#routedesprinces – After a light air sail up the Irish Sea, five of a fleet of nine Route des Princes multihulls are now berthed alongside the East Pier in Dun Laoghaire, arriving overnight. In spite of holding the lead at lunch time along the south coast yesterday, Damian Foxall's Omansail lost top spot on the east coast overnight to Yan Guichard's Spindrift, that was first to arrive at Dun Laoghaire's east pier this morning as pictured above at 04:37:48. Gitana XV followed in to Dublin Bay with Foxall third. In harbour now are Foxall's Omansail, Spindrift, Gitana XV and Sailing's Virbac Paprec.
The average speed on the course from Lisbon to Dublin Bay of 990 miles was 15.26 knots.
Making speeds of between 9 and 12 knots Actual and Fenetrea Cardinal are off Dalkey Island, at the entrance to Dublin Bay and are expected in the harbour in the next hour. [Arr 800hrs] The remaining two boats will follow this morning.
Less than eight minutes separated the top three MOD70 trimarans as they crossed the finish line in Dun Laoghaire Ireland after a nail-biting game of cat and mouse at the end of the second leg of the 2013 Route des Princes which left Oman Air Musandam in third place.
The Oman Sail flagship crossed the finish line at 05H 45' 05 local time having taken 2 days 15 hours 45 mins and 5secs to complete leg.
Remarkably they finished just 33 seconds behind Edmond de Rothschild after a fraught last hour, with Spindrift coming in seven minutes and 17 seconds ahead.
Until around three hours from the finish line, Sidney Gavignet's crew had successfully defended the lead they had held for the previous 24 hours but as light and fickle winds up the east coast of Ireland intervened, the closing stages became arbitrary with each boat chancing their luck with the breeze.
Oman Air Musandam lost the lead to Spindrift after a tacking duel up the coast then just a mile from the finish, Groupe Edmond de Rothschild seized their opportunity to nudge ahead.
"You can't always be the right boat in the right place," said Fahad Al Hasni, immediately after they crossed the line.
The Route des Princes 2013 fleet at the Carlisle pier pontoons in Dun Laoghaire harbour on Wednesday lunchtime
"It was very hard work and it is a shame we lost first place so close to the finish. Three hours to go, we were match racing with Spindrift for about one hour then Gitana crept up on us and we lost out to them too."
For crewmember Damian Foxall, Ireland's leading offshore sailor, the arrival in his home country was bittersweet. It was brilliant to be in Ireland, he said, but coming third did not sit happily with this talented and determined crew on Oman Air Musandam.
"It was not how we expected to finish but one boat length behind Gitana and a few minutes behind Spindrift shows how close it was and overall it was a very enjoyable leg. Tricky but enjoyable.
"It was brilliant to get the two points for passing the Fastnet Rock first and as an Irishman it was great to see the sun as we sailed up the coast – it was a nice welcome compared to the grey and drizzle of the Bay of Biscay.
"It feels very good to be here, even if it is only for a couple of days," he said.
Oman Air Musandam dropped down to joint second in the overall rankings with 88 points tied on with Edmond de Rothschild, but with the competition so tight and close, there are still plenty of opportunities to score points, said skipper Sidney Gavignet.
"We did some good things on this leg. The finish was painful especially since we had fought so hard since the Fastnet and had been sailing well.
"The team worked well together. This was a demanding leg and everyone stepped up to the plate – which was why the result is disappointing but there is still a long way to go in the race and there are still plenty of points up for grabs.
The next opportunity for point scoring will come in the Dun Laoghaire inshore series which starts on Saturday when three round the buoys races are scheduled followed by another three on Sunday. The third leg of the 2013 Route des Princes from Dun Laoghaire to Plymouth starts on Monday June 24th.
On Monday, the multi fleet is scheduled to make an attempt at the Round Ireland speed sailing record.
Ranking leg 2 (before jury)
1. Spindrift - finished after 2 d 15 h 37 min and 48 sec of racing
2. Edmond de Rothschild - finished after 2 d 15 h 44 min and 32 seconds of racing.
3. Oman Air - Musandam - finished after 2 d 15 h 45 min and 05 seconds of racing.
4. VIRBAC-PAPREC 70 finished after 2j d 16h h 12 min and 02 sec of racing.
Overall Ranking (before jury)
1: Spindrift (94 pts.)
2: Edmond de Rothschild (88 pts.)
3: Oman Air – Musandam (88 pts.)
4: Virbac-Paprec 70 (66 pts.)
