Coleman gets finest result

THE ROYAL Cork's Maria Coleman kept her nerve on the Baltic Sea yesterday to produce the finest result of her Europe-class career. In the final six races of Kiel Week she moved to fourth overall, ahead of Poland's Weronika Glinkiewicz as the regatta finished in typically strong breezes.

Ireland reaped the benefit of its largest team turnout with Finn class debutante David Burrows capturing 21st overall and a B card result in his first regatta in the men's single-handed class.

Atlanta representative John Driscoll finished 15th in the 55-boat fleet and gains another A card result just weeks before the world championships in Poland.

Ireland's entry in to the high performance 49er class ended after the Royal Cork's Mel Collins lost both his crew, Owen Hennessy, to in jury and his rig.

In the men's 73-boat 470 class Tom Fitzpatrick and David McHugh won the penultimate race in the silver fleet putting them just outside the reach of B-card funding, in 39th place.

The Ulster laser crown went to Gareth Flannigan of Ballyholme YC over six races on Carlingford Lough's trapezoid courses. Second overall was Peter Kennedy with Frank Dillon of Malahide third.

Elsewhere Sarah J (Cormac Twomey) and Moonduster (Denis Doyle) head an 18-boat entry for tomorrow's Dun Laoghaire to Dingle race.