The final day of the Cobbler League was sailed in beautiful conditions yesterday. For the fourth weekend in a row the sun shone and the breezes were benign making it perfect for the regatta fleet sailors, many of whom have been sailing in their first open event. The conditions were variable enough to make it interesting for the more experienced main fleet sailors. In all, 58 sailors took to the water over the four weeks with 34 in the main fleet and 24 in the regatta fleet. The regatta fleet was won convincingly by Johnny Durcan who sailed a consistently brilliant series.
Over the 12 races he was never outside the top 4, and was able to discard a 2nd place to win by 10 points. Tom Keal, who is only 9, was next best, won two races and counted a 4th place as his worst result. Billy Duane is one of the most improved sailors since the end of the summer and finished 3rd overall including his maiden victory on the last day. He was also a model of consistency. Lucy Donworth was the only other race winner, finishing in 4th place overall.
In the main fleet, Peter McCann won with 7 points to 
spare from Eoin Lyden who sailed a really solid last day with two 2nd and a 1st. Douglas Elmes was next best in third place and first Junior Gold. Jil McGinley was 4th overall.
The competition for the Junior Silver division was probably the most intense of all. Rebecca O’Shaughnessy finished 7th overall with consistent results in the top 10. 
She finished ahead of almost all of the Junior Gold division and all of the Senior Silver division. She was closely followed by Harry Durcan in 10th overall and Adam D’Arcy in 11th. Richard Thompson was just pipped by Adam as the result of a protest.
Maeve O’Sullivan was best of the Senior Silver with Fionn O’Regan 
from Dingle 2nd in his beautifully built wooden boat. This boat built by him and his father and made its first appearance at the IODAI training camp in Schull last February. It is finished in varnish and shows what can be done with enough love and care!
Admiral Paddy McGlade was on hand to present the prizes and Paul Keal took the photos (more are available on the club gallery).
The local Optimist Committee would like to thank the other Munster clubs who participated in the event and provided ribs for safety cover. We would also like to thank the many parents who volunteered for the many duties that are required to run this event such as beechmaster, mark laying, safety, assistant race officers and not least the hot chocolate detail. In addition to the volunteers, we are very grateful for the support of Mark Ring and his team in preparing the club ribs and Adrielle.
No comments yet.