#Rowing: Ronan Byrne has retained his title on the Cork Sculling Ladder 2015/2016. The Shandon man was the overall winner, and also topped the junior and intermediate sections. Margaret Cremen from Lee was not only the top woman, but also took the junior 16 and junior 18 bow, along with the intermediate and club one and club two sections. In a revision of the final finishing positions, Dan Begley of Shandon Boat Club has been named as the Club One winner.

2015 – 2016 Cork Sculling Ladder Winners

Overall Winner  :  (1) Ronan Byrne  -  Shandon Boat Club  (retained)

Women’s Overall Winner  :  (49) Margaret Cremen  -  Lee Rowing Club

Section Winners

Men

Open :  (1) Ronan Byrne  -  Shandon Boat Club

Intermediate :  (1) Ronan Byrne  -  Shandon Boat Club

Novice :  (19) Hugh Sutton  -  Lee Rowing Club

Club 1 :  (4)  Dan Begley - Shandon Boat Club

Club 2 :  (7) Darragh Larkin  -  Lee Rowing Club 

Junior 18 :  (1) Ronan Byrne  -  Shandon Boat Club

Junior 16 :  (8) Barry O’Flynn  -  Cork Boat Club

Junior 15 :  (12) Thomas Murphy  -  Lee Rowing Club

Junior 14 :  (47) Tim Buckley  -  Lee Rowing Club

Junior 13 :  (115) Sean McCalgon  -  Lee Rowing Club

Junior 12 :  (151) Peter Leonard  -  Cork boat Club 

Masters A :  (20) Donal Smith  -  Shandon Boat Club

Masters B :  (21) Henrik Merz  -  Shandon Boat Club

Masters C :  (21) Henrik Merz  -  Shandon Boat Club

Masters D :  (56) Pat Peilow  -  Cork Boat Club

Masters E :  (56) Pat Peilow  -  Cork Boat Club

Masters F :  (66) Tony Corcoran  -  Lee Valley Rowing Club

Masters G :  (66) Tony Corcoran  -  Lee Valley Rowing Club

Masters H :  (166) Seamus Quain  -  Shandon Boat Club

Masters I :  (166) Seamus Quain  -  Shandon Boat Club

Women

Open :  (49) Margaret Cremen  -  Lee Rowing Club

Intermediate :  (49) Margaret Cremen  -  Lee Rowing Club

Novice :  (82) Marie Kidney  -  Lee Rowing Club

Club 1 :  (49) Margaret Cremen  -  Lee Rowing Club

Club 2 :  (49) Margaret Cremen  -  Lee Rowing Club

Junior 18 :  (49) Margaret Cremen  -  Lee Rowing Club

Junior 16 :  (49) Margaret Cremen  -  Lee Rowing Club

Junior 15 : (69) Anne O’Farrell  -  Cork Boat Club

Junior 14 :  (82) Marie Kidney  -  Lee Rowing Club

Junior 13 : (128) Jennifer Forde  -  Shandon Boat Club

Junior 12 : (128) Jennifer Forde  -  Shandon Boat Club

Masters A :  (132) Karen Corcoran O’Hare  -  Lee Valley Rowing Club

Masters B : (132) Karen Corcoran O’Hare  -  Lee Valley Rowing Club

Masters C : (155) Karen Dunne McCarthy  -  Cork Boat Club

Masters D : (157) Mary O’Callaghan  -  Lee Rowing Club

Masters E : (157) Mary O’Callaghan  -  Lee Rowing Club

 Results.

                           

                 

Saturday 26.03.2016.

 (22) Evan Curtin  -  Cork Boat Club bt  (16) David Higgins  -  Presentation College Rowing Club.   4L.

(50) Conor Twohig  -  Cork Boat Club bt  (45) Patrick Kenneally  -  Presentation College Rowing Club.   1 1/4L.

(25) Donal Smith  -  Shandon Boat Club bt   (20) Henrik Merz  -  Shandon Boat Club.  1 3/4L.                   

(47) Tim Buckley  -  Lee Rowing Club bt  (48) David Cosgrave  -  Shandon Boat Club.  5L.

 (82) Sophie Grey  -  Lee Rowing Club bt  (FC) (107) Hannah Cummins  -  Lee Rowing Club.  5L.

