Final race to decide tight classes

SAILING/ Cork Week: It's make-or-break today in many classes in the 400-boat fleet sailing at Cork Week, as just a single race remains in the final of the five-day series.

Tied overall leads occur in several divisions, but some outstanding sailing yesterday has led to several clear favourites.

Earlier in the week, Colin Galavan produced a highly unusual result in the 1720 class when he sailed Lemon to three consecutive first places.

For the second time this week, Peter O'Leary on Antix 2 has repeated this feat and stormed into what is certain to be an unassailable overall lead in this 16-strong sportsboat class.

A six-point lead has opened between him and his brother Peter sailing Wet n Black in second, leaving Galavan on the look-out for Des Cummins' Merlin chasing a podium from fourth place.

Top British helm Ian Southworth has clawed his way back into first overall among the Laser SB3 sportsboat class, but only just.

Christina Summerhayes' all-woman crew on Team McLaren is tied with him on equal points, with just the tie-break placing her second.

A match-race this morning can be expected from this pair, as 15 points separate them from the third-placed runner-up in this 10-boat class.

Meanwhile, in Class One on IRC handicap, Conor and Denise Phelan's Jump Juice lies first overall, but tied on points with David Dwyer's Marinerscove.ie after their week-long tussle.

In other IRC, results are too close to call and all to sail for this morning both for podium results and overall wins.

Several noteworthy exceptions are Benny Kelly's TP52 Panthera, that is walking away with Class Super Zero, and Colm Barrington's Magic Glove, whose second place to fellow-Dun Laoghaire yacht Tiamat was the only slip of the week and insufficient to change the outcome of this class today.