By comparison with the opening day's wild conditions which saw 50 DNFs, Race 2 of the Anglo Irish Bank Autumn League was a much 'tamer' affair, yet fresh south-westerlies of over 20 knots still kept crews in the 160-boat fleet on their toes.
On this occasion, only five boats failed to finish and for four boats - 'Contango' (Class 1), 'Hydrogin' (Class 3), 'Alphida' (Class 4) and 'Betsy Blue' (Squibs) - the race represented their respective second successive wins.
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| Class 4 |
Alphida - Harry Byrne
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The veteran Harry Byrne (he can be called 'veteran' since he is one of the oldest helms in the whole series!) showed he still has the touch in the white sail class 4 with another IRC/ECHO double success in the 20-strong fleet.
With a change in the runners-up places, 'Alphida' is already opening up an overall lead on both handicaps, although 'Changeling' (Kieran Jameson) and 'Trinculo' (Michael Fleming) remain serious contenders to date.
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| Class 1 |
Contango - B Cunningham RIYC
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One of several visiting boats in Class 1, 'Contango'
- B Cunningham from the Royal Irish - again headed that fleet, this time with over 4 minutes to spare over another visitor 'Storm' (P Kelly from Rush) on the water and 2.40 minutes on corrected time.
After a late start as a result of pre-race adjustments, last year's winner 'Same Old Story' (Dermot Cronin) did well to recover to fourth on the line and a mid-table handicap result.
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| Class 3 |
Goyave - Russell Camier/Com Fitzpatrick
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Another Malahide boat, Sean Colbert & Andy Davis' 'Hydrogin' recorded their second IRC win in a row but they had to come from behind to do it.
After a poor start and then chasing the two pace-setters - 'Goyave' (Russell Camier 7 Com Fitzpatrick) and 'Alliance' (Vince Gaffney) - they benefited most from the wind veering to the west and romped home 3.5 minutes ahead.
The O'Neills in 'Maverick' headed the ECHO standings with a 22-second corrected margin over 'Tobago' (Ray & others, from Malahide).
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| Squib |
Aurora - Peter Byrne
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In the Squibs, Fergus O'Kelly in 'Betsy Blue' chalked up another win but unlike race 1, he didn't have quite the same winning margin, with just 27 seconds to spare over Peter Byrne's 'Aurora'.
Only 12 minutes separated first from last in the fleet and Melanie McCaughey's 'Astrix' enjoyed the HPH handicap success as a result of such close racing.
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| Class 0 |
Tiger - Frank Hughes & Stephen Harris
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In the small Class 0 fleet, 'Tiger' (Hughes & Harris) led for most of the race only to see 'Rosie' (Roy Dickson) snatch victory near the end on IRC but at least had the consolation of winning on ECHO.
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| Class 2 |
Aloha - Conor Nolan & Others - in the lead (Blue Spinny)
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After retiring from the first race with mast movements that were of serious concern, 'Kinetic' (John Murphy & Richard Colwell) got back to winning ways in Class 2 on IRC ahead of 'Aloha' (Conor Nolan & Others) which had to be content with the same spot on ECHO behind Sligo visitor 'Ruthless' (C Ronan).
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| Class 5 |
Gunrunner - Michael Murphy
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Class 5 saw 'Gunrunner' (Michael Murphy) top the fleet ahead of last week's runner-up 'Man O'War' (Brendan & Cabena Smith).
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| Etchells |
pEtchellant Roger Cagney & Co
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In the Etchells, Roger Cagney & Co. on 'pEtchellant' had what would be a hugely satisfying victory by a mere 14 seconds over the pre-League favourites and national champions 'Snow Patrol' (Dan O'Grady etc).
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| Puppeteer |
Mojo - Robbie Stanley & Tim Callen
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An almost identical time gap separated Puppeteer winner 'Mojo' (Robbie Stanley & Tim Callen) from the top ranked 'Harlequin' (Dave Clarke) having led the large fleet for the best part of the race.
So tight was the racing that at one mark rounding, Class Captain Billy Morgan found his engine had been forcibly removed from its transom mounting by an eager rival! It was tied on, so all was not lost! 'Toucan' (Murray/McGloughlin) topped the HPH standings.
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| 17 Footer |
Oona Peter Courtney
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Normal service was resumed in the Seventeens with Peter Courtney's 'Oona' getting the gun by just 20 seconds from 'Gladys' (Cronin & Jones) and 'Isobel' (Turvey & O'Doherty) getting the nod on HPH over 'Gladys' by just one second on corrected time!
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