 (10) Liam O’Connell  -  Cork Boat Club bt  (11) Cathal Merz  -  Shandon Boat Club.  5L.

Starter / Umpires : Finbarr Desmond, Kieran O’Sullivan and Pat Hickey.

Sunday

 (FC)(91) Marie Kidney  -  Lee Rowing Club bt  (82) Sophie Grey  -  Lee Rowing Club.   5L. 

1. (1) Ronan Byrne  -  Shandon Boat Club bt  (4) Dan Begley  -  Shandon Boat Club.   4L. 

Starter / Umpires :  Finbarr Desmond and Kieran O’Sullivan.

Tuesday

(82) Marie Kidney  - Lee RC bt (FC)C87) Claragh O’Sullivan  -  Cork Boat Club.   1 L.

Starter   / Umpires :  Finbarr Desmond and Kieran Hughes.

 

Cork Sculling Ladder 2015 - 2016
27/03/2016
Position
Club
Sculler
Grades
Leaders
1
Shandon Boat Club
Ronan Byrne #
J18, I, O
J18, I, O
2
Shandon Boat Club
Colm Hennessey #
I, O
3
UCC
Jack Casey
C1, I, O
C1
4
Shandon Boat Club
Dan Begley (FC)
C1, I, O
5
Shandon Boat Club
Stephen O'Sullivan
J18,I, O
6
Shandon Boat Club
Sean Lonergan
J18,C1, I, O
7
Lee Rowing Club
Darragh Larkin
J18, C2, C1, I, O
C2
8
Cork Boat Club
Barry O'Flynn
J16, J18, C1, I, O
J16
9
Shandon Boat Club
Stewart Channon
C1, I, O
10
Cork Boat Club
Liam O'Connell (FC)
J18, C1, I, O
11
Shandon Boat Club
Cathal Merz
C2, C1, I, O
12
Lee Rowing Club
Thomas Murphy
J15, J16, J18, C2, C1, I, O
J15
13
Cork Boat Club
Barry Connolly
J16, J18, C1, I, O
14
Cork Boat Club
Feargal O'Sullivan
J18, C1, I, O
15
Lee Rowing Club
David Breen
J18, C1, I, O
16
Cork Boat Club
Evan Curtin (FC)
J16, J18, C2, C1, I, O
17
Presentation College Rowing Club
David Higgins
J16, J18, C2, C1, I, O
18
Shandon Boat Club
Conor Cudden
J18, C2, C1, I, O
19
Lee Rowing Club
Hugh Sutton
J18, N, C2, C1, I, O
Novice
20
Shandon Boat Club
Donal Smith
MA, C2, C1, I, O
MA
21
Shandon Boat Club
Henrik Merz
MA, MB, MC, C2, C1, I, O
MB, MC
22
Shandon Boat Club
Chris Horgan
MA, C1, I, O
23
Cork Boat Club
Cormac Corkery (FC)
J18, C2, C1, I, O
24
Lee Rowing Club
Peter Jackson
J16, J18, C2, C1, I, O
25
Lee Rowing Club
Eoin Larkin
J16, J18, C2, C1, I, O
26
Shandon Boat Club
Sam O'Neill
J15, J16, J18, C2, C1, I, O
27
Cork Boat Club
Neil McCarthy
C1, I, O
28
Presentation College Rowing Club
Alan O' Keeffe
J18, C2, C1, I, O
29
Lee Rowing Club
Shane Crean
J16, J18, C2, C1, I, O
30
Cork Boat Club
Conor McCarthy
J18, C2, C1, I, O
31
Shandon Boat Club
Alex Byrne (FC)
J15, J16, J18, C2, C1, I, O
32
Shandon Boat Club
Eoin Gaffney
J15, J16, J18, C2, C1, I, O
33
Cork Boat Club
James O'Leary
C1, I, O
34
Cork Boat Club
Danny Peilow
C1, I, O
35
Shandon Boat Club
Brian O'Keefe (FC)
MA, MB, C1, I, O
36
Cork Boat Club
Brian Crean #
MA, MB, MC, C1, I, O
37
Shandon Boat Club
William Ronayne (FC)
J15, J16, J18, C2, C1, I, O
38
Lee Rowing Club
Ray Fitzgerald
J18, C2, C1, I, O
39
Cahir Rowing Club
David Heffernan #
MA, MB, C1, I, O
40
Cork Boat Club
Cian O'Sullivan
J16, J18, C1, I, O
41
Shandon Boat Club
Emmet Hickey
J18, C1, I, O
42
Cork Boat Club
David Collins
C1, I, O
43
Lee Rowing Club
