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David Branigan
The big smiles on each crew member from bow to stern were easy to spot as Joker 2 s approached the finish line of the Beaufort Cup for the Fastnet Race off Rock & # 39; s Point yesterday morning
. Since the start of the race 25 hours earlier, Captain Barry Byrne's crew has shot from fourth to last place in Kinsale's head race at Cork Harbor
. of the series, Joker 2 played an As card and produced a performance that was almost identical to that of 2016.
At no time did we drop our head and think we were not in the race, "said Byrne." It was a tight race up to the rock. We always knew we would have a chance to come back into the light, as we did two years ago.
Their first place also denied the victory to Simon Coveney's Jedi. Having led the fleet for 20 hours, the decision to head for the coast at Old Head and give up the tide for the finish line proved fatal to their hopes and the leader was dropped from first to third.
He was followed by Joggernaut of Youen Jacob, sailing for Baltimore RNLI
The lifeboat crew was rewarded with second place in the 130 mile race, which Jacob later described as a "perfect result". It was frustrating, but enjoyable, "said Coveney after landing at Crosshaven." We made a mistake, basically. We and Joker were neck and neck and we decided to separate, because when we were together they were pretty fast. We came in and they went out, and that was all. The Fastnet race counts for double points, as well as Friday's final.
In 2016, Jacob's crew was ranked fourth in the night race and finished the series in second position behind the Byrne Defense Forces team. who lifted the inaugural trophy. If history repeats itself, Jacob hopes to be able to take advantage over the next few days on the coastal races and secure the € 10,000 charity grant for the RNLI.
However, it was Byrne's day and the tight arrival was echoing Meanwhile, as the J109 was the weapon of choice for the Beaufort Cup boats, eight of the 16 crews were chose this type of boat and the first three were J109. The 36-footer is also popular in the main Volvo Cork Week, where he holds the podium in IRC Clbad 2.
Perhaps because of his regular participation in coastal racing in the Irish Sea Offshore Racing Association, Peter Dunlop and J109 of Vicky Cox Mojito lead clbad 2, after two coastal races south of Cork Harbor since Monday, with first and second places.
These results make the Welsh boat the most consistent of the category of 11 boats and perhaps one of the first competitors. Of the largest Clbad 1 – East Colly boats in Forty Licks, Jay Colville lost first place in El Gran Senor, skippered by Jonathan Anderson of the Clyde Cruising Club, but only on tie-break, while the top pair seems ready to play the rest of the week to win the clbad.
In Clbad 3, Miss Whiplash, a half-coop rookie, owned by Ronan and John Downing of the Royal Cork Yacht Club, has a narrow lead over Johnny Swan on Harmony Howth, thanks to a win yesterday.
However, with two third places for the Dublin boat up to now and a fourth for the Crosshaven crew on Monday, the series could still be a
The same goes for the Coracle IV of Kieran Collins, also racing for the RCYC, who won Monday's race, but was ranked sixth yesterday and is third in the overall standings.
The IRC boats competing this week sailed but one group chose to use the course type for the entire event in a clbad by itself and Denis Hewitt's Raptor, from Royal Irish YC at Dun Laoghaire, holds first place in this clbad of 14 entries. [19659004] The Raptor crew includes several veteran Cruiser-Racer, including Fintan Cairns, Nobby Reilly, founders of the Irish Cruiser Racing Association, as well as Barry Rose for his local craftsmanship.
