#fireball – After two races, Noel Butler and Stephen Oram are the leading Irish at the Fireball Europeans in Italy in 16th place. Kenny Rumball and Conor Kinsella are 20th, Simon McGrotty and Ruairi Grimes are 26th. Niall McGrotty and Neil Kramer are in the 40s and Louis Smyth/Cormac Bradley are in the fifites.
Swiss pair Claude Mermod & Reudi Moser lead overall with a 1, 2.
Butler/Oram had a 14th in Race 1 and in Race 2, Rumball/Kinsella had a top ten finish.
Race 1 went the full length, but with a 17:30 start for the second one it was truncated after the third beat writes Cormac Bradley. While the first race had started in good breeze, it faded away to light conditions. After its conclusion there was a long wait for the 2nd Race. A neighbouring black cloud was always going to influence proceeding, which it did when the 2nd Race started in a flurry of downwardly adjusted rigs. It soon faded however, prompting the shortened course.
It was a day of multiple starts, general recalls and black flags. Four boats were black-flagged on an aborted start in Race 1, the successful start was also under a black flag so there MAY be others whose efforts have come to nought.
Race 2 was also sent away on a black flag, at the second attempt.
The jury were also active today policing Rule 42 transgressions so a number of boats have their first "yellow card" of the regatta.
As to finishing places, this correspondent can't help but in the first race a Czech boat and a Slovenian boat were well up. In Race two, Joerg and Roger from Germany were in 2nd place at the first weather mark.
The fleet got off the water after 7pm - a long day at the office for competitors and officials alike. Evening pasta was wolfed down enthusiastically.
