No Wind Forces Race Abandonment in Sligo

20th June 2011

Day 2 of the Fireball Worlds dawned sunny! However, the discussions of Sunday evening and this morning were of the forecast for the next few days writes Cormac Bradley. XCW was predicting 5 – 8 knots ESE, in stark contrast to a forecast that had been obtained by others that suggested as little as 1 knot the previous evening. However, as the morning progressed the wind there was disappeared prompting the flying of the postponement flag. Click HERE for Gareth Craig's pics before the wind died, some nice starting line shots too, showing a dip in the middle of the line.

The Race Management Team went afloat but permission for the fleet to do the same was withheld. They positioned themselves outside the lighthouse, probably in deference to the concerns expressed by many about the random shallow spots in yesterday's race area.

Permission to go afloat was given at around 12 noon, but the postponement was continued on the water. The day got greyer before a start was initiated at around 14:20 and aborted under General Recall. The Black Flag came out for the second start.

The Jury, on the water, also identified people transgressing Rule 42 on the start.

The left hand side of the beat appeared to be the preferred side, but a substantial queue of boats was coming in the starboard layline for the first mark. Out of the chaos came the usual suspects – Gillard/Brearey, McGovern/Capener and Wade/Potts who opened a gap on the balance of the fleet, who then provided a continuous stream of boats down the first reach. As the fleet worked their way round the course the wind initially dropped and then filled in from the left leaving a lopsided beat for round two. Of greater concern though must have been the fact that after the initial burst of energy the wind petered out. The downwind leg of the sausage was reduced to a crawl before three guns and blue and white coloured flags signalled a close to proceedings. Just as the call was made a slight breeze filled in from the East to provide everyone with an easy two-sail trip home!

For four combinations though, there was a final throw of the dice when they came ashore – as there had been a Black Flag start, there were transgressors; Ben Scallan & Dave Fitzgerald (IRL 14754), Diane Kissane & Finnbarr Bradley (IRL 14790), Claude Mermod & Ruedi Moser (SUI 14799) and Martyn Lewis & Richard Byrne (GBR 15056). They miss the start of the next race.

With two races lost today, the provisional programme is to race three tomorrow with a 12 noon start – an hour ahead of the original programme.

Tonight's entertainment includes a presentation by Marine Archaeologist Auriel Robinson on the wrecks of the Spanish Armada in this part of Ireland's west coast. Who says sailing can't be cultural?

Sail No	Helm	Crew	Nation	Race 1	Race 2
15036	Matt Burge	Richard Wagstaff	GBR	1	1
14801	Jonny McGovern	Max Capener	GBR	2	2
15065	Tim Rush	Richard Pepperdine	GBR	5	6
14907	Guy Tipton	Matt King	CAN	9	8
14954	Alan Krailing	Tim Saunders	GBR	15	4
14809	Jaroslav Verner	Jakub Napravniik	CZE	10	11
14934	Andrew Boyle	Brian Flahive	IRL	4	18
14917	Remy Thuillier	Loic Berthelot	FRA	7	15
14941	Derian Scott	Andy Scott	GBR	12	10
15070	Phillip Popple	Doug Shore	GBR	16	7
15045	David Wade	Simon Potts	GBR	8	16
15058	Kenny Rumball	Seamus Moore	IRL	14	12
15056	Martyn Lewis	Richard Byrne	GBR	13	13
15061	Noel Butler	Stephen Oram	IRL	3	25
14820	Barry McCartin	Conor Kinsella	IRL	11	17
14430	Hannah Showell	Barry Smith	GBR	6	31
14977	Jonathon Carter	Gareth Wilkinson	GBR	19	23
14981	Simon McGrotty	Tony Fitzgerald	IRL	25	19
14976	Stuart Hydon	Nigel Spurr	GBR	20	24
14894	Chris Owen	Steve Jobson	GBR	24	22
14508	Joerg Nolle	Roger Leeman	GER	21	28
14973	Pascal Anselmo	Jean Robillard	FRA	26	27
14937	Mick Creighton	Cillian Magee	IRL	17	37
15024	Joe Jospe	Tom Egli	CAN	18	38
14807	Graeme Grant	Hugh Butler	IRL	23	33
14790	Diane Kissane	Finnbarr Bradley	IRL	30	26
15066	Mark Maskell	Nigel Sheppard	GBR	27	29
15041	Tom Gillard	Sam Brearey	GBR	60	3
14938	Niall McGrotty	Neil Cramer	IRL	43	20
14713	Frank Miller	Grattan Donnelly	IRL	22	42
14775	Neil Colin	Margaret Casey	IRL	29	35
14755	David Ryder	Michelle Ryder	GBR	32	32
15015	Martin Peculier	Jean Francois Nouel	FRA	60	5
14765	Gavin Doyle	Richard Franck	IRL	35	30
15031	Alex Taylor	Richard Anderton	GBR	60	9
14691	Louise McKenna	Hermine O'Keeffe	IRL	33	36
14939	Ben Malone	Matthew Bennion	IRL	37	34
14990	Owen Laverty	Ed Butler	IRL	28	44
15020	Vince Horey	Andy Thompson	GBR	60	14
14916	John Jerrard Dunne	Matt Barnes	IRL	34	40
15062	Ben Schulz	Phillip Bowley	AUS	60	21
14754	Ben Scallan	David Fitzgerald	IRL	42	39
15007	Louis Smyth	Cormac Bradley	IRL	31	54
14921	Maja Suter	Thomas Boehm	SUI	39	46
15063	Mianne Erne	Clay Poulson	SUI	45	41
14854	Cariosa Power	Marie Barry	IRL	36	51
14945	Steve Patten	Brian Aldgate	GBR	38	50
15022	John Manson	Ivan Fraser	SHE	41	52
14706	Patrick Hughes	Aine O'Gara	AUS	47	47
14877	Cearbhaill Daly	Martina Michels	IRL	52	43
14853	Ladislav Vomacko	Jiri Gemperle	CZE	40	56
14872	Barbara Newson	Guy Newson	GBR	51	45
14748	Jonathan Evans	Aidan Caulfield	IRL	50	48
14407/740	Ian O'Gorman	Glen Fisher	IRL	49	49
14865	Mary Chambers	Brenda McGuire	IRL	46	53
15060	Beth Armstrong	Peter Armstrong	IRL	44	57
14781	Jonathan Nicholson	Vivian Bessler	IRL	48	55
14595	Brian O'Neill	Una l'Estrange	IRL	60	60
14799	Claude Mermod	Ruedi Moser	SUI	60	60

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