Regatta gets back on course

Ireland's biggest sailing regatta was back on track last night after a major results system problem was resolved by organisers working through the previous night. More than 6,000 sailors were relying on the system to figure which boats in their respective fleets needed to be beaten.

The 630 boats start their final day of racing this morning with several key classes set to end the week-long event on a knife-edge. Fresher winds have again been forecast, along with continued sunshine that has lasted all week.

The defence of his class zero and overall event victory from 1998 sees Harold Cudmore committed to beating American rival Pyewacket - owned and skippered by Roy Disney - in the crucial Harbour Race.

Yesterday saw Disney produce a resounding win over Cudmore's Barlo Plastics in a predictable result on the coastal race. Two long-reaching legs were a gift to the American super-sled as the class raced to and from Kinsale twice.

In an incident during that race, the Barlo Plastics support motor cruiser landed a crew-member from another entrant, the Swan 60-footer Island Fling.

Bowman Brian McAllister suffered head injuries when he was hit by the spinnaker pole and was being kept in hospital for overnight observation.

Today's single race around Cork Harbour will be the most spectacular for both competitors and race followers ashore.

Starting from Weaver's Point opposite Roche's Point Lighthouse, the combined fleet of classes zero and one, featuring the biggest boats of the regatta, will sail to a rounding mark off Cobh. The nature of this race, around the shallows of the harbour, place great reliance on the on-board experts with the local knowledge of the area and its perils.

Shallow areas, banks, wrecks and rocky outcrops will certainly restrict the bigger boats' ability to manoeuvre.

Pyewacket was last nights overall leader with ten points, while Barlo Plastics trails with eleven points. A win by Cudmore today, or beating Disney as least, will leave the pair drawn. In such a scenario, the Irish skipper will win on the tie-breaker.

Meanwhile, British entrant Proctor Winning Masts, skippered by Mark Rushall, is likely to emerge victorious in the 1720 fleet this afternoon thanks to a massive 26-point lead.

The battle for the runner-up places falls to another British crew and three Irish boats. Defending European champion Mark Mansfield is currently lying ninth.

Stephen Fein and Jo Richards on Full Pelt have a slim, one-point lead over Irish Australian John Storey's Atara who in turn is three points ahead of Des Faherty and Maurice O'Connell's Ballistic.

Three races were sailed yesterday as the class tried to make up some of their lost programme from earlier in the week.

However, just two races will be sailed today and the lead could easily change in the wildly variable class.