Morgan O'Hara
J15, J16, J18, C2, C1, I, O
44
Shandon Boat Club
Jerome Arrigan (FC)
J15, J16, J18, C2, C1, I, O
45
Cork Boat Club
Conor Twohig (FC)
J18, C2, C1, I, O
46
Presentation College Rowing Club
Patrick Kennelly
J18, C2, C1, I, O
47
Lee Rowing Club
Tim Buckley
J14, J15, J16, J18, C2, C1, I, O
J14
48
Shandon Boat Club
David Cosgrove
J14, J15, J16, J18, N, C2, C1, I, O
49
Lee Rowing Club
Margaret Cremen
J16, J18, C2, C1, I, O
WJ16, WJ18, WC2, WC1, WI, WO
50
Shandon Boat Club
Rob Diffley
MA, C2, C1, I, O
51
Cork Boat Club
Ross Cudmore (FC)
J18, C2, C1, I, O
52
Presentation College Rowing Club
Luke Guerin
J18, C2, C1, I, O
53
Lee Rowing Club
Luke Filan
J16, J18, N, C2, C1, I, O
54
Shandon Boat Club
John O'Neill
MA, MB, MC, C2, C1, I, O
55
Lee Rowing Club
Conor O'Malley (FC)
J16, J18, C2, C1, I, O
56
Cork Boat Club
Pat Peilow
MA, MB, MC, MD, ME, C1, I, O
MD, ME
57
Shandon Boat Club
Noel Carey
MA, MB, C2, C1, I, O
58
Cork Boat Club
Aidan O'Sullivan
J18, C1, I, O
59
Cork Boat Club
Kieran White (FC)
J18, C1, I, O
60
Presentation College Rowing Club
Jack O' Donovan
J18, C2, C1, I, O
61
Lee Rowing Club
Willow Littlewood
J18, C1, I, O
62
Shandon Boat Club
Jack Leggett
J14, J15, J16, J18, C2, C1, I, O
63
Lee Rowing Club
Sam Jackson
J15, J16, J18, C2, C1, I, O
64
Shandon Boat Club
Dan O'Neill
J16, J18, C1, I, O
65
Shandon Boat Club
James Hodkinson
C1, I, O
66
Lee Valley Rowing Club
Tony Corcoran #
MA, MB, MC, MD, ME, MF, MG, I, O
MF, MG
Results by Category Page 1 of 3
Cork Sculling Ladder 2015 - 2016
27/03/2016
67 Lee Rowing Club Eimear Cummins J18, C1, I, O
68 Shandon Boat Club Chelsey Minihane J16, J18, C2, C1, I, O
69 Cork Boat Club Anne O'Farrell J15, J16, J18, C1, I, O WJ15
70 Shandon Boat Club Jennifer Crowley J15, J16, J18, C2, C1, I, O
71 Presentation College Rowing Club James Ginnelley J15, J16, J18, C2, C1, I, O
72 Lee Rowing Club Maedhbh Heaney J18, C1, I, O
73 Cork Boat Club Amy Mason J18, C2, C1, I, O
74 Presentation College Rowing Club Daniel Ghori J15, J16, J18, C2, C1, I, O
75 Cork Boat Club Aine Rice J16, J18, C2, C1, I, O
76 Lee Rowing Club Tony Donlon J15, J16, J18, C2, C1, I, O
77 Presentation College Rowing Club Cormac O'Connell J18, C2, C1, I, O
78 Presentation College Rowing Club Harry Scannell J16, J18, C2, C1, I, O
79 Lee Rowing Club Jennifer Murphy J15, J16, J18, C2, C1, I, O
80 Presentation College Rowing Club Tom Walsh J15, J16, J18, C2, C1, I, O
81 Lee Rowing Club Luke Lee J15, J16, J18, N, C2, C1, I, O
82 Lee Rowing Club Maria Kidney (FC) J14, J15, J16, J18, N, C2, C1, I, O
Women's Novice,
WJ14
83 Lee Rowing Club Sophie Gray J14, J15, J16, J18, C2, C1, I, O
84 Shandon Boat Club Julie Harrington J14, J15, J16, J18, C2, C1, I, O
85 Cork Boat Club Erika Deasy J16, J18, C2, C1, I, O
86 Lee Rowing Club Ronan O'Callaghan J15, J16, J18, N, C2, C1, I, O
87 Cork Boat Club Claragh O'Sullivan J14, J15, J16, J18, C2, C1, I, O
