D2D report 2200 BST Saturday June 11th. At Tuskar Rock, Martin Breen's Reflex 38 Galway Harbour (Galway Bay SC), leads the Dun Laoghaire to Dingle Race fleet out of the Irish Sea writes our Offshore Correspondent. Closely tracked by Cathal Drohan's Legally Brunette (Royal St George YC) and Aquelina (Arklow SC), Galway Harbour sailed a great race down the Irish Sea, timing carefully her forays in and out of the tide. With the wind set to back soon the leading boats should have a shy reach and may even get to fly spinnakers for a while in the forenoon, before being headed again along the Cork coast.

The early hours of day two are always a crucial phase as watch systems come in to play and helms and trimmers combat the fatigue caused by the adrenalin of the first day. Tracking will give those equipped with internet access a keen advantage as they monitor the heading and speed of their opponents, ensuring that they stay on their toes during the small hours.

Galway Harbour has done very well to stay ahead of handicap and if she can keep this up may well take the overall prize. However, in addition to Aquelina and Legally Brunette, she will need to keep an eye on Matt Davis' Raging Bull (Skerries SC) who has also sailed above the handicap to be second overall at the Tuskar.

Once past the Coningbeg Superbuoy, the forecast predicts that the leaders will have a beam wind increasing from force 3 to force 5 by midday Sunday.

The next test of the fleet looks like the headwinds that are predicted from the Fastnet to the finish and performance in the associated seas may prove to be the decisive factor.