Pat O'Neill of Howth is a seasoned international campaigner with his championship crew in the J/80 fleet. But until now, most of his successes overseas have been achieved on the European circuit. This week, however, Team O'Neill have made the Transatlantic hop to the J/Boat heartlands at Newport, Rhode island, where they've found that the reputation of New England