Ireland Finish Runners–Up in ISAF Nation's Cup Match Racing European Finals off Howth

11th May 2015

#matchracing – After four days of intense and challenging match racing in Howth Yacht Club this week, it was the experienced French teams who emerged as victors for the 2015 ISAF Nation's Cup European Finals in Ireland this week. La Rochelle's Pierre Rhimbault and his team took top position following a final windy day's racing in Howth in an event that also saw Pauline Courtois helm her 'Team France' to victory in the Women's series. An Irish crew skippered by Marty O'Leary were second overall.

Eleven participating nations enjoyed the racing in the mixed conditions that proved the forecasted mix of weather to be every bit as challenging as expected. The event was hosted by Howth Yacht Club and utilised eight J80 keelboats for three days of 'round robin' heats followed by a frenetically busy last day of semi-finals, finals and 3rd-4th place sail-offs. Rhimbault and his French team fought off a brave challenge from Ireland's Marty O'Leary and the UK's Mark Lees, both of whom are familiar visitors to Howth but could find no advantage in any 'local knowledge' against the experienced sailors from La Rochelle.

In the Women's event, Irish hopes rested with teams led by Howth's Diana Kissane and the Royal St George Yacht Club's Mary O'Loughlin but neither could make an impression on the Dutch entry of Klaatje Zuiberbaan (2nd) and eventual winner Pauline Courtois who excelled on the final day in the 25-knot southerly wind that tested boats and crews to the maximum.

At the prizegiving, HYC Commodore Brian Turvey thanked sponsors McPeake Auctioneers, event chairman Richard Kissane and all the competitors for taking part in such a lively continental championships and reminded the sailors that both Rhimbault and O'Leary as well as Courtois and Zuiberbaan now qualify for the intercontinental and World Finals in Vladivostok in July.The event chairman paid tribute to the work of the race management team under IRO David Lovegrove and the international jury led by Thibaut Gridel, also thanking ISA Sailfleet's Michael O'Connor and HYC's Kieran Jameson for the provision of their excellently maintained J80s.

Final standings provisional

ISAF Nation's Cup 2015 European Final Results

(Provisional)

10th May

Open Division:

1st FRA Rhimbault

2nd IRL O'Leary

3rd EST Sepp

4th GBR Lees

5th POL Wosinski

6th AUT Trippolt

7th FRA Follin

8th FIN Luhta

9th NED Korpershoek

10th NED Chu

11th SUI Mettraux

12th GER Maier-Ring

13th NOR Frissk

Womens:

1st FRA Courtois

2nd NED Zuiderbhaan

3rd SUI Bezel

4th IRL Kissane

5th IRL O'Loughlin

6th SWE Hager

Published in Match Racing

Tagged under

About The Author

Afloat.ie Team

Email The Author

Afloat.ie is Ireland's dedicated marine journalism team.

Have you got a story for our reporters? Email us here.

We've got a favour to ask

More people are reading Afloat.ie than ever thanks to the power of the internet but we're in stormy seas because advertising revenues across the media are falling fast. Unlike many news sites, we haven’t put up a paywall because we want to keep our marine journalism open.

Afloat.ie is Ireland's only full–time marine journalism team and it takes time, money and hard work to produce our content.

So you can see why we need to ask for your help.

If everyone chipped in, we can enhance our coverage and our future would be more secure. You can help us through a small donation. Thank you.