IRL 176 “Phantom” leads the fleet home in the second race yesterday, under a fantastic sky..
It was a full on day in Ireland with 2 more races for this competitive fleet at the Irish National Championships.. With an ever increasing oscillating wind, again from the west, neither race was over till it was over…
The PRO Con Murphy has controlled the starts well and set some challenging courses with quick mark laying and square lines. Although the tide plays a significant part in the up wind strategy it has really been the major wind shifts that make the difference. If you happen to be near to a lay-line when the shift comes, happy days, if not you sail a “banana” around the fleet… 🙁
“Bear” GBR 789 (Red White & Blue Spinnaker) won the first race of the day, yesterday.
Race one of the day was won by “Bear” helmed Martin Payne and his crew John Mortimer and Matt Walker. They did a good job to hold off Martin Byrne (Former National Champion) in “Jaguar” on the final beat. In the second race of the day, it was “Phantom” (top picture) who sailed the final beat to perfection to seal the Championship for a 5th time without needing to race today. So skipper Neil Heggarty, crew David Williams and Peter Bowering can relax in todays final race, whilst “Chimera” & “Little Fella” go to catch a “Bear” 🙂
Higher, Faster, Longer………….. Stavros.