For the first time since the Round Ireland Race start on Saturday, Cavatina does not feature on the leaderboard. Not that Ian Hickey and his team have eased the pressure on his competitors, but it appears that a combination of tacking offshore and a too literal interpretation of the course by the tracking system suggests that Cavatina has further to go than some of her inshore rivals. Before looking at tactics, lets explain the course line issue. The Yellowbrick prediction system works on the distance to go represented by the course line as drawn on the virtual map. Dividing the distance to go by the boat's VMG and multiplying by the time correction factor predicts the corrected time for the race and thus allows a predicted finishing order. However, if, as in this case, the course line does not actually track the rhumb line, then distortion occurs. The actual rhumbline across Donegal Bay is directly from Black Rock lighthouse to Tory Island, but for some reason the tracking system follows the coast more closely, suggesting that the course dips into Donegal Bay, adding distance. thus the boats that stay closer to the rhumb line may appear to have a shorter remaining distance.  

The conclusion from all this is not to place too much faith in the tracker, but to look at it in association with the analyses by the pundits, as the tracker will not take into account the wind and tidal conditions.

We have a really close and exciting battle ahead (but only slowly evolving) as the fleet approaches the north coast and the tidal minefield that is the North Channel.  Sydney 36 Tanit is now the IRC leader, just ahead of 2012 winner Inis Mor, and these two boats are benefitting from a light patch of wind currently blanketing the chasing pack.  

Just going to cover my eyes for a while!! #RoundIreland14 pic.twitter.com/sEZm3U75Yp

— Cavatina Irl3861 (@cavatinaireland) July 1, 2014

#roundireland14 – The Yellowbrick race trackers installed on the Round Ireland fleet afford the armchair viewers the luxury of slow motion replays. As the wind headed the boats on the approach to the Galway coast some made the decision to stay on starboard tack, seeking stronger breeze to the west of the rhumbline away from the coast, while competitors tacked on the header and moved inshore or short tacked along the rhumb line. Boats that were next to each other at Loop Head diverged and are now converging off the Mayo coast.

The tracker's replay facility allows us to rewind the race and analyse the distance gained or lost by the inshore/offshore decison.  When the comparison is between sister ships it is more valid as the one-design qualities negate the differences in speed.  Thus we can compare the tracks of Persistance and State of Chassis, two almost equally rated Sigma 38s. At 1144 Monday, the boats were 1.4 miles apart as they rounded the Blaskets with State of Chassis ahead.  

Fast forward to 2000 and Persistance has gained somewhat by staying closer to the rhumbline slightly east of State of Chassis.  At that time Persistance tacks towards the coast, while SoC continues on starboard out to sea.  At 0200 Tuesday, SoC tacks back towards the coast, but at this stage is some 20 miles to the west of Persistence who has short tacked close to the rhumbline.  

Imagine SoC's disgust when at 0430, Persistance crosses her bow at a distance of about 6 miles having gained 7.4miles over the previous 12 hours.    

This tactical battle is being played out across the bulk of the fleet, although the inshore option has been chosen by the greater number of boats. This may change as the fleet crosses Donegal Bay. Cavatina still leads, but the minor places are fluctuating. Amazing Grace's catch up continues -  now up to 13th overall on IRC.

It is rare enough that the west coast portion of the Round Ireland Race becomes an uphill slog but this year’s race seems set to be unusual in more ways than one.  As naviticians, or should that be tactigators, are forced to abandon the rhumb line, they face numerous decisions based on relatively unpredictable factors.  The light and variable winds pose particular problems – stronger inshore or offshore?, heading or lifting?, when will it shift/increase? and where should we position the boat to benefit most?  In doing so, can we ignore our rivals?  Is it best to stick with the pack?  What will the tide effect at the headlands be?  

At the very front, Monster Project’s course is more dictated by tactics then by navigation as she covers 2^nd placed Teng Tools Kilcullen as they beat into Donegal Bay.  It is to be hoped that this pre-occupation with each other will keep their minds off the falling winds ahead that look like making the north coast a very challenging phase.

Back down off Achill, News Talk for Adrenalin has been crossing tacks with Libertalis, not far ahead of 2012 winner Inis Mor, currently the best placed IRC boat of the high raters.

The two Class 40s, May Contain Nuts and Arwen, might as well be racing one–design, although Arwen has a modest rating advantage. Neither are currently challenging the overall lead.

Inshore just past Slyne Head, the Sydney 40 Tanit is perhaps the best placed yacht to benefit from any positive change in weather that reaches the front of the fleet first.  Tanit is lying 6^th overall at the time of writing. 

