#lasersailing – The three Irish Laser fleets woke up on a beautiful sunny day at Ballyholme Yacht Club knowing that the wind was to fill in over the afternoon but no-one was sure by how much writes Mark Mackey. There is a little tension among the 126 competitors for the first time in a few years but if anyone was ignoring the pressure, it was the incumbent Olympian sailors from London 2012 James Espey (Ballyhome YC) and Annalise Murphy (National YC, Dun Laoghaire) who have won five Nationals between them.
This summer has new blood on the horizon - Finn Lynch winning the Laser Under 19 Youth World Championship last week in France, while Seafra Guilfoyle won the silver medal at the ISAF Radial Youth Games earlier in the summer.
Race 1 started with a southerly breeze and relatively flat seas with 16 knots. In the standard fleet James Espey got off to a slow start rounding the first mark 7th but a left shift on the second beat took him up to first from where he distanced himself from the chasing pack. ISA Squad member Fionn Lyden was second with Finn Lynch in 3rd. In the Radials Ballyholme's Liam Glynn led around the course till the second round until he sailed the wrong course and was passed by the top 4. Annalise also got off to a poor first beat in 20th place but she managed to catch up and pass Cork's Cian Byrne at the final mark.
The conditions worsened considerably for Race 2 gusting up to 25 knots at the finish. Annalise has always excelled in heavier airs and showed the rest of the Radial class the way home from the first mark. Finn Lynch led the Standards for 90% of his race but James Espey passed him up the final beat as the breeze grew.
The Youth 4.7 fleet managed the conditions commendably with Johnny Durcan from Royal Cork YC winning Race 2 and was second to Lough Derg's Scott Levie in Race 1. Asked for a comment afterwards Johnny offered that it was "very windy" and was a day to "keep your eyes out of the boat"
Race Officer Robin Gray decided to postpone the final race until tomorrow with the wind settling over 24 knots. Unfortunately, the morning looks like similar conditions with the breeze expected to start to die in the afternoon.
Overall after Day 1:
Standards
James Espey, Ballyholme YC/RUYC 1,1
Finn Lynch National YC 3,2
Colin Leonard BYC 4,3
Fionn Lyden Schull SC 2, 6
Radials
Annalise Murphy, NYC 1,1
Seafra Guilfoyle Royal Cork YC 3,2
Cian Byrne RCYC 2,6
Tim Brow BYC 5,3
4.7
1. Johnny Durcan RCYC 2,1
2. Niamh Doran Courtown SC 3,3
3. Scott Levie Lough Derg YC
4. Rory Fekkes BYC