The half-way stage of this year's Autumn League was reached in stronger westerly winds than were originally forecast although the conditions certainly met with the competitors' approval for the third successive Sunday. A light force 2 breeze turned into a brisk 17-knot wind which made for quick races.
Sponsored jointly by Today FM, Crystal Holidays and Irish Life Investment Managers, the League is now three races down, three to go and with all to play for between now and October 17th.
A major wind shift just after the start on the offshore course meant no beat after the first mark, producing something of a 'solder's race' for the five classes racing, not that those who benefitted will complain as they rightly made the most of the situation.
Equinox - Class 1
In Class 1, Matt Davis's 'Barafundle' from Skerries upset the odds to win on IRC by 23 seconds from 'Flashback' (Breen & Others), the latter moving into 2nd overall behind 'Crazy Horse'. Another ECHO win for 'Tiger' (Hughes/Harris) puts them into a commanding lead in that category.
Indigo - Class 2
A black flag second start for Class 2 put manners on the fleet but Ian Byrne's 'Sunburn' enjoyed a cracker of a start, held a comfortable lead by the weather mark and then held off the challenge of 'King One' and 'C'Est la Vie' to taken the gun and the IRC honours. For 'C'Est la Vie' (Flannelly & Others), it was their best result to date and meant they continued their dominance of the ECHO division so that they are 12 points ahead of their nearest rival after three races. 'King One' (David Cullen) heads IRC overall by 9 points from joint second-placed 'Sunburn' and 'The Big Picture' (Evans & Co.)
Gecko - Class 3
The 'Alliance' - 'Starlet' rivalry continued over in Class 3, 'Starlet' taking the gun by a minute but 'Alliance' taking the corrected time IRC result and a one point lead in the overall standings. Malahide visitor 'Tobago' (Ray & Others) beat another visitor, Alfred Mayrs' 'Quickflash' from Antrim BC, on ECHO but the northern boat moves into the overall lead in that category.
Brazen Hussey - Class 4
Another two boat rivalry was also in action in Class 4, only this time it was Kieran Jameson's 'Changeling' which enjoyed the pleasure of a treble success - line, ECHO and IRC - a 2 minutes 36 seconds margin over 'Bite the Bullet' proving to be the biggest gap in any class on the day.
Arctic Fox - Class 5
In the second White Sail Class 5, Skerries boat 'Tully Too' (Declan Higgins) topped the fleet ahead of Andrew Knowles' 'Sandpiper' who now takes over at the head of the overall leaderboard.
Crop Duster - Etchells
A small Etchells fleet started slowly with the exception of Dan O'Grady's 'Crop Duster' who got off the line with pace and lead the way home, albeit with only 7 seconds to spare over Simon Knowles' 'Jabberwocky', with the two boats swapping positions in the overall standings.
Ghosty Ned and Geppetto - Puppeteer
So close was the Puppeteers' race that the first 10 boats finished within 4 minutes but Alan Pearson will have fond memories of his start as 'Trick or Treat' lee-bowed the whole fleet and led all the way round to keep 'Harlequin' (Dave Clarke) and 'Yellow Peril' (Neil Murphy) at bay. The latter two hold 1st and 2nd overall on scratch, Tim Chillingworth's 'Gannet' won on handicap while 'Haemogloblin' (Mullen/O'Dea) still retain the lead in that category.
Astrix - Squib
The lead in the Squib race changed several times between three boats but in the end Emmet Dalton's 'Klipbok' made the most of the shifts late on to head off 'Shadowfax' (Phil Merry) and 'Whipper Snapper' (Michael Cantwell) while Melanie McCaughey's good run on handicap in 'Asterix' continued - second behind the McMurtry's 'Pot Black' - to maintain her leadership there.
Leila - 17 Footer
Peter Courtney in 'Oona' returned to winning ways in the 17s, beating 'Rita' (Lynch/Curley) by 17 seconds while 'Aura' (Ian Malcolm) and 'Gladys' (Cronin/Jones) could not be separated by the Race Officer and were given joint 3rd places! Handicap honours went to Derek Bothwell in the newest 17 'Sheila' ahead of 'Bobolink' (Walsh/Doyle), the same positions they hold in the overall standings.
