| Day 5 - 15th October |
by Graham Smith
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The penultimate race in the Anglo Irish Bank Autumn League, sailed in a frustratingly light easterly wind, has left a number of classes with all to play for in next Saturday's finale - notably in Class 3 where any one of four boats can take the title - while three classes have already been decided.
A fifth IRC win on the trot for 'Rosie' means that Roy Dickson and crew have wrapped up Class 0 on that handicap as well as winning on ECHO overall too. For the last race, the battle is for 2nd overall between 'Tiger' and 'Independent Bear' on both handicaps.
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Class 0 - Independent Bear - M Davis
( First boat home in the Offshore Fleet )
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An impressive series by Dermot Cronin's J35 'Same Old Story' got even better by winning race five on both handicaps, a result that merely confirms the Malahide boat's dominance of Class 1 and win the event with a week to spare. 'Aquelina' (J&S Tyrrell) from Arklow and 'Equinox', 2nd and 3rd respectively on Sunday, hold exactly the same positions overall on IRC so the runner-up spot will go to whichever of the two finishes ahead of the other next Saturday.
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Class 1 - Esperanto - M Reilly - Sligo YC
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'Baily' (Fitzpatrick/Glennon) had a good 2nd on ECHO to move up to 2nd overall, just a single point ahead of 'Equinox'.
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Rivalry at the top of Class 2 intensified further when the three major contenders filled the first three places, with 'Kinetic' (Colwell/Murphy) getting the gun and the IRC win ahead of 'King One' (Cullen/Bourke) and 'Crewsaver Harmony' (Biggs/Hyland).
The result puts the Corby a point ahead of the visiting boat in the overall standings and a second place on ECHO also puts 'Kinetic' very much in the frame on the ECHO overalls behind leader 'Sunsari' (Soffe/Salter) although race 5 honours went to 'Impetuous' (Noonan & others).
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Class 2 - Crewsaver Harmony - Biggs & Hyland - Budworth SC
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In the IRC Restricted Division, another win for 'The Big Picture' (Evans & others) ahead of 'Toughnut' (D.Skehan) confirms those positions for both boats on the overall leaderboard.
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It was a good day for 'Fanatix' (R.Fanning) in the White Sails Cruiser Class, beating second-placed 'Bite the Bullet' (C.Bermingham) by two and half minutes over the line and on handicap but it is the latter that now holds the overall lead going into next Saturday's last race.
The gap is just 3 points from 'Changeling' (Jameson & MacManus) with 'Fanatix' a further four points adrift.
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White Sails Cruisers - Fanatix - R Fanning - HYC & SSC
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It will be nail-biting stuff in Class 3 next week as the title can be won by any one of four boats, separated by a mere two points on the overall table. 'Rossinver' (C.Scott) got the gun in Race 5 and won on ECHO but 'Alliance' (V.Gaffney) won on IRC ahead of 'Hydrogin' (Colbert & Davis), setting up a dramatic end to the series next Saturday.
Howth's 'Holly' (Basil MacMahon) and Malahide's 'Goyave' (Camier & Fitpatrick) share the overall lead with 8 points, with 'Alliance' and 'Hydrogin' in the next two slots on 9 and 10 points respectively.
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Class 3 - Rossinver - C Scott - HYC
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A number of intriguing scenarios can be played out next Saturday and 'Goyave' also has the chance of winning ECHO too, currently just 1.5 points behind leader 'Drumbeat' (F.Magann)
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Irish champions Beshoff/O'Grady/Reilly got back to winning ways in the Etchells' fifth race, with a 2.5 minute margin over David Burrows sailing 'The Chill'.
The result sees the champions leapfrog ahead of the Olympian in the overall standings but only by two points so no prizes for guessing who'll be keeping an eye on whom next Saturday!
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Etchells - Jabberwocky - S Knowles - HYC
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Dave Clarke and the crew of 'Harlequin' got back to winning ways in the Puppeteers with an impressive 3-minute lead over the Sargents in 'Mayfly' with 'Chancer' (J.Swan) another minute further behind.
It brings 'Harlequin' back into contention overall, in third place behind leader 'Mayfly' and 'Ibis' (G.May).
On ECHO, Tim Chiilingworth's 'Gannet' wrapped up the series with another win.
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Puppeteer - Eclipse - R & A Hegarty
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The Squibs go into their last race knowing who has won the series and knowing who is fighting for the runners-up spots. Another win for 'Kookaburra' (Guinness & O'Leary), this time by a massive 7 minutes, sealed their series victory with a race to spare and so impressive was the win that 'Kookaburra' also won on handicap.
'Pot Black' (R.McMurtry) had to be content with 2nd on both scratch and handicap and will hope to secure the handicap series next Saturday to add to either 2nd or 3rd overall on scratch.
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Squib - Roxanne - J O'Flynn
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It's back to the usual suspects in the 17 Footers, with 'Gladys' (Cronin/Jones) seeing smoke on Sunday to maintain third place overall while 'Oona's' second place helps move Peter Courtney and crew to just one point behind series leader 'Erica' (Cronin et al). 'Rosemary' (Curley & Jones) won race 5 on handicap but 'Zaida' (Houlihan & Hassell) has done enough to take that title a week in advance of the series' closure.
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17 Footer - Gladys - Cronin & Jones
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Team Trophy
On the team front, the 'Spunky Monkeys' (alias 'Rosie', 'King One' and 'Mandeline Reign') with 32 points have a healthy lead over second-placed '3 of a Kind' (aka 'Equinox', 'Trick or Treat' and 'Kookaburra')
Final Race
The sixth and final race in the Anglo Irish Bank Autumn League starts next Saturday 21st October (not Sunday!) with first gun on both courses due for 12.00 noon.
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