The Maples Group IRC Euros 2024 on Dublin Bay for the past four days of Thursday through Sunday, with entirely daytime racing hosted by the Royal Irish Yacht Club of Dun Laoghaire, ended on a suitably Camelot note of only experiencing rain in the dark. There was indeed some rain, but it was only on Saturday night, and Sunday came up as a day of increasing brightness as the ragged remains of a once-vigorous rain-front faded to the southeast.
Tight Class One racing at the Maples Group IRC Euros 2024 in the northwest of Dublin Bay Photo: Afloat
With just two races scheduled for the final day to bring the total to nine, it might have been thought it was all over bar the shouting. But the new west to nor'west breeze took a while to assert itself, and even then the Dublin Bay Effect manifested some of its peculiarities through today (Sunday's) racing, and nothing was cut and dried.
Thus there were changes to the established pattern in Race 8 this morning. Results are below.
TEMPORARY CHANGES IN THE FRAME FOR CLASS 0
Class Zero IRC Euros Champion: Karl Kwok's TP 52 Beau Geste from Hong Kong Photo: Afloat
Class Zero The pace-setter in Class 0, Karl Kwok's TP 52 Beau Geste from Hong Kong, recorded yet another line honours victory with an elapsed time of 1:27:28. But her ferocious rating saw the win going to the First 50 Checkmate XX (Nigel Biggs & Dave Cullen, HYC) by a cool two minutes ahead of BG, whose bruising was compounded by Vicky Cox and Peter Dunlop of Pwllheli with their J/112e Mojto nipping in to a cheeky second on CT 30 seconds ahead of BG, which nevertheless hung onto a place on the podium in third.
However, for the concluding Race 9, all was as Nature intended, but it was very close. Beau Geste went round in one hour and 32 seconds, but Checkmate came bustling across the finish line 16 minutes and 32 seconds later, and was number-crunched to second on CT by just ten seconds.
Overall in Class 0, it's Beau Geste first on 8 points, Checkmate XX second on 17, and Johnny Treanor's J/112e ValenTina third on 34.
CLASS 1 OF THE BATTLING J/109s
Class One IRC Euros Champion: Johnny & Suzie Murphy's J109 Outrajeous from Howth Photo: Afloat
Class I – the biggest numerically - has basically been the scene of ongoing sporting warfare between the J/109s from several home ports. But during the first three days, Johnny & Suzie Murphy's Outrajeous from Howth seemed to consolidate her impressive overall lead by staying clear of the wasteful street fights.
However, the first race today saw another slight dent in her record, as the win was taken (for the second time in this series) by John Maybury's Joker 2 of the host club by nearly a minute from Outrajeous, after a hour and forty minutes of racing, with third slot going to Mocking-J (Ben & Jono Shelley) from Scotland.
John Minnis's Archambault 35 Final Call II from Belfast Lough was off form to record a disarded 8th, but this brought her discarded sixth in Race 6 back into play, and she went into the final race neck-and-neck with Joker 2 on 24.
That grand finale saw Outrajeous regain her Mojo and playing the shifts and the gaps right to win by two minutes and 51 seconds in the water from Brian & John Hall's Something Else, whic was leading a batch co-led by Joker 2 which came across just one second later.
Thus Outrajeous clinched it with this outrageous flourish to end the day and the series, literally out on her own in every sense, with just 10 points to the 27 of Joker 2 and the 32 of Final Call II
HALF TONNERS BATTLE IN CLASS 2
Class Two IRC Euros Champion: Half Tonner Two Farr from Rush Photo: Afloat
Class Two - Sunday's first tournament, Race 8, increased the tension between near-sisters Two Farr from Rush and Swuzzlebubble from Cork, as the Cork boat recorded her third win in a row after seeing Two Farr take straight wins in Races 2-6.
Thus they faced the final curtain hovering close, with Colin Kavanagh's J/97 Jeneral Lee from Howth third on 24. But though Swuzzlebubble took a convincing win in Race 9 by nearly two minutes, Two Farr's scorecard of five wins and three seconds finishes her on 11 points to the 12 of Swuzzlebubble, with Jeneral Lee taking third on 24.
J/24 HANGING IN WITH CLASS 3
Class Three IRC Euros Champion: Hard on Port, the J/24 from Bray Photo: Afloat
Class Three - The battle between Wicklow and Wexford among the Quarter Tonners and "adjacent boats" in Class 3 had been dominant until Race 7, with Hard on Port, the J/24 from Bray, getting the better of the Courtown Quarter Tonner Snoopy. But Stephen Mulaney's Sigma 33 Insider from Howth found things more to her liking as the series drew to its conclusion, and she'd two firsts today (Sunday).
However, that wasn't enough to upset the two leaders on the overall scoreboard, and Hard On Port (David Bailey) is the Class 3 Champion 2024, with Snoopy second and Insider third.
