Lisson and Cavatina sail into a little bit of history

Sailing/ Round Ireland race: Eric Lisson sailed into offshore history in his vintage yacht Cavatina early on Saturday morning by adding a second Round Ireland win to his silver placing in last year's Fastnet race.

A strengthening breeze played into the hands of the determined Royal Cork helmsman and his six-man crew on Friday night. At the Wicklow finish he said this seven-day circumnavigation had been one of "huge highs and lows".

He took the overall lead only after six days at sea at Mew Island, off Belfast, even though on the water he was nearly 15 hours behind his main rival, Eamonn Crosbie's Teng Tools.

Westerly 15-knot winds - the strongest for days - and the bonus of a favourable tide meant the 27-year-old yacht from Crosshaven passed the Kish light on Dublin Bay at 10pm Friday night, leaving just 20 miles to the Wicklow finish.

Crosbie, as clubhouse leader and defending champion, had known his chance of a double was in the balance when Lisson hit back with a fast Rockabill check­in at 7pm Friday evening.

Twelve hours earlier Crosbie's Teng Tools, from the National YC, had run out of wind crossing the same stretch of waterway, and this wind hole alone added at least an hour to the defending champion's time.

It emerges Lisson sailed the 100 miles from Mew in 20 hours, approximately same time as Teng Tools, a much faster boat, thanks to the freshening winds.

Royal Cork club-mates, including his wife, Rosaleen, and children, gathered at the Wicklow pier from early evening in anticipation of a second Round Ireland win for the 38-foot yacht, after victory in 2002, and a third in the 2004 Round Ireland.

Lisson crossed the line at 1.15am on Saturday, assuring the boat a handicap cushion of an hour and a half. He was congratulated by Crosbie, who had stayed in Wicklow to see the result.

This second victory, though not consecutive, as it had been for Lisson's clubmate, the late Denis Doyle in 1982 and 1984 on Moonduster, is the third double win in the 28-year history of the event. It has also been achieved by Colm Barrington in 1992 (with Robert Dix) on Whirlpool, and in 1998 on Jeep Cherokee.

Lisson's crew line-up was: Dave Hennessy, Leonard Donnery, Eamonn O'Neill, Sean Hanley, John Murphy and Ian Hickey, who are all from a Royal Cork panel who have sailed together for 20 years or more.

Lisson, who modestly regards himself as one of the most inexperienced on board, claims they are experts at getting the most out of Cavatina in both light and strong winds.

"We're 100-mile-per-hour sailors in a 50-mile-per-hour boat. The boat is below our capabilities, so we always get a 100 per cent out of it." he said.

Only hours after finishing the Round Ireland, the new champion has declared for next month's Fastnet. "I regard it as unfinished business," he told The Irish Times. "I personally believe Cavatina has a better chance of winning the Fastnet than we ever had of of winning the Round Ireland."