#roundireland14 – The 2014 Round Ireland Race is approaching endgame as Monster Project enters the North Channel with less than 150 miles to go. Half a country away to the west, the prospect of an increasing and following breeze overnight must be a welcome relief to the crews of those boats that have been looking at the Mullet peninsula for the best part of twelve hours. The forecast suggests that, once again, the big boys will be severely disadvantaged by the repeating meteorological pattern of a wind dying from ahead and filling in from behind. So while the large vessels encounter head winds of not much more than 10 knots, the IRC 3 and IRC 4 yachts will enjoy 15 knots plus of following breeze.
The boats are now generally following the rhumb line so it’s all about squeezing every bit of boat speed out of sail and boat trim, giving the tacticians a much needed brain rest.
Predicting the overall result at this stage is akin to sticking a pin in the entry list, but Afloat has developed a very sophisticated algorithm over the years that has indicated the boats that are likely to be in the mix on corrected time at the finish.
Currently, our top ten looks like this:
1. Cavatina
2. Polished Manx
3. Big Deal (Sponsored by Union Chandlery)
4. Eugene F Collins/Amazing Grace
5. Tanit
6. Ocean Tango
7. IOS Desert Star
8. Dreamcatcher
9. McGregor IV
10. Ruth
With many miles to go, this list will be much refined before the winner emerges and much will depend on the positioning at the tidal gates of the North Channel.
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