#ISAYOUTHNATS – Success on Friday 13th was not about luck but about consistency in the very light and variable winds which, once coupled with the strong tidal flow, made for a second mentally taxing day of racing at the ISA Mitsubishi Youth Nationals, raced on Dublin Bay from Dun Laoghaire.
For the very top tier Irish sailors among the armada of 285 competing boats in the six different classes, selection for July's Four Star Pizza ISAF Youth Sailing World Championships - to be hosted on these same waters - may be the ultimate goal from this four day championships which finishes on Sunday, but today most were keeping thoughts of rivalries and outcomes at the very back of their minds.
Clean starts were essential in order to make the best of the gains which were often to be found on the left of the first legs, but the brisk tides were dimension which was always important, as was staying in the best of the wind pressure which rarely topped 6 or 7 knots.
They may both be taking each race step by step, one at a time but in the Laser Radial Men's Class, the selection rivalry between National YC's local ace Finn Lynch and Strangford Lough's Robbie Gilmore is one of the tightest and most engaging of the Championship so far.
After today's three races, Lynch still holds the upper hand by a matter of just three points but he had to stage a comeback in the third contest today to scrape a ninth which is currently his discard score.
Gilmore also posted three top ten finishes – a 5,8,9 to Lynch's 3,8,9 - in the 68 boat international fleet to lie second overall as both of the Irish sailors head New Zealand's third placed Andrew McKennzie who is already selected for the worlds.
" I had a good day, three top 10's a 3,8,9 and so I am happy enough with that." Commented Lynch, " I could have done better. I think a clear start – it was different in every race – was essential, I had two good starts but in the third race I had to play catch up. I was happy with my speed though. It has all been pretty good so far allround."
So far at this regatta it has seemed two cornered duel between the Irish Sailing Association Academy's Laser Radial duo, but Lynch cautions that such thoughts are not a concern at this stage:
" The rivaly is not just with Robbie, there are a bunch of good Irish guys but so I am not thinking about anyone in particular, maybe if we get to the last race. But I am not thinking anything about selection or rivalries just now. " " We are on the same squad. We are close but we have been sailing together for a lot of years, in Toppers before this, so it is a good rivalry."
" I really have not thought too much about the Worlds being here to be honest, it is race by race day by day for me." Concludes Lynch.
Gilmore summarised:
" It was tough out there, very tough on the mind, you having to think a lot with a very light breeze and very strong current which added another variable to it all. I am just happy that I was consistent enough, I had a fifth and ninth and an eighth.
It is all good fun, we have trained all winter together and are pretty equal. I don't mind the conditions. I would rather have a little more breeze than today.
In both of the first two races the left side of the course seemed to pay a lot on the first beat and I missed out on that. But on the second race I made a good comeback on the second beat and then came back to ninth.
Such consistency appeared more elusive in the 420 Class where the French duo Guillaume Pirouelle and Valentin Saipan lead the Chilean duo Nadja Horwitz and Franisca Fuentes after a 3,6,1 today.
Even on their home waters the Irish pairings at times struggled to keep their scores all in single figures today. Howth YC duo Robert Dickson and Sean Waddilove returned to shore long faced after a disappointing 18th in their third race, even believing they would no longer be top of the Irish nationals fleet, but they retain that honour by a single point.
" We really did not have a good day." Reported helm Dickson, "We went the wrong way a couple of times. In every race the left paid and a couple of times we did not go far enough left. If you wanted to be in the top three in each race then you really had to invest a lot in the left. We had a bad last race but are still in the hunt."
The French leaders admit they are more used to finding light wind speeds in the choppy conditions of their native English Channel or 'Le Manche' off their native le Havre.
" It was not easy the wind was shifty and irregular, and usually the pressure was coming in from the left of the course." Said Pirouelle, "It was complicated tactically and so making a good start was essential. But we had good speed and that let us mostly do what we wanted tactically. We got a second, sixth and first. It is more choppy at home off Le Havre. It will be interesting here in July I am not sure that this weather is representative of what we will see, but it is interesting to learn the current."
In the Laser 4.7 Class, Welsh helm Matt Whitfield has eked out a a seven points lead with Baltimore's Mark Hassett the top Irish sailor in third after four races.
A perfect scoreline of three wins from three starts in the RS Feva's sees Conor Totterdell and Conor Maguire from the host clubs now with a comfortable overall lead while in the Topper fleet it is Liam Glynn of Ballyholme YC who leads by a single point after four races from National YC's Nicole Hemeryck.
The big Optimist fleet is split between Championship and Trials fleets. Peter Fagan of the National YC has a three points margin over the pursuing Kinsale duo of Michael O'Suilleabhain on 8pts and Michael Carroll on 9pts. The Trials are being lead by Royal Cork's Douglas Elmes who has won two of their three races.
ISA Mitsubishi National Youth Championships DAY TWO RESULTS:
420 Class after 4 races inc 1 discard:
1 G Piroulle/V Sipan (FRA, SNPH) 11pts, 2 N Horowitz/F Fuentes (CHI) 11pts, 3 J Poret/L Chevet (FRA, SNPH) 12pts. Irish: 8th: R Dickson/S Waddilove (Howth YC) 32pts, 10th P Crosbie/G Roberts (Royal Cork YC) 33pts, 11th A Hyland/B Staunton (Royal St. George YC) 35pts.
Laser Radial after 4 races inc 1 discard:
1 F Lynch (IRL, National YC) 19pts, 2 R Gilmore (IRL, Strangford Lough
YC) 22pts, 3 A McKenzie (NZL, Tamkai YC) 23pts, 4 C O'Regan (IRL, Kinsale YC) 26pts, 5 S Guilfoyle (IRL, Royal Cork YC) 27pts.
29er Class after 5 races inc 1 discard
1 T Rippey/A Munro (NZL/Tauranga YC) 6pts, 2 J Hawkins/C Thomas (GBR, Restronguet SC) 7pts, 3 O Bowerman/M Peach (GBR/Hayling Island SC) 9pts.
Laser 4.7 Class after 3 races:
1 M Whitfield (GBR/Penarth YC) 8pts, 2 R Auger (FRA/CN Claouey) 15pts,
3 M Hassett (Baltimore YC) 18pts
RS Feva Class after 3 races:
1 C Totterdell/C Maguire (IRL/Royal St George YC, National YC) 3pts, 2 N Henry/I Cahill (IRL/Royal St George YC) 8pts, 3 D Johnston/L Flynn-Byrne (IRL/Howth YC) 11pts.
Topper Class after 3 races:
1 L Glynn (IRL/Ballyholme YC) 7pts, 2 N Hemeryck (IRL/National YC) 8pts, 3 D Power (IRL/Waterford Harbour SC) 11pts
Optimist Championship Class: after 3 races:
1 P Fagan (IRL/National YC) 5pts, 2 M O'Suillebhain (IRL/Kinsale YC) 8pts, 3 M Carroll (IRL/Kinsale YC) 9pts
Optimst Trials, after 3 races:
1 D Elmes (IRL/Royal Cork YC, Waterford Harbour SC) 8pts, 2 R Coumane (IRL/Royal Cork YC/Kinsale YC) 14pts, 3 H Durcan (IRL/Royal Cork YC) 17pts.
