Eager ILCA Sailors and a Flood tide...

Over 30 boats hit the water for Week 2 of the post-Christmas HYC Dinghy Frostbite series, where they were met with perfect breezes of 10 knots with some gusts and lulls either side of it, bright sunny skies and a tide switching direction halfway through the day’s racing. Principal Race Officer Ronan Mac Donell of HYC got the racing underway on time, sending all fleets around windward leeward courses for both races. The first attempt at an ILCA start fell foul to a general recall, thanks to both eager ILCAs and a flood tide pushing everyone over the start line. A U flag for subsequent ILCA starts ensured all were far better behaved!

ILCA 7

The ILCA 7s had 10 sailors on the water, and competition was fierce all across the fleet, with every spot hard fought for. Rory Lynch took an early lead in race 1 and maintained it around the 3 laps, however the remaining 2nd-6th place spots swapped hands multiple times throughout the 40 minute race. Conor Murphy ultimately claimed 2nd, while Daragh Kelleher just pipped Dan O’Connell to take 3rd on the finish line. In race 2, Dan O’Connell (sporting an interesting video rig on his transom) led from the first windward mark and extended his lead from there, followed by Rory Lynch and Conor Murphy. Rory Lynch leads the fleet in the series, but with 14 more races scheduled, the leaderboard will no doubt see many changes before the end!

Portsmouth Yardstick (PY)

The PY fleet saw yet another new addition this week in the form of the blue-sailed Enterprise, sailed by Kay Cornally of HYC. GP14s continue to dominate the podium places of the PY fleet, claiming 2 of 3 spots in each race. In race 1, Daragh Sheridan’s RS Aero claimed victory, closely followed by Sam Street’s GP14, and in third came Matthew Cotter, helming The Wrong Trousers, stepping backwards in the boat he usually crews in with Conor Twohig. In race 2, the GP14s made their way to the front of the fleet, with HYC’s Alan Blay taking first, followed by the consistent Sam Street and Daragh Sheridan. The fleet continues to have a variety of other boats including B14, Melges 15 and IDRA 14 - time will tell which boat and sailors will master the variety of conditions that the series will throw at them over the 9 week series. Alan Blay & Hugh McNally’s GP14 leads the fleet with 3 points after counting 3 races.

ILCA 6 and ILCA 4 Round up

The ILCA 6s had a strong turnout, with 8 boats on the water. Viktor Samoilovs (1, 3), Tom Fox (3, 1) and Peter Hassett (2, 2) were the podium finishers in the two races, but each spot was closely ought for, with Ciara McMahon and Darragh Peelo fighting every inch of the way. Tom Fox leads the fleet by one point over Viktor Samoilovs. In the ILCA 4s, Stan O’Rourke continued his run of form with back to back wins, followed by Connor O’Sullivan and Charlie Power in that order in each race. Stan leads the series with 3 points from 3 races counted.

Photo Galley

Big shout out to Neil Murphy for taking some great on the water shots. Check out the Photo Gallery below.

Results

Full results are available in the results section of the website, there are 7 weekends left in the series, followed by the annual Round the Island Race and prize giving lunch.

Credits: Report kindly provided by Conor Murphy