penultimate day of Ireland's biggest sailing regatta, the Volvo Dun Laoghaire regatta on Dublin Bay today.
One contender for tomorrow's (Sunday) top prize of the 'Volvo Boat of the Regatta Trophy' is a Howth yacht that took the lead in the biggest class this afternoon. Paddy Gregory's Flashback now tops the IRC offshore division after three coastal races sailed.
A promising eight to 10 knot south–easterly wind got racing for all 475 boats in 35 classes off to a solid start this morning and it held all day to keep the ambitious programme of more than 290 races on target for tomorrow's final round two rounds in most classes.
The Gregory led 31-boat IRC offshore fleet departed Scotsman's Bay bound for North Burford, the turning mark on the 20–mile course.
The north Dublin Beneteau 34.7 is six points clear overall of Chris Power–Smith's much J122 Aurelia in the 31–boat fleet even though Power–Smith was the winner of this afternoon's race.
A single race tomorrow morning will decide the offshore title and also the Jack Ryan Whiskey Royal Dee Irish Sea Offshore Championship that is being sailed as part of the Dun Laoghaire Championships.
On the centre course, Classes Zero, One and Two completed three further races over windward–leeward courses under Race Officer Peter Crowley.
Jay Colville's Forty Licks from East Down Yacht Club has moved into the overall lead of the five–boat Class Zero fleet even though she shares the same eight points as one–time leader Dark Angel (Tony Ackland) from Swansea.
Royal Irish Yacht Club yachts top the leaderboard in 29–boat Class One with John Maybury's J109 Joker II – another contender for yacht of the regatta – still leading but on a reduced margin of just three points after Richard Goodbody's J109 White Mischief had a stand–out performance to count a 1,2 and 3 today. Goodbody now moves up to second overall on 12 points. J109s complete the podium places with Ronan Harris's Jigarmee 21 points off the lead.
In the 17–boat Class two, Howth Yacht Club's Dave Cullen sailing the modified Half–tonner Checkmate has overtaken visiting Scottish Half–Tonner Trastada (skippered by Angus Roddy). Cullen who has six results in the top five and counted two race wins today for an eight point margin over the Clyde vintage yacht that dropped to as low as eighth in this afternoon's race six. In what is looking ery much like a battle of the Half tonners overall, the 2015 Volvo Regatta Class Two Champion Jonny Swan in Harmony is third.
There is no change at the top of IRC three where another Howth Yacht, Richard Colwell's Fusion continues to dominate with four race wins from seven starts in the eight boat fleet. Howth Yacht Club boats occupy the top four spots with X302s Dux (Anthony Gore–Grimes) and Maximus (Paddy Kyne) second and third respectively.
In IRC four, Jonathan Flood's Modified Forumla 28 Flash from Bray Sailing Club leads 2015 champion Cartoon (Ken Lawless) by a point and half after eight races sailed in the 15–boat fleet.
In the one design classes, only half a point after eight races separates St Spence's Clyde based Carna and Andrew Bradley's Chinook from the Royal Irish Yacht Club.
The GP14 Leinster Championships are being lead by Fergus Barnham from Nantwich, UK with Sutton Dinghy Club's Alan Blay in second after six races sailed. Greystones Sailing Club's GP14 World Champion Shane MacCarthy lies third in the 27–boat fleet.
Results are provisional and subject to protest. Full results in all 35 classes are available on www.dlregatta.org. The 2017 regatta concludes tomorrow with two final races for most classes.
The Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta is Ireland's biggest sailing event concludes tomorrow, Sunday 9th July, with 475 boats and over 2,500 competitors taking part. There is a great festival atmosphere across the waterfront and Dun Laoghaire town as four sailing clubs come together for the biennial event; Dun Laoghaire Motor Yacht Club, Royal Irish Yacht Club, Royal St. George Yacht Club and National Yacht Club.
For more information see www.dlregatta.org or find Dun Laoghaire Regatta on Facebook and Twitter.