It’s said that the boat which has made the best start is not always the one which seems first over the line, but rather it’s the boat which is in the lead five minutes after the kick-off writes W M Nixon. On those terms, the new Mach 40 Corum gave a master-class at this afternoon’s Volvo Round Ireland start in Wicklow by staying well clear of the kerfuffle out at the Guardship, and coming out of the line at the optimum angle.
Maybe she was lucky, with Niall Dowling’s Baraka GP shredding her kite to spoil the Ker 43’s otherwise perfect start. But then Corum also had to deal with Mark Emerson’s Phosphorous II (she looks to be the former Teasing Machine II, and therefore no stranger to the Ireland circuit) going like a train. But the guys on Corum had been susssing the area down towards Wicklow Head beforehand, and they read it to perfection, reckoning big-kite-setting was too much of a gamble, and getting their nose in front and holding the lead on the water while the crowds were watching.
From top: Having calculated that the shy kite reach to Wicklow Head was too much of a gamble, Corum starts well inshore and just manages to keep her wind clear as she narrowly outsails Baraka and Phosphorous……(centre)…….it’s nip and tuck, but they’ve done it by the skin of their teeth…. (above) Job done. Photos: W M Nixon
So having kept her total appearance a semi-secret until now, we could all see Corum is one gorgeous boat. But gorgeous boats and ordinary ones alike, they’re faced with the inevitability of adverse tides, even as the leaders are closing towards the Tuskar. This evening, the breeze is holding up quite well, and Michael Boyd with the J/109 Jedi is currently leading IRC overall, while on the water the former Volvo 60 Libertalia from France is narrowly ahead of the pack. But for the spectators, the new Corum won the start.
See Race tracker here.
