Today was a day that kept the best wine until last. There was much sailing activity in the harbour with some seventy five cruisers sailing their various courses and some ninety dinghies from Optimists to Laser 4.7s sailing in a strong westerly breeze with warm overtones . Although the wind was there all day, and plenty of it, when the sun broke through in the early afternoon it created that special Cork Harbour sailing ambience.

Classes Three, Four, and Whitesail 1 and 2  sailed on the Eastern Bank with Race Officer Richard Leonard and he started with a triangle course followed by a windward/leeward course.  There was plenty of excitement on this course with mention of Chinese gybes.  The Dorgan Sonar from Cove Sailing Club revelled in the conditions and got the better of Ian Travers’ Bandit from Kinsale while Michael Murphy’s Shelly D had won the day in ECHO with Alan Mulcahy’s Sundancer from Kinsale taking IRC.

Meanwhile on the Red Course with Race Officer David O’Brien it was a perfect day for the 1720s and fleets 1 and 2. Your scribe was watching the second race that started inside the harbour just inside Roches Point on a beat in a strong flood tide to W2, a screaming reach to Harp, a beat back to W2, back to W1 before a number of dramatically tight finishes near the Cage.  The 1720s displayed the best of One Design racing as they came into W2 with one boat becoming the meat in the sandwich between the buoy and the fleet with no quarter being given and had to do their penalty turn.  In the best 1720 tradition, despite the high wind, they hoisted their kites as they went hither and thither  before most got sense and finally dropped their kites.  On the day it was Denis Murphy’s Aquatack from the home club took the honours  followed Peter O’Flynn’s Two 2 Tango.

At the time of prizegiving Class 2 were still involved with protests but first again this week on IRC was Brian Goggin’s Allure (KYC) followed by the Desmond/Deasy/Ivers Bad Company from the home club.  In Class Zero IRC in a reversal of last week’s results Kieran and Brian Twomeys’  Gloves Off got the better of Conor Phelan’s Jump Juice on the day.  In Class 1 IRC David Scott’s EOS again took the spoils but Dan Buckley’s Justus was going very well and took the second slot.

As Rear Admiral Keelboats Ronan Enright had promised, the prizegiving was bang on 5.30pm with the prizes being presented by Frank O’Flynn of  O’Flynn Exhams Solicitors who incidentally had been sailing on the Peter O’Flynn Two 2 Tango 1720.

Racing continues next Sunday with FG 11.55am.

Results here
Images here