Fireball Irish Championship at Howth Yacht Club - Day 1

At 15:46 a well-worked Irish Fireball fleet is ashore after three very hard races where the Race Officer advised that the wind was consistently "on average" 20 knots.

Three Olympic courses were sailed with the first one slightly shortened due to a mark problem.

Spinnaker flying was a minority activity on the day with most people content to keep their boats upright and the all-lady combination of Louise McKenna & Hermine O'Keeffew can claim to be winners in that category. Another combination, Stephen Oram & Noel Butler only capsized to repair the outhaul on the boom.

A number of boats are undergoing modest repairs, as this is being typed; a broken trapeze wire (Michael Ennis & Marie Barry), a broken rudder down haul (Team Clancy), another main outhaul (Alan Henry & Simon Reveille) and broken rudder fittings (Tim McCauley).

One boat did not go afloat and another came ashore without starting a race.

On the water Butler & Oram won Races 1 & 2, before the broken outhaul in the last race of the day gave them a third. Niall McGrotty & Neil Cramer took the gun in the third race to add to two fourth places and 2nd overall overnight.

Three points more and we find Frank Miller & Grattan Donnelly on 12 points, scoring 5, 5, 2.

Only four boats finished the last race of the day - principally as a consequence of the damage listed above. However, nobody, on coming ashore, was complaining that the fourth race had not been sailed. An 11:00 start is scheduled for tomorrow and those who battled through today's conditions won't object to the prospect of the slightly later start.

Team Clancy, Conor & James, were undone, literally, when their rudder down haul was ripped out of the tiller, possibly as a consequence of hitting a submerged object. This left them with a DNF in Race 3 which diluted the two second places they scored in races 1 & 2.

So another unseasonal day for August - it started warm and sunny but is now clouded over. While Wexford a month ago may have been the uncomfortable side of heavy, some suggested today was the comfortable and exciting side of heavy. The breeze is still here but tomorrow offers the prospect of more manageable conditions.

Results after Day 1: (top three, 3 races)