There were exhilarating conditions at the Sovereign's Cup at Kinsale today and some great racing despite the misery of torrential rain writes Claire Bateman.
Class Three IRC which includes the quarter tonners was sailing windward/leeward courses in Bullen's Bay between Black Head and Hake Head. In their first race they had 18/22 knots of wind with tide. Aguila was first to the mark, followed by Tiger and then Anchor Challenge, and they were running with speeds up to 14.5kts under spinnaker. However by the second race of the day the wind had increased and the tide had turned making for very hairy sailing indeed. Leading at the weather mark Aguila hoisted her kite, had a massive broach, and was on her side for some minutes during which time Anchor Challenge passed as did Tiger and other boats in the fleet.
In the final result Anchor Challenge was first over the water beating Tiger. However, when the handicap was applied, Tiger had beaten Anchor Challenge by 5 seconds with Aguila third. Flasheart, a visitor from Britain, had a pitch pole type gybe resulting in the injury of a crew member. After medical attention the injured sailor was well enough to attend the Quarter Ton reception at the Trident Hotel so thankfully all is alright in the world. The interesting thing for tomorrow is that Tiger and Aguila are both on equal 10 points followed by Anchor Challenge on 12 and, equally interesting Blackfun and John Twomey's Shillelagh are on equal points of 24 each.
In Class Zero IRC Antix had two firsts and with the help of Olympian son Peter, and all the Antix high powered crew, achieved speeds of up to 19.5kts in the conditions. Now that a discard has been applied Jump Juice has come up the ladder and lies second going into tomorrow's racing followed by Independent Bear and Gloves Off on 15 points each.
In Class One IRC the 21 boat fleet includes seven J109s, in itself a class within a class, and is providing fiercely competitive sailing in this tightly fought class. EOS leads on 10 points, with Jelly Baby on 13 points, followed by Storm on 19 points and with Robert O'Leary's Antix Beag on 24 points and having enjoyed a tremendous first place today.
Class Two IRC were sailing windward/leeward courses down off the Sovereign Islands and here the Sigma 33s and Corby 25s are battling it out for the top of the leaderboard. Tim Goodbody's White Mischief leads on 13 points with Yanks ¢ ffrancs on 18 points followed by another Corby, Allure, on 22 points and with Clem and Wendy McElligott's Sigma 33 on 31.5 points.
So, tomorrow will be interesting to say the least. Perhaps a windy day but we hope, without the rain.
However, this writer has a feeling that the surge of interest tomorrow will veer towards the awarding of the new Michelle Dunne Prix d'Elegance Trophy. It will indeed be a proud owner that will be the recipient of this magnificent trophy and we all eagerly await the outcome.