88 Shandon Boat Club Mia Kovacs J16, J18, C2, C1, I, O
89 Presentation College Rowing Club Tom Murphy J15, J16, J18, N, C2, C1, I, O
90 Cork Boat Club Ciara McCarthy J16, J18, C2, C1, I, O
91 Lee Rowing Club Muireann Heaney J15, J16, J18, C2, C1, I, O
92 Cork Boat Club Ciara Murphy J15, J16, J18, C2, C1, I, O
93 Lee Rowing Club Jani Vermaak J15, J16, J18, C2, C1, I, O
94 Cork Boat Club Sinead Hegarty J18, C2, C1, I, O
95 Presentation College Rowing Club Ben Corcoran J15, J16, J18, C2, C1, I, O
96 Presentation College Rowing Club Sam Crean J14, J15, J16, J18, N, C2, C1, I, O
97 Lee Rowing Club Aoife Cummins J15, J16, J18, C2, C1, I, O
98 Cork Boat Club Aoife Higgins J15, J16, J18, C2, C1, I, O
99 Fermoy RC Erin O'Sullivan J14, J15, J16, J18, C2, C1, I, O
100 Cork Boat Club Jane Duggan J14, J15, J16, J18, C2, C1, I, O
101 Cork Boat Club James O'Halloran MA, MB, MC, MD, ME, C1, I, O
102 Cork Boat Club Matt Mallen J14, J15, J16, J18, C2, C1, I, O
103 Cork Boat Club Hannah Dupuis J16, J18, C2, C1, I, O
104 Shandon Boat Club Mide Dinneen J15, J16, J18, C2, C1, I, O
105 Presentation College Rowing Club Misha O Flynn J14, J15, J16, J18, N, C2, C1, I, O
106 Presentation College Rowing Club Mel Holohan J14, J15, J16, J18, C2, C1, I, O
107 Lee Rowing Club Hannah Cummins (FC) J14, J15, J16, J18, C2, C1, I, O
108 Shandon Boat Club Aine Hosford J15, J16, J18, C2, C1, I, O
109 Lee Rowing Club Eabha Keely J14, J15, J16, J18, N, C2, C1, I, O
110 Lee Rowing Club Ciara Murphy J16, J18, C2, C1, I, O
111 Cahir Rowing Club Katie Sutcliffe J16, J18, C2, C1, I, O
112 Lee Rowing Club Emma Breen J14, J15, J16, J18, C2, C1, I, O
113 Lee Rowing Club Neasa Coleman J14, J15, J16, J18, N, C2, C1, I, O
114 Shandon Boat Club Megan Cuttriss J15, J16, J18, C2, C1, I, O
115 Lee Rowing Club Sean McCalgon
J13, J14, J15, J16, J18, N, C2, C1, I,
O
J13
116 Cork Boat Club Julie Mackey J16, J18, C2, C1, I, O
117 Cork Boat Club Katie McCarthy J15, J16, J18, C1, I, O
118 Presentation College Rowing Club Liam Rooke J14, J15, J16, J18, N, C2, C1, I, O
119 Cork Boat Club Moira O'Sullivan J16, J18, C2, C1, I, O
120 Lee Rowing Club Andrew Sheehan
J13, J14, J15, J16, J18, N, C2, C1, I,
O
121 Cork Boat Club Caoilinn Hughes J16, J18, N, C2, C1, I, O
122 Presentation College Rowing Club Jacques Mattieu J14, J15, J16, J18, N, C2, C1, I, O
123 Shandon Boat Club Anna Hernon J14, J15, J16, J18, C2, C1, I, O
124 Lee Rowing Club Aoife Coleman J14, J15, J16, J18, N, C2, C1, I, O
125 Lee Rowing Club Abbie Cummins J14, J15, J16, J18, C2, C1, I, O
126 Cork Boat Club Ross Madden J14, J15, J16, J18, C2, C1, I, O
127 Cork Boat Club Stephanie Murphy J16, J18, C2, C1, I, O
128 Shandon Boat Club Jennifer Forde
J12, J13, J14, J15, J16, J18, N, C2,
C1, I, O
WJ12, WJ13
129 Cork Boat Club John Kearney J14, J15, J16, J18, N, C2, C1, I, O
130 Presentation College Rowing Club Jack Murphy J14, J15, J16, J18, C2, C1, I, O
