Volvo Noble Marine RS400 UK & Irish Nationals at Royal North of Ireland Yacht Club - Day 4

Volvo Noble Marine RS400 UK & Irish Nationals © Lindsay McCarty

For the more extra-medium sized crews in the fleet, Day 4 was just the ticket. A solid 15+knots from the WNW provided the opportunity for many of us to sit on the same side of the boat as our crew on the upwind legs for the first time in the week, while the new wind direction added another variable into the mix for all.

The clearer than forecast skies also allowed thermals to build on the hills at the upwind end of the loch which in turn dragged down the gradient wind aloft onto the water's surface boosting the breeze with gusts that came down rather than across.

But whatever the interpretation of the weather, the bottom line was that this was the breeziest day of the week and delivered some fully powered uphill climbs and three slick downhill rides.

When it came to the racing, after a difficult start to the week, Mike Simms and Jack Holden (1488) finally found their mojo to take the first win of the day and their first bullet of the week. Nick Craig and Toby Lewis (1500) took second, while Robert Espey and Richard McCulloch (1006) nailed third.

Volvo Noble Marine RS400 UK & Irish Nationals - photo © Lindsay McCarty

But if the fleet had stared to get its head around the conditions, the weather decided to throw in a googly.

For those that were looking aloft for clues, the skies had cleared and the thermals had stopped dragging the upper breeze down onto the water. This, along with a forecast drop in the gradient breeze throughout the day saw a step change for the start of Race 2 with around 10 knots across the course.

What did remain was an uncomfortable sea state making it tricky to keep the pace upwind, as well as adding more to think about on the downwind legs. It was this that caused another reshuffling of the pack as even the big guns found it difficult to read the conditions to their advantage. Most notable was an uncharacteristic seventh place for Craig/Lewis and a fourth for the Cockerills (1489).

Taking line honours were Espey and McCulloch (1006) with Sean Cleary and Annalise Nixon (1377) in second and Chris Penny and Jessica Rutherford (1436) in third.

In the overall standings, Craig/Lewis continue to lead the field with a 14 point margin over the Cockerills who only have a three point lead over Espey and McCulloch.

Behind them a fierce scrap is developing down the pecking order to Howard and Louise Farbrother who are currently lying in 10th overall.

The final day's racing promises to be a punchy affair with breeze well into the 20s and while most were contemplating how to spend an afternoon on the lawn at the Royal North of Ireland without peaking too soon at the club's super hospitable bar, others had become twitched by some action in the dinghy park.

Stories of Nick Craig's broken mainsail halyard after just three days spread like wildfire as crews lowered their masts to check for chafe.

Even those who knew their halyard was fine were fiddling and fettling in preparation for the final day's show down.

Or, after a night on the town in Belfast yesterday, was it just to stay away from the bar?

Volvo Noble Marine RS400 UK & Irish Nationals - photo © Lindsay McCarty

Results after day 4: