Sport

O'Higgins charges back to top of Class Two

SAILING CORK WEEK: TWO RACE wins for Paul O’Higgins’s team on Rockabill V at Cork Week yesterday instantly transformed the Dún…

DAVID BRANIGAN at Crosshaven
Wed Jul 14 2010 - 01:00

SAILING CORK WEEK:TWO RACE wins for Paul O'Higgins's team on Rockabill V at Cork Week yesterday instantly transformed the Dún Laoghaire Corby 33's standing in Class Two, restoring the two-time Irish IRC champion to the overall lead in their division after a lacklustre start on Monday.

The opening race was apparently unsuited to the Corby 33, but yesterday was a return to a more familiar course – Olympic – and the result confirmed Rockabill’s form.

Previous leader Visit Malta Puma, the Sailing Logic school entry, dropped to second from the overall lead and can now face more pressure from Barry Cunningham’s Contango, seeking to improve on third place in this 19-boat class.

Form also returned to Dave Dwyer’s marinerscove.ie in Class Zero after Monday’s shaky start allowed Richard Cotter’s Nemo of Cowes to open ground on the points table. Both scored a win and a second yesterday, but the visitor has a nine-point advantage.

READ MORE

Dwyer’s Commodore’s Cup team-mate Anthony O’Leary on Antix was out of contention for the leaders’ pack with a seventh and a fifth on top of Monday’s second place and disqualification.

Conor and Denise Phelan’s Jump Juice, from the Royal Cork Yacht Club, holds a one-point lead over Richard Fildes’ Impetuous in Class One, with Irish Commodore’s Cup team small boat Roxy 6 in third overall.

Good form is almost an under-statement in several divisions, such as Class 3 where John Moorehead and Chris Ferres’ Bengal Magic from Belfast Lough has three wins. The same goes for Vincent O’Shea’s Yanks $ Francs in Class 4 and Neil Kennefick and Joxer O’Briens’ Tiger in Class 5.

Meanwhile, among the White Sails divisions which are scored on IRC, the single handicapping system in use at Cork Week was welcomed by crew-member John Veale on Orna, the class leader.

“The White Sail fleet here is very good, racing under IRC and none of the Echo crap,” he said, referring to the national system that progressively penalises better-performing crews.

Philip Dilworth’s Orna has three wins and a second in White Sails 1 while Jerome McCarthy’s half-tonner Harmony has a matching set of results in White Sails 2.

Racing continues today with a forecast of continued light winds. However, near gale conditions forecast for tomorrow could yet see most of the fleet moved to inside Roche’s Point for more sheltered racing grounds.