Ill winds blow Irish good

Racing in the shadow of a gale warning, two national championships series were cut short by strong winds that swept Dublin helmsmen to victory at three different venues at the weekend.

On home waters, Philip Watson's expected tussle with Ian Switzer's Gung-Ho materialised at the Carlsberg Cruiser 3 Championship off Ireland's eye. Though the big fleet favourite, Watson's Pathfinder was never sure of victory until the last leg of the last race. A pre-start final race tactic to put a close cover on Switzer's Super Seal 26-footer may have given Watson a psychological edge but given Switzer's proven track record in recent club races meant he put up was the most determined challenger in the 48-boat fleet, sailmaker Watson later admitted.

It was most likely the addition of Mumm 36 World champion crew James Hynes to Pathfinder's crew on Saturday and Sunday that made the most valuable difference and settled the overall placings in Watson's favour but only by a two-point margin.

Across the bay in Dun Laoghaire, a fine display of heavy air boat speed by Howth junior Dylan Gannon (15) led him to victory in the Key Events sponsored Optimist Nationals, a series shortened again by strong winds. The fact that Dunmore East lifeboat had to retrieve a sinking entrant in the 31-boat Flying Fifteen national championships probably pre-empted a decision to abandon the last round of the heavy air series which had been won, regardless of the staging of yesterday's final race, by John Lavery and Gerry Donleavy of the National Yacht Club. Ireland's David Burrows emerged eleventh overall at the Finn Gold Cup that ended in Athens yesterday following cancellation of the final day in the series due to light winds. The veteran crewman, with Mark Mansfield from the Star class in Atlanta '96, had the best result of the three Irish sailors at the six race series.

Burrows counted a 7-35-5-16-10 series to produce his best result of his campaign to date placing him squarely on course for Sydney. Fellow Atlanta team mate John Driscoll ended halfway up the fleet in 35th, only counting 17th as his best score. Colin Chapman's result was also hampered by an over-eager start to Saturday's race that saw him black-flagged.

Meanwhile at Bray Sailing Club yesterday, class records were broken when more than 100 boats entered the Heineken Enterprise World Championship. Yesterday saw the bulk of the fleet compete in the practice race which was delayed by almost an hour and a half due to lack of wind. However, the calm conditions were quickly replaced by a blustery west wind that gusted to force seven at times by the end of racing.

Defending World Champion Richard Estaugh opted not to sail the race leaving the course wide open for fellow Briton Ian Pinnell who took an apparently unassailable lead after the first beat. However, local favourite Marty Cuppage stormed up behind the challenger in a real effort that suggests serious form for the week ahead and was within a few boat lengths of Pinnell for most of the race.

As the wind blew harder, Pinnell opted to retire while Cuppage slipped down the fleet. India's Ashim Mongia and Pushpendra Garg won the practice and led a trio of Asian boats in the top five finishers.