Estaugh's happy start

Following a 30 minute postponement to the start of race one, more than 140 crews started the Heineken GP14 World Championship at Skerries yesterday. Defending title-holder Richard Estaugh with crew Simon Potts opened his defence with a second place after a closely contested battle among almost exclusively British boats.

While yesterday morning dawned windless and overcast, with little promise of a sea breeze, the decision to postpone by principal race officer Peter Craig proved correct as sun broke cover and a 30 degree wind-shift developed into a six knot breeze. An impressive gate start for the fleet had no casualties except that some left their start too late.

Purcell Trophy winner and past Helmsman Champion Ruan O'Tiarnaigh counted among those caught by the closing gate, causing a set-back to his hopes for a good result in this championship.

As the race progressed, the breeze improved to 12 knots although the ebbing tide caused problems for the entire fleet on the reaching legs. An early leading pack started to form by the first gybe mark with Estaugh holding fifth place in a boat for boat procession. Later he moved up to fourth before falling back to eighth and back into fourth before securing his second to Craig Burton and Adrian Jeffs in first.

"It's good to get a high result early on in an event," Estaugh told The Irish Times last night. "I'm lucky to get a second place. The tide on the reaches caused the fleet to bunch up and it was very close. We were lucky to get a race in at all. It was the minimum (wind) needed for a championship race."

Best of the Irish turned out to be Donal Byrne and Allen Parker in Raging Bull who took tenth on the provisional results sheet.

There was no sign of Irish favourite Hugh Gill and Stephen Boyle among the leaders' group in spite of an excellent start and their 27th placing must surely be a candidate for the single discard for the seven race series. Racing continues today.

GP14 World Championship (at Skerries SC); Race 1; 1, Burton & Jeffs (RYA); 2, Estaugh & Potts (Chase SC); 3, Platt & Gaskin (Bolton/West Kirby SC); 4, Sherwin & Fraser (Leigh-on-Sea SC); 5, Instone & Andersen (Chase SC); 6, Thompson & Hately (Chase SC). Best Irish: 10, Byrne & Parker (Clontarf YBC/Skerries SC); 18, O'Hara & O'Hara (Clontarf YBC/Skerries SC); 24, Duffin & Penny (East Down YC). All results provisional.