Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

A long day on the water finally ended under the cover of darkness at half past eight last night for the CIT sailing team. The 'Bank of Ireland' sponsored Team Ireland past the night race's finishing post in fifth position to cap off a mediocre opening day where the team recorded three fifths and sixth after two windward/leeward races, a two hour coastal race and the 23 mile night race.

The Irish often found themselves on the wrong end of large and frequent wind shifts and struggled to start races in strong positions.

There were positives to be taken from the day however as they were able to gain a lot of ground on the downwind legs which helped them to finish consistently close to the leading pack.

The tired minds of the crew now have to pick themselves up and turn their attentions to next three days of racing. There is still lot more sailing to be had and the overall positions could change drastically before the end of the event.

Three years ago a CIT team, two members of which are sailing for the team this time round, managed to overcome a seven point deficit on the final day to take home the trophy. We will have to see if this team can repeat the feat and come home as champions.