Results by Category Page 2 of 3
Cork Sculling Ladder 2015 - 2016
27/03/2016
131
Presentation College Rowing Club
Alex Guerin
J15, J16, J18, C2, C1, I, O
132
Lee Valley Rowing Club
Karen Corcoran O'Hare +
WMA, WMB, C2, C1, I, O
WMA, WMB
133
Lee Rowing Club
Alex O'Mahony
J13, J14, J15, J16, J18, N, C2, C1, I, O
134
Shandon Boat Club
Aisha McCarthy
J18, C2, C1, I, O
135
Cork Boat Club
Claire Ryan
N, C2, C1, I, O
136
Shandon Boat Club
Sinead Buckley
J13, J14, J15, J16, J18, C2, C1, I, O
137
Cork Boat Club
James Kelly
J14, J15, J16, J18, N, C2, C1, I, O
138
Cork Boat Club
Siofra O'Flynn
J14, J15, J16, J18, C2, C1, I, O
139
Shandon Boat Club
Ciara Harrington
J15, J16, J18, C2, C1, I, O
140
Cahir Rowing Club
Nollaig Heffernan
WMA, WMB, N, C2, C1, I, O
141
Lee Rowing Club
Robyn Smith
J13, J14, J15, J16, J18, N, C2, C1, I, O
142
Cork Boat Club
Seana Hughes
J15, J16, J18, N, C2, C1, I, O
143
Shandon Boat Club
Meave Reardon
J13, J14, J15, J16, J18, C2, C1, I, O
144
Presentation College Rowing Club
Brian McGrath
J14, J15, J16, J18, N, C2, C1, I, O
145
Cork Boat Club
Eve Kelly
J15, J16, J18, C2, C1, I, O
146
Lee Rowing Club
Gemma Albone
J13, J14, J15, J16, J18, N, C2, C1, I, O
147
Presentation College Rowing Club
Ibrahim Salih
J13, J14, J15, J16, J18, N, C2, C1, I, O
148
Lee Rowing Club
Jane O'Riordan
J13, J14, J15, J16, J18, C2, C1, I, O
149
Cork Boat Club
Hannah Gahan
J13, J14, J15, J16, J18, C2, C1, I, O
150
Presentation College Rowing Club
Callum O' Donovan
J14, J15, J16, J18, N, C2, C1, I, O
151
Cork Boat Club
Peter Leonard
J12, J13, J14, J15, J16, J18, N, C2, C1, I, O
J12
152
Cork Boat Club
Robert Neff
J14, J15, J16, J18, N, C2, C1, I, O
153
Lee Rowing Club
Ashling Gaffney
J14, J15, J16, J18, N, C2, C1, I, O
154
Cork Boat Club
Emma Hanley
N, C2, C1, I, O
155
Cork Boat Club
Karen McCarthy
WMA, WMB, WMC, N, C2, C1, I, O
WMC
156
Lee Rowing Club
Bevin Ford
J13, J14, J15, J16, J18, N, C2, C1, I, O
157
Lee Rowing Club
Mary O'Callaghan
MA, MB, MC, MD, ME, N, C2, C1, I, O
WMD, WME
158
Cork Boat Club
Katie Hughes
J15, J16, J18, N, C2, C1, I, O
159
Presentation College Rowing Club
Omar Elbastawaisi
J14, J15, J16, J18, N, C2, C1, I, O
160
Lee Rowing Club
Alex Toderica
J12, J13, J14, J15, J16, J18, N, C2, C1, I, O
161
Cork Boat Club
David Law
J13, J14, J15, J16, J18, N, C2, C1, I, O
162
Shandon Boat Club
Orla Gaffney
J13, J14, J15, J16, J18, N, C2, C1, I, O
163
Lee Rowing Club
Alex Stradnic
J13, J14, J15, J16, J18, N, C2, C1, I, O
164
Cork Boat Club
Oscar Moore
J14, J15, J16, J18, C2, C1, I, O
165
Shandon Boat Club
Jim Conroy
MA, MB, MC, MD, ME, MF, C1, I, O
166
Shandon Boat Club
Seamus Quain
MA, MB, MC, MD, ME, MF, MG, MH, MI, C1, I, O
MH, MI
167
Presentation College Rowing Club
Ciaran Odlum
J13, J14, J15, J16, J18, N, C2, C1, I, O
# denotes : Former Sculling Ladder Overall Winner
+ denotes : Former Sculling Ladder Women's Overall Winner.
Results by Category Page 3 of 3

