Fourteen Aeros were on the Royal St. George startline today for the first day of the RS Aero Eastern Championships, emphasising the fact this new single-handed dinghy class has truly landed in Ireland.
RO Michael Conway of Wexford, operating in Seapoint Bay gave the fleet three windward-leeward races in 15-20 knots. It was a day for small sails. The 9's struggled in the strong breeze and the 7's were a real handful upwind, with the exception of Hammy Barker who made the most of the conditions in his 7 posting 3 wins with excellent upwind speed.
The championship is sponsored by Executive Coaching and Team Development company, Seachange Now.
The well handicapped and well sailed 5's were almost as fast as the 7's upwind today with Roy Van Manen and Sarah Dwyer taking second and third overall in the PY handicap.
Away from handicap the one-design battle in the 7's the largest section (9 of the 14 boats) of the fleet, was intense with plenty of place changing. In that fleet, Hammy Baker leads with Brendan Foley in second and Noel Butler in third.
Tomorrow sees a lighter wind forecast and all to play for some of the podium positions.
It was a day of firsts with International Race Officer Robin Gray steeping off his usual committee boat role, competing in his first open event in 23 years. Clubmate Christina Cunningham was also competing in her first-ever open regatta.
With prizes for the top three boats, a masters prize and a novice prize the competition will be tight for the final races on Dublin Bay today.