With the year drawing to a close, it looked as though Liam Manning of Schull would be seen as 2017’s ultimate bridesmaid, as he was crew for Fionn Lyden’s All-Ireland Sailing victory in October.

But the dark days of November came up trumps for Manning – he captained the all-conquering University College Cork team to overall victory in the mid-November Intervarsities team racing in Baltimore, keeping a formidable array of talent in line.