A win is a win, there and then. But when sail boat racing is first-past-the-post, there's only one plotline to follow, whereas the likes of the Round Ireland Yacht Race never fails to produce sub-plot after sub-plot, races within races. It is Ireland's greatest floating soap opera, and it's full of cliffhangers.

Before the race got on the water, the scene was set onshore with a storyboard lifted from Galway '09. In a bid to mirror the Volvo Ocean Race stop-over, the Round Ireland was smartly enmeshed with a successful town festival in Wicklow, drawing in thousands of non-sailing civilians, many of whom hung out on the cliffs to watch one of the best-attended starts in years.

The backbone for this year's story was Tonnerre de Breskens III, owned by Dutchman Piet Vroon. The crew arrived in Wicklow with a brace of RORC victories, leading RORC's offshore table, and went into the race as favourites. The first twist in Tonnerre's plot came before the starter's gun, when Vroon ended up in hospital, from where he would follow the race as his crew sailed on without him. However, that would be the only bump in their road. Tonnerre led from start to finish, both on the water and on handicap. Vroon's crew brought home the trophy for their ailing skipper in the race's happy ending.

There was drama in their wake, though. Not the high-octane 60-knot knock-down drama of 2008, but good stuff nonetheless. Bernard Guoy's Inis Mor chased hard to no avail, and in the end they just couldn't do it. Theirs was the story of the weary, the plucky but the ultimately unlucky. In 2008 gear failure put them out of the running, but in 2010 it was Tonnerre's sheer perfection that relegated Inis Mor to the runner-up spot. You would be hard pressed to find an error in their race, and they deserved the second slot.

There were other big guns, of course. Mick Liddy and Mark Pollock's Daft.com Class 40 was a drama mini-series all of its own, with a blind co-skipper in a high-powered double-hander seeming a deluded concept to many. Until the batteries died they were churning out their own stories, uploading video content to beat the band. Of course, directorial priorities shifted when their electrics went as they headed up the west coast. Pollock's input was limited to nearly nil without electronics, meaning Liddy became all but a solo sailor without relief, helming non-stop for four days. Their initially promising position was eroded in the last third of the race as fatigue bit hard.

No similar excuses for the biggest boat in the race, the Open 60 Spirit of Rosslare Europort, which by all accounts should have made hay in some heavier airs off the west coast and come home first for line honours. However, they couldn't capitalise on that. Some will say that Tonnerre was better suited to the conditions than the larger Open 60, while others will dismiss that as folly.

The dogfights, then, the meat-and-veg of the story, were in IRC 1. Visit Malta Puma, another hot contender from the Solent, was in charge for much of the race while things were quietly making their way up the west coast. In the Round Ireland, as in Irish history, things have a way of kicking off around the north-east corner. As the tides and light airs played with the fleet, the lead changed hands six times between Inistrahull and the finish, with Fujitsu and Visit Malta Puma match-racing down the Irish Sea, and Bejaysus and Aquelina doing the same behind them.

Visit Malta Puma would emerge victorious, and in the meantime, the leaders of Class 2 and the double-handers were passing the mouth of Strangford Lough and crossing Dundrum Bay. Psipina and Dinah would trade tacks all the way to Wicklow, with Paddy Cronin in Psipina (joined by John Loden) making it two in a row in the two-handers overall. Second place, however, would go to one of the backmarkers.

