In the end, it became a Half Tonner domination of Class Two of the ICRA Championships on Dublin Bay this weekend, where light to medium conditions played right into the hands of the optimised vintage yachts.
All three podium places went to the Howth class with, as predicted, Nigel Biggs' Checkmate XVIII taking the title on nine points with a four-point margin over Jonny Swan in King One.
Biggs' winning crew were Dave Cullen, Daragh Sheridan, Suzie Murphy, Andy Sargent, Mark Kenny and Niki Potterton.
Third was HYC clubmate Darren Wright in Mata.
The north Dublin club took ten of the top 12 places in the 15-boat fleet, with 2019's overall ICRA winner, the X-332 Dux (Anthony Gore Grimes), finishing fourth.
Results are here