After a gruelling first day of the Indigo ISAF World Team Racing Championship on Dun Laoghaire Harbour, a handful of teams are quickly rising to the top of the 13 nation line-up.
A 153 race round-robin series is expected to conclude by tomorrow lunchtime and after nine hours of racing last night, 69 races had been sailed.
Both United States teams are showing impressive form with Josh Adams's USA1 scoring eight straight wins to top the leaderboard. The second American team is also strong as is Britain's first team: both have only dropped a single race each. Similarly, the New Zealand squad had a convincing opening day, especially given their relative inexperience.
However, Kiwi team manager Jim Murdoch remained tight-lipped about his squad's opening day but Adams clearly regards the squad as a threat: "The Kiwis are young but fast and very sharp," he said. While sailing their second worlds, Murdoch's team have practised in New Zealand but only set foot in Firefly dinghies 10 days ago at West Kirby for a practise series.
Meanwhile, Australia's second team, an unknown quantity entering the series, have outshone their more experienced first team, veterans of the inaugural world championships in 1995. The Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron side only dropped two out of eight races yesterday compared to Australia 1's three victories in eight races.
On the home front, Ireland's first team had a good opening day winning five of their seven races. Their two losses were to USA1 and GBR1 and while certain to face a tough battle from both these countries' second teams, they can take solace that only one team per nation is allowed through to the semi-finals so the field may narrow somewhat, depending on the outcome of the next few days.
Ireland's second squad, led by Jamie Boag representing Ballyholme Sailing Club, fared less well, losing seven out of nine races yesterday. Despite this, the three boats provided some spectacular action and tested the umpires constantly. Today may yet see a turnaround in fortune for the team.
Currently, the round robin should mean the elimination of the weakest teams and lead into a tighter field by Friday when the quarter-finals are due to start. For the spectators in Dun Laoghaire, the format and venue has been widely acclaimed without a major hitch so far. Racing started two hours earlier than planned yesterday, hinting at a possible weather change in the offing.
However, along with expert commentary from veteran American Team racer Ken Legler, the team racing has brought a new dimension to sailing in Ireland thanks to its spectator friendly appeal. Thankfully, the easterly winds have brought the courses close to Dun Laoghaire's East Pier which is a natural grandstand for sailors and passers-by alike.
Each race can be as short as 10 minutes and keeping up with the action from some of the better matched sides can be a challenge and gives a hint of the speed at which the competitors must think and act. Typically, the tension of a two hour fleet race is compressed into a single rounding of a W-shaped course. Fortunately, Legler's commentary provides the key to viewing. Just add wind and water.
