After losing four Sundays in a row, the last three of Series 1 and the first of Series 2, going back to December 1st, Series 2 got underway on Sunday 12th January 2025 when 44 boats mustered at the start area, 16 PY entries, 11 ILCA7s and 17 ILCA6s. The weather on the water was different to what had been forecast with a wind range of 9 – 18 knots as opposed to the 9/10 knots that was predicted.
As RO, I had toyed with idea of having three short races in an attempt to compensate for the loss of so many races on the previous four Sundays. However, the weather on the water was quite a bit cooler than expected and I decided that two would be sufficient, the first of which was a triangular course of three laps.
Conditions were brisk and in the PY fleet there seemed to be a bit of mixing going on with Fireballs who should have enjoyed the conditions seeming to struggle to get to the front of the fleet. Indeed, an unofficially entered (with permission) Aero 7 gave the rest of the fleet something to chase by continuously occupying a slot at the front of the fleet on the water. With the wind coming from a southerly direction and being somewhat variable in direction as a consequence, the fleet had to be on their toes all the way round. Spinnakers were not so prevalent in the variable conditions.
Of the official entries the finishing order was Noel Butler (Aero 6) Alan Liddy & Norman Lee (GP14) and Paul Phelan (Aero 7). Adrian Lee and Michael Keegan won Frostbite Mugs for Race 1 and were in attendance to collect.
In the ILCA7s we saw a new name at the head of the fleet and in the finishing order. Sam Wilkinson led the fleet home with Niall Cowman and John Marmelstein in his wake. Sam’s performance warranted a Frostbite Mug but he wasn’t in attendance to collect.
In the ILCA6s there was a familiarity to the finishing order with Darren Griffin, Sean Craig and Owen Laverty occupying the podium places at the finish. A Mug awaits Owen for his performance.
For Race 2, to make sure there was something for everyone in the audience, an Olympic course was set, keeping the marks in the same place but giving each fleet four laps.
The Fireballs made a better “fist of it” in Race 2 as evidenced b the fact that Barry McCartin and Harry Thompson managed to finish between the Aeros of Noel Butler and Stuart Harris (Aero 6). Stuart Harris would have taken home a Frostbite Mug had he been in attendance post-race.
In the ILCA7s, the finishing order was Damien Maloney, warranting the award of a Mug, ahead of Sam Wilkinson and John O’Driscoll, while in the ILCA6s, there was a partial repeat from Race 1 with Griffin and Craig retaining their places from the first race with Conor Clancy taking third. Had he been present, Neil Hegarty would have been awarded a Frostbite Mug.
Last Sunday this correspondent had the day off and the Race Officer duties were discharged by Brendan Duffy of the Ruffian Class. Again, the forecast and the reality were tow different things and I had a restful afternoon thinking the Frostbite fleet might be doing likewise. I was quite surprised therefore to find that the opposite was the case and the fleet had enjoyed (again) brisk breezes of the order of 11 – 18 knots. In addition the temperature was told to the extent that first race capsizes led to early retirals and “no-shows” for the second race.
The Aeros managed a 1-2-3 in Race 1, with Noel Butler leading home Paul Phelan and Stephen Oram. Behind this trio, the GP14 of Liddy and Lee scored fourth place with McCartin/Thompson 5th.
For Race 2, the Aeros again dominated the podium with Neil Colin, an Aero debutant this season getting onto the third step, behind Butler (1) and Phelan (2). Behind these, McCartin/Thompson and Harris closed out the top five.
In the ILCA7s Conor Byrne had a perfect day winning both races, Damien Maloney scored a 2, 3, in that order and Sam Wilkinson scored third in Race 1 while Hugh Delap scored a second in Race 2.
In the ILCA6s, Sean Craig mirrored Conor Byrne’s trick by claiming two 1st places, while seconds were shared between Conor Clancy and Brendan Hughes and thirds were shared between Neil Hegarty and Darren Griffin.
While this is being typed on Wednesday night, the forecast for Friday/Saturday/Sunday is grim with XCWeather showing winds of between 15 and 55 knots between 09:00 Sunday and 18:00 Sunday. Met Eireann is already issuing red and orange wind alerts for Friday, if not sooner.
A decision on racing will be taken later in the week.