Sarah J passes difficult test

THE NEW Beneteau 45s5 Sarah j, skippered by Cormac Twomey, faced up to the angry winds, steep seas and strong tidal streams of a showcase, Carlsberg Howth Yacht Club regatta to win the Centennial trophy for her performance in class zero at the weekend.

A tidal stream caught many competitors unaware in Saturday's traditional Lambay race with the weather mark, acting as a magnet, forcing many to accept a mandatory penalty turn.

Class two and three cruiser divisions and the smaller keel-boat classes arrived simultaneously, which added to congestion problems at this first turning mark.

Last month's Rover series class winner, Philip Watson's newly-acquired Pathfinder, was a surprise victim of the tide but had sufficient room to execute a 360 degree penalty and lost little ground in the 15 to 20-knot breeze going on to finish third in the class three CHS division.

Starved of clear air, the smaller keelboats, such as the Puppeteers, were forced to overstand the layline by up to 20 boat lengths in an attempt to make the boisterous rounding before freeing off with the tide on a sedate run to the island.

Sorcery, one of four maxis entered for the Cork Dry Gin Round Ireland race on June 22nd, used the Howth regatta - which counts towards overall Carlsberg Superleague points - as a warm-up event. Towering over the 200-boat fleet, despite her head-of-the-fleet position on the water, she was reduced to third on handicap by Colm Barrington's Surfin' Shoes and Cormac Twomey's Sarah J.

Classes zero and one sailed a long beat from Howth to Kish, and some suffered the worst of the strengthening winds with Peter Killen's Black Pepper forced to retire after losing her mast during a tack.

Thirty-knot squalls led to a reduced entry for yesterday's round the cans racing and it suited Dun Laoghaire's Stuart Kinnear, at the helm of Scenario Encore, who won in both class one CHS and ECHO handicap.

Overall Sarah J picked up the Commodore's cup for her combined weekend performance as did the 31-foot Aztec sailed by Peter Beamish in class one CHS and Demelza in class two.

Gillian Guinness's Kookaburra was the winner in yesterday's 30-boat Squib class. With Andy Sargent sailing Gizmo, the winner of the Lambay race, both results are important indicators of form.