Ding Dong for Cariad in the Belfast Lough Autumn Series
by Mark Mackey 16 Oct 2015 21:43 BST
11 October 2015
A bit more breeze on Sunday morning encouraged RO Aidan Pounder to give the fleets a longer course than has been experienced in the previous lighter weekends. Racing got away promptly and immediately there were questions as to where was best to go – the expected lift on the right hand side but potential "holes" closer to shore, or the steadier breeze on the left with a nasty chop over most of the course to contend with.
Despite the obstacle course, there was tight across all fleets if not always at the front. Giggle escaped in the larger IRC fleet but behind Final Call had their best race of the series staying close enough to Indigo to beat them by just 12 seconds on corrected time.
In the Sigma fleet, Cariad had their best race for a number of weeks with the combined brains of owner Gerry Bell and Rob Armstrong setting the tactics. Taking advantage of the left hand breeze they got an advantage by the first mark which they managed to hold onto until the finish. Behind them Sqwawk and Starshine Challenger traded places continually, kept closer by some unusual spinnaker hoists aboard the former. At the final bottom mark the boats were still so close that the race places will be determined in the protest room at a later date. It was great to see Burton Allen aboard Startshie Challenger as competitive as ever goading on his returning helm Ken Green.
In the CYCA handicap, John Moorehead enjoyed his first win of the series aboard Margarita winning by just 11 sesconds from Mingulay.
The NIRKRA fleet saw some of the tightest racing with the lead changing places several times between Starflash, Manzanita and Jonathan Star. Only Mumbo Jumbo got left behind with a poor spinnaker hoist on the final leg. On the last lap, Jonathan Star managed to escape from the rest and scored their second win of the series. Manzanita followed with QtPi scoring third by 5 seconds from Starflash.
With two races left in the series, only Giggle can feel safe in the IRC fleet with everything to play for across the other classes.
Full results for each fleet can be seen on the club's website