Wind suits Wapishana

Wind suits Wapishana

12 September 2012

STRONG winds gusting up to 35mph at times made for exciting racing conditions as East Down Yacht Club hosted the third leg of the Round the Lough Series 2012 on Sunday.

The heavy weather saw changes in the leader board in many classes as the bigger, heavier boats came into their own for the first time in this series.

However in the big boat IRC1 class, current leader Movistar Bleu was unfazed by the conditions and finished with almost two minutes to spare ahead of second placed Hindsight II, with What’s the Rush II clocking up a third.

Sunday’s race places Raymond Killops and the crew of Movistar Bleu in a commanding first position, but with two races to go it is still all to play for, especially for Jessie Murray’s Flashpoint and Ernie Kelly’s What’s the Rush II who are currently tied in joint second, just five points behind.

In the PY1 class, the tough conditions suited Barr/Bowsie’s Cheval de Mer to perfection and saw the Beneteau 30.5 achieve a comfortable first place on corrected time, ahead of the only other finisher in the class, George Cromie’s Chorus Line.

Overall, Cheval de Mer is leading the way with a three-point advantage over Chorus Line, with Raymond Beattie’s Tiger Lily just one point behind in third. 

James Heron, in Straiddorn of Down, made it one for one in the PY2 class as he romped home to victory in his first appearance in this series. With three races complete, second-placed Digit, under Colin Patterson, now leads the pack overall.

The always consistent Portaferry duo of Wandering Angus and Shanty, clocked up third and fourth places respectively and are nipping at Digit’s heels in the series, with only two points separating all three boats overall, leaving the class wide open with only two races to go.

For the first time in this series, Moonshadow, under Jones/McNamara, was knocked off the top spot as the heavy conditions proved child’s play for Ian Harley’s Beneteau 40.

Wapishana, from the host club, powered along in even the strongest gusts, leaving everyone in her wake to claim first place and line honours, almost 12 minutes ahead of the rest.

Despite the enormous lead over the water however, Leo McCann’s Almaviva came a close second on corrected time, leaving the only other finisher in this class, Moonshadow, back in third. With just one point separating Moonshadow and Almaviva in the series, they have everything to play for.

The next race in this year’s Round the Lough Series will be held this Sunday at Portaferry Sailing Club, with racing commencing at 12.00pm.

The overall results to date are as follows:

IRC1: 1st Movistar Bleu, Raymond Killops, 4 points; 2nd Flashpoint, Jessie Murray, 9 points; 3rd What’s the Rush II, Ernie Kelly, 9 points.

PY1: 1st Cheval de Mer, Barr/Bowsie, 6 points; 2nd Chorus Line, George Cromie, 9 points; 3rd Tiger Lily, Raymond Beattie, 10 points.

PY2: 1st Digit, Colin Patterson, 6 points; 2nd Wandering Angus, Ryan Kelly, 7 points; 3rd Shanty, Billy White, 8 points.

PYRS: 1st Moonshadow, Jones/McNamara, 5 points; 2nd Almaviva, Leo McCann, 6 points; 3rd Wapishana, Ian Harley, 8 points.