Theirs was the rags-to-riches tale of this Round Ireland. Brians Flahive and Byrne took a boat all but written off and kitted it out for the 704-mile offshore. Noonan Boat Oystercatcher was the racing equivalent of a transplant patient, with a large portion of its port side removed and rebuilt by its owner, boatbuilder Graham Noonan, also Flahive's boss. Ten days before the race, the pair were rigging the tiny Gibsea with a spinnaker for the first time, and as the front of the fleet slowed, they rocketed on into second, not bad for a major offshore debut.

And while champagne corks were popping on land, there were still cups of tea being handed up to the rail from many galleys along the Irish Sea coast. The finish to the Round Ireland was prolonged, but deciding the results was not as strung out an affair as years gone by, the winner having been decided well in advance of the last finishers' arrival.

The question mark at the end of this story leaves things open for an innovative sequel. Dropped into the narrative mid-race were questions in the national media over how more racers might be tempted to Wicklow for 2012. The festival was, no doubt, a good start, but what of the date? Would moving it away from the annual date of the 1700-boat Solent carnival that is the Round the Island, putting further distance between it and Cork Week make sense? Would it make for a greater foreign entry? Eight of the 36 entries this year were from outside of Ireland - who's to say that couldn't be doubled or tripled?

That's a script yet to be written. For Round Ireland 2010, the credits are rolling. Wicklow SC can be proud that they delivered yet another successful edition of Ireland's classic offshore, and the various actors can take a deserved bow for playing their part in another home-produced oceanic drama.

Round Ireland Yacht Race 2010 Trophy Winners

Line Honours - Denis Doyle Trophy
Tonnerre de Breskens 3 - Piet Vroon

IRC Overall - Norman Barry Trophy
Tonnerre de Breskens 3 - Piet Vroon
Inis Mor - Bernard Gouy
Visit Malta Puma - Philippe Falle

Class 7 / Two Handed - The Noonan Trophy
Psipsina - John Loden & Paddy Cronin
Noonan Boats Oystercatcher - Brian Flahive
& Bryan Byrne
Alchimiste - Michael Murphy & Alex Voye

Class Super 0
Spirit of Rosslare Europort - Alan McGettigan

Class 0 - Mew Island Trophy
Tonnerre de Breskens 3 - Piet Vroon
Inis Mor - Bernard Gouy
Pride of Wicklow - James Gair/David O'Gorman

Class 1 - Tuskar Cup
Visit Malta Puma - Philippe Falle
Fujitsu - Andrew Britton
Aquelina - James Tyrrell

Class 2 - Fastnet Cup
Raging Bull - Matt Davis
Psipsina - John Loden & Paddy Cronin
Dinah - Barry Hurley & Hannah White

Class 3 - Skelligs Cup
Noonan Boats Oystercatcher -
Brian Flahive & Bryan Byrne
Alchimiste - Michael Murphy & Alex Voye
Cavatina - Ian Hickey/Eric Lisson

Class 4 - Tory Island Trophy
Noonan Boats Oystercatcher -
Brian Flahive & Bryan Byrne
Cavatina - Ian Hickey/Eric Lisson
Gumdrop - Derek Gilmore

Class 5 / Classic - Michael Jones Trophy
Cavatina - Ian Hickey/Eric Lisson

Class 6 / Sigma 38 - Larry Ryan Trophy
Persistance - Jerry Collins

ISORA Trophy
Raging Bull - Matt Davis

Irish Cruiser Racing Association -
Round Ireland Trophy
Aquelina - James Tyrrell

Team Kinsale Yacht Club Trophy
Team 'RORC': Tonnerre de Breskens 3 - Piet Vroon / Visit Malta Puma - Philippe Falle / Psipsina - John Loden & Paddy Cronin Team 'Go Hard or Go Home': Pride of Wicklow - James Gair/David O'Gorman / Aquelina - James Tyrrell / Noonan Boats Oystercatcher - Brian Flahive & Bryan Byrne

More on the Round Ireland Yacht Race:

Round Ireland Yacht Race 2010 Review

Round Ireland Yacht Race, Ireland's top offshore fixture

A Round up of 80 stories on the 2010 Round Ireland Yacht Race