The podium battle is just a little further back and it is the two time course and distance winner Granada 38 Cavatina that continues to maintain the lead from Sigma 33 Polished Manx and J109 Ruth.

In the two-handed class, Dehler 34 Big Deal leads from Muskox.

The two Irish Offshore School Sunfast 37s Desert Star and Sherkin are putting in a very creditable performance, currently in 7^th and 8^th position.

While there is significant wind coming later in the week, it will probably be too late to have any major impact, and it could well be late on Thursday before a winner can be declared.

The bulk of the Round Ireland race fleet is fairly tightly bunched to the west of Loop Head in 10 to 12 knots of breeze from abaft the beam. Ian Hickey's Cavatina still leads IRC overall, but only four hours of corrected time separates the next ten boats and with more than half the race to go, that’s not much under the current circumstances. Liam Shanhan’s Ruth stays in 2^nd place but the lowest rated boat in the fleet, Kuba Szymanski’s Sigma 33 Polished Manx, is well in there in 3^rd place.

Up ahead, the line honours race is starting to turn in favour of Monster Project, who’s greater waterline length is giving her a 15 mile advantage over Teng Tools Kilcullen.  Monster has rounded Blackrock on the Mayo coast and has a light to moderate breeze on the nose.  The light and variable forecast winds will require careful covering of TTK to ensure she stays ahead.

As the wind starts to head the fleet, it looks like Donegal Bay is going to be a dead upwind leg in a gentle breeze, allowing the bigger boats to regain some of the lost ground.

As always with this classic race, the north east coast will probably be the most significant factor in the battle for supremacy. The timing of the approach to Rathlin and of the passage of the North Channel are always crucial.

Plenty of racing to come.

@RoundIreland out looking over at blaskets to see local boat Amazing Grace come through, tracker says she's close!! pic.twitter.com/RRLtAQ2CLh

— Ruth (@rconcann) June 30, 2014

Interesting tactical decisions made by @MonsterVO70 & Teng Tools Killcullen at Belmullet coastline #RoundIreland14 pic.twitter.com/jrWA6OZJwH

— Noel Davidson (@noel_davidson) June 30, 2014

#roundireland – The leading yacht in the Round Ireland Yacht Race has just reached the halfway point and the fleet is now experiencing a modest east to southeast breeze. As has been the trend in this slow race, the larger yachts will encounter lighter winds while the main fleet carries the pressure up to them, effectively resetting the clock back to zero, reducing the race length and favouring the lower rated boats.

At the head of the fleet, the Volvo 70 Monster Project has opened up a 12 mile lead over Teng Tools Kilcullen, equivalent to a projected 2 hour advantage at the finish, although it will only be a class win and not an overall victory. 

Back at the Blaskets, Cavatina maintains her overall lead, some two corrected hours ahead of Dillon father and son sailing two-handed on Big Deal, and just ahead of Liam Shanahan’s Ruth who seems to be winning the battle of the J-boats.

Joe McDonald’s News talk for Adrenalin is comfortably ahead of Libertalia in IRC Z, while 2012 winner Inismor leads IRC 1. The Harris/Riggs Sydney 36 Tanit is ahead in IRC 2, J109s Ruth and Mojito(Dunlop/Cox) top IRC 3, while Cavatina leads in IRC 4,5 and 6. 

The fleet can expect lighter, heading winds as it makes for the Galway and Mayo coasts, once again favouring the lower rated boats. 

Midnight Tuesday is probably the very earliest that the leaders will finish, more likely later in the morning, with the IRC winners coming in some 24 hours later.

Selected 'Tweets' from the race course below: 

Race around Ireland has be unreal photo of Great Skellig @BowWaves @RoundIreland @Ireland @GoToIrelandCA pic.twitter.com/EawlEZ83CV

— Thomas O'Malley (@ThomasOMalley12) June 30, 2014

Richard Harris on Tanit at the Skelligs around 6am @RoundIreland @ClydeMarLeather @SaturnSails #RoundIreland14 pic.twitter.com/kNJFUBnNAL

— Roisin Harris (@RoisinHarris) June 30, 2014

@SailingLogic @RoundIreland a busy night trimming on #ArthurLogic kite up & flying nicely and stunning sunrise too pic.twitter.com/t2r3m12j1S

— Jennifer Smyth (@jsmyth12) June 30, 2014

@BowWaves @RoundIreland @AfloatMagazine @sailing_news variable 5kts at Galway, you gonna have to hang on 'till wednesday before it freshens!

— Port of Galway (@portofgalway) June 30, 2014

#roundireland – After an almost windless night on the southwest coast, dawn on day three finds the 2014 Round Ireland Race fleet occupying a relatively small portion of the ocean between the Fastnet and the Blasket Islands.  The slow progress to date suggest that the overall winner of this year's race is likely to come from the lower rated portion of the fleet, increasing the chances for Cavatina to become the first three time winner of this 704 mile ocean classic. 

The “ocean greyounds”, currently leading on the water, have been made to look like mongrels with gimpy legs by the ‘slack variable flow” that currently covers Ireland.

Adding to their woes is the fact that the more northerly progress they make, the further they are getting from the short term pressure development on the Kerry coast later today. 

Already more than 60 hours behind on predicted corrected time at the finish, the only hope for the big boats is to hook into a new system on the north-west coast that leaves the slower boats in the “doldrums”. 

However, this is an unlikely scenario as less than 60 miles separates leader Monster Project from back marker Amazing Grace, who must be the only boat delighted with these conditions as it has allowed her to get back in the race after her forced restart.

While Cavatina remains the notional leader on IRC, it is far too early to speculate on an overall winner, as the congestion on the Kerry coast becomes worthy of an AA Roadwatch report. 

@RoundIreland @sailracewin ah lads! You have to have a decent meal!! Potatoes are cooking!! pic.twitter.com/uBcdF6gosl

— Cavatina Irl3861 (@cavatinaireland) June 29, 2014

Anxious eyes will be on the boats’ galleys now to see if the catering department have allowed for prolonged spells of ‘parking’.

Enjoy the scenery crews, you’re going to be seeing a lot of it!

#roundireland14 – 24 hours into the Round Ireland race 2014, the fleet is unusually compacted with only 70 miles separating the on the water leader from the second to last boat.  Amazing Grace, following her return to Wicklow to resolve some damage, is still some way behind the fleet, but with the forecast light winds, has a good chance of returning to the mix. Cosmic Dancer experienced some damage when rounding the Tuskar Rock resulting in their retiral and return to Dun Laoghaire.

With chances of an overall IRC win fading for the on the water leaders, the focus turns to the battle for line honours.  The light northerly winds facing the fleet as they round the Fastnet is turning the race into a tactical hunt for wind pressure. It’s at the head of the fleet where the decision making is currently most crucial.  The headwinds rule out the rhumb line option and the other variables take on a new meaning.  The hunt for more wind is probably the dominant topic on board the on-the-water leaders right now. With only a couple of miles separating the ocean racing thoroughbreds Monster Project, Teng Tools Kilcullen and Libertalia, the wind speed issue is all consuming.  In lighter winds, a 4 knot wind speed difference can mean a 7 knot boat speed difference on these boats.  In these conditions the decision making becomes crucial – will there be more wind through land effect, or will it be cleaner offshore?  How close can we go? How close should we go? Is the tide an issue around the headlands? 

#MonsterProject first yacht round #Fastnet at 12.20 @RoundIreland pic.twitter.com/DgOQKumeuT

— Peter O Flynn (@Flynner004) June 29, 2014

Still to round the Fastnet, the bulk of the fleet is not faced with such choices as yet. Close reaching to the famous lighthouse, it’s straightforward for now.  Cavatina still holds the overall IRC lead but is joined on the leaderboard by a cluster of J-Boats enjoying some really close racing.  Liam Shanahan’s J109 Ruth is currently 2^nd but is being chased hard by sister ship Mojito (Dunlop/Cox), while Philip Bourke’s J105 Jet Dream is in 4^th place.

@RoundIreland 12.30 TenkTools passes #Fastnet Rock pic.twitter.com/2A32apReTP

— Peter O Flynn (@Flynner004) June 29, 2014

Forecast winds suggest the peloton will enjoy increasing following winds along the southwest coast tonight, while the on-the-water leaders will struggle with lighter airs further north.

So two fascinating battles being played out with many a twist to come. 

#roundireland - As the sun sets on the first day of the 2014 Round Ireland Yacht Race, the bulk of the fleet have cleared the Tuskar in time to avoid the worst of the building flood tide, although the smaller boats bringing up the rear of the fleet would prefer it to be at neap strength.

The following breeze on the east coast made the run to the Tuskar fairly straightforward, with most boats sticking to the rhumb line, the asymmetric boats generally taking short jibes to avoid straying from the shortest distance.

