#rdp13 – The low pressure area which currently dominates Ireland's weather has speeded up slightly in its eastward movement, and any of the big multihulls in Dun Laoghaire which wish to avail of this useful weather window for a round Ireland record challenge would have to think in terms of leaving the harbour at dawn tomorrow (Saturday) writes W M Nixon.
The situation is fairly clearcut. A successful attempt will require the boat to be at Malin Head at much the same time as the centre of the low is due north of Malin Head. Ideally perhaps, the challenger would aim to be at Malin slightly in advance of the low being due north, in order to avail of the last of the southwesters to make some westing into the open Atlantic before the wind veers rapidly.
On the latest forecasts, the centre of the low will be north of Malin Head between noon and 1300hrs Saturday. From now until then, winds over the entire coastline of 170 miles between Dublin Bay and Malin Head will be fresh occasionally strong southwesterly. In conditions like that, with relatively smooth water, a MOD 70 would expect to average 25 knots, giving a sailing time of around seven hours, indicating a departure from the Kish no later than 0500 hrs.
The wind tomorrow afternoon is then expected to quickly become a near gale from the northwest off Ireland's northwest coasts. Too much wind is as much a hindrance for record times as too little. But there's a chance that any boat on line for a successful record challenge will have covered a substantial distance down the Atlantic seaboard before the swell has increased sufficiently to hamper progress.
