#ISORA – In a change to the earlier results posted Dun Laoghaire's First 36.7 Lula Belle a two hander sailed by Liam Coyne and Brian Flahive won the weekend offshore trophies including the new lynx metmAsts Perpetual Offshore Trophy writes ISORA Commodore Peter Ryan. Revised results and times are avaliable to download at the bottom of this post.
First over the finish line for line honours was "NUI Galway" with "Aquelina" close behind. "English Mick" was third over the line . "Lula Belle" was fourth over the line taking overall, Class 2 and the lynx metmAsts Trophy. "NUI Galway" took secod overall and first in Class 1."Joker 2" took 3rd Overall and 2nd Class 1.
On the Friday evening, in the blistering sunshine in Pwllheli Sailing Club, the lynx metmAsts Pre-Race Reception was well attended. The three new lynx metmAsts trophies were on display – the Perpetual Offshore Trophy, the winners trophy to keep and the trophy for the photographic competition. In attendance and making short speeches was the Commodore of PSC, Phil Ranner and Director of lynx metmAsts, John Rutter. The party continued into the night!!
The forecast for the race was for light to little winds at the start building to moderate NE winds going SE by late Saturday / early Sunday. In view of the forecast the course set by the Sailing Committee was :
Start from PSC Bridge
South Arklow (S)
metmAsts and Turbines on Arklow bank (s)
South India (P)
Finish in Wicklow (in a notherly direction)
Well, the forecast was correct for the 08.00 start. A strong westerly tide pushed fours boats over the start line at the gun. These boats were unable to re-cross the line due to the light winds and strong tide for some time. The remainder of the fleet headed towards St. Tudwal's Islands in the tide and tide generated wind. At Tudwal's, the fleet began to bunch again when whatever winds were around at the start dropped – possible due to the turning of the tide. Two boats went out between the islands, "Aquleina" and "Joker 2". This appeared to pay off.
Punching against the tide towards Bardsey, the fleet again got dispersed, however "Aguelina" and "Joker 2" appeared to hold their advantage. It was not until after 16.00 that the wind started to fill in from a NE direction and built steadly to 18 knots by the time the fleet was approaching South Arklow at approximately 21.00. By the time the first boats had rounded the wind backed to a northerly direction and increase to 20-24 knots.
The leg to South India was a full beat against the now strong south going tide requiring most of the fleet to "rock hop" in the dark along the Arklow coast. At approximately around midnight there was sudden veer in the wind back to NE that sent the beating boats fetching for South India in the increasing winds.
Rounding South India was no "piece of cake" as the N/NE winds had whipped up the seas. The first boat, "NUI Galway", rounded approximately 02.00 and headed for the finish at Wicklow. Conditions in Wicklow were bad with a big swell at the harbour mouth. The main light house was not operating and the outer finish mark was unlit. These with the large swell did not make the run through the finish easy.
First over the finish line for line honours was "NUI Galway" with "Aquelina" close behind. "English Mick" was third over the line . "Lula Belle" was fourth over the line taking overall, Class 2 and the lynx metmAsts Trophy. "NUI Galway" took secod overall and first in Class 1."Joker 2" took 3rd Overall and 2nd Class 1.
We are awaiting the outcome of the lynx metmAsts Photographic Competition. Photographs of the before, during and after the race are acceptable and should be emailed to Koyelia Sirkar this week ( [email protected] )who will select the overall winner. The winner will be announced next weekend.
I would like to thank our sponsors lynx metmAsts for their generous help in providing the Crew Bus, Reception in Pwllheli and the great trophies. I would like to thank PSC for the great hospitality on Friday night and Richard Tudor for providing the start. Wicklow Sailing Club had laid on food and were awaiting our arrival. However the light winds wrecked those arrangements. I would like to thank Sadie Phelan all her help and Wicklow sailing Club for the arrangements – let's hope we get there next year.
Photographer Andy Green from Pwllheli took a great series of photographs at the start of the race. You can view these by clicking here
The next high point in the Offshore Calendar is the Round Ireland. While not in our race schedule, we will be awarding a trophy for the best performance of an ISORA boat to be presented in our Prize-Giving Dinner on the 17th November in the NYC.
The next ISORA race is the Pwllheli Day Race on the 14th July followed by the popular ISORA / RAYC Night Race on the 27th July.
Results are attached for download below.
Additional Race Report from NUI Galway below:
Since the ICRA Nationals, Reflex 38 "NUIGalway" and crew have been kindly hosted by the Royal St. George Yacht Club, Dun Laoghaire in preparation for the Round Ireland. Last Thursday and Friday was a frenzied assault on the job and kit list as we got ready for the ISORA race from Pwelheli (Wales) to Wicklow.
After a bit of a rush, once clear of Dun Laoghaire harbour Friday evening it was a very chilled out affair, with the auto pilot on we motored across a glassy Irish sea. Most of the were crew asleep as we snook into an eerily quiet Pwelheli marina at dawn and tied up. A quick update of the weather forecast and a power nap was had before cracking into boat prep and breakfast in time for an 8am race start...
As the 15 boats filed out of the marina, we took stock opposition; the cool still air onshore was a bad omen as we arrived out to a start line where not a puff was to be seen. The start sequence got under way nonetheless as a 1knot tide pushed boats down towards the line. In a confirmed case of young bull and old bull, we were amongst 6 boats that were over on the start line. Not alone were we over the line but we hadn't a hope of getting back up to it to restart so it was anchor out!! We sat alongside the other misfortunes for 40 minutes biting our nails as we watched the rest of the fleet drift off towards the Bardsey Sound at the South tip of Holyhead. With a whisper of breeze and a waning tide we eventually got away in earnest.
Picking off boats was the name of the game. With the kite up we followed channels of breeze and we did well dodging the first of the tide that was now starting to build against us, to our favour the fleet stayed relatively compressed. By 2pm we were already well through a session of headsail and kite hoists as the wind flicked and spluttered while just breaking out into the Irish Sea. It was clear this wasn't going to be a rapid transit and quips were being made about rationing! Overall we had regained a good position again though most of the fleet were beating us on handicap but at least they were back at the proper side of our stern. Out into the Irish Sea we all spread out, we followed the breeze and let the tide the ebb tide take us south waiting for the new tide take us back north to our rhumb line to the first mark off Arklow.
Later around 10pm as boats reconverged on the mark off Arklow, our position to the north of the rest of the fleet would have been paying dividends as the predicted easterly wind shift was late arriving. The wind had steadily built up to ~17kts while we trucked in on the mark with our asymmetric kite up in rain and low visibility. For the first time in 6 hours we got sight of a boat ahead and to leeward, as we climbed up over them we were disappointed to see it was the J109 "Joker" who we needed to be ahead of on handicap. This was compounded by our struggle to find the South Arklow navigational mark that we were to round, only to see it 400 metres below us, letting Joker slip by us we crawl dead downwind! Other competitors have since reported similar issues with the mark having been recently moved south.
The last 3-4 hours was a misery for the crew on the rail!! The rain now driving, we tacked our way up against the wind and building tide, tiredness creeping and very wet, wishing the new gear we're ordering had arrived for Friday! We peeled to a bigger headsail as the wind died down a bit and shifted east only to build again in time for rounding of a mark 5 miles east of Wicklow. Having passed Joker again on the beat upwind, the last run home downwind with the kite up was exciting stuff for the last 40 minutes. In almost pitch darkness "UP 10!"; "DOWN 5!" was being roared from the nav table below, homing in on an unlit finish line, this interspersed with the odd big bear away to avoid lobster pots. Coming in hot on a leeshore, as soon as we were across the line at 2.47am, we did a "letter-box" drop of the kite and got out of dodge fairly hastily in case we would have a couple of boats down on top of us!
The finish of the race was only part of the saga, as we made our way back to Dun Laoghaire 20 miles north with the engine on and the main up pushing tide the wind speed built. By 6am off Dalkey Island it was gusting over 30kts from the East, in the early light "The Muglins" was awash with white water. While taking a wide berth of the rocks, we were broadside to short steep waves and dodging the occasional pot. After a recce of the entrance to the harbour and a "chicken gybe" around, we came powering in through the entrance. With the 8 crew after 24 hours on the go, cold and wet it took in one last big effort getting the main down and secured on the boom inside the harbour wall. With mooring fields akin to a pinball table we headed into the sheltered pontoon of the Royal Irish Yacht Club. Once alongside, we got changed out of the back of the van in an underground carpark, too early to find a breakfast roll in Dun Laoghaire, we scattered for the nearest hot shower and warm bed/ couch!
Still provisional, but it looks like we placed third overall.
- nuigalwayroundireland2012.com