As the boats enter the Celtic Sea, the fresh breeze is moderating, allowing the slower boats to save their time.  Twice a previous winner, Cavatina, now under the ownership of Ian Hickey, shows up as the early leader, and is joined on the first page by competitors with similar ratings.

The larger boats are struggling to gain the advantage of their waterline length and with the breeze dying away from ahead and no significant increase due until Thursday, it seems that this race will, once again, favour the smaller boats.

2013 Dun Laoghaire to Dingle Race Winner, Amazing Grace, one of the oldest and slowest boats in the fleet, but also considered a handicap favourite, made an unexpected return to Wicklow harbour only minutes after the start following a collision.

Taking on water and with no idea of the extent of the damage, the Tralee Bay boat returned to harbour to assess the situation. 

A fist sized hole in the transom appeared very fixable to owner and boat builder Brian O'Sullivan who made immediate quayside attempts at a repair. The Kerry boat has now rejoined the race and the light winds forecast will not rule out her catching up, but she does have to contend with an adverse Irish Sea tide.

Follow the fleet via the Round Ireland Race Tracker

#roundIreland – Wicklow Harbour was looking its very best in sunshine as the start time of the 18th Round Ireland Race approached, but then the sky clouded over as the serious business of getting cleanly over the line came swiftly up the agenda comments W M Nixon.

The first couple of miles of the race, out of the bay and southward round Wicklow Head, can be a very nervy business.

But it was a cruel irony that the only shunt on a close-reaching start - made more difficult by a sluicing ebb - should be between two boats which had voyaged all the way from the West Coast to take part, with a too-close encounter between Amazing Grace from Tralee and Lynx Clipper from Galway.

With 704 miles to be raced, an understandable reluctance to be recalled - with all the hassle of returning over the ebb – saw several boats making conservative starts.

But the Open 60 Teng Tools Kilcullen (Enda O Coineen and Eamon Crosbie) demonstrated nerves of steel to hit the line spot on, and if you think it looks easy-peasy, then clearly you've never tried manoeuvring a specialised 60-footer.

Teng Tools Kilcullen was skilfully placed just as the start sounded, and soon was cleanly away. Photo: W M Nixon

As Teng Tools Kilcullen began to gain power, her speed relative to the smaller "normal" boats was very impressive. Photo: W M Nixon

With the close-reaching conditions and the ebb setting ever more strongly towards the Head, it was a neat decision as to which sails to be carrying, but aboard the big Wicklow entry, David Ryan's chartered Volvo 70 Monster Project, they had things set up to perfection, and she roared away down the line in pursuit of TTK, which in turn was also finding extra speed. However, it wasn't exactly cheering for those hoping for a bit of excitement. To think that this brief dash to Wicklow Head might have experienced the best speeds we'll see recorded for the entire race.

Here comes the Cavalry. After a conservative start, the local favourite Monster Project was soon developing full power........Photo: W M Nixon

....and was soon in hot pursuit of TTK. Photo: W M Nixon

Monster Project romping along. Wind expectations for the next few days are so muted that this might be the best burst of speed she'll have in the entire race. Photo: W M Nixon

In the body of the fleet, the stylish Rodman Judel Vrolik 42 Phosphorous (Mark Emerson, RORC) successfully compensated for a conservative start by having exactly the right cloth set forward of the mast. This allowed for the ebb to carry her the vital little bit to weather of the course to clear the Head, and she milled her way through the fleet in the wake of the stylish Farr 60 Newstalk for Adrenalin, sweeping past the defending champion, Laurent Gouy's Ker 39 Inis Mor, in convincing style.

But then, Phosphorous does rate 1.136 to the 1.122 of Inis Mor, so she should have been ahead in any case...... And this is going to be one long slow race. Most boats will have their moment of glory at some stage.

The 42ft Phosphorous (white sail) starting to do the business........Photo: W M Nixon

....and mills her way through the fleet, while the 60ft Newstalk for Adrenalin (right) shows that size does matter. W M Nixon

#greystones – Ireland's newest marina at Greystones harbour has welcomed in two Round Ireland race competitors for Saturday's nearby race start from Wicklow harbour. As previously reported on Afloat.ie the new 200–berth marina will be home to a chartered Volvo 70 Monster and a Farr 60 until shortly before Saturday's 2pm start. 35 boats are entered for the Wicklow Sailing Club biennial race that can take up to one week to complete. Greystones Marina manager Alan Corr told Afloat.ie he is delighted to be able to offer convenient deep water berths for the high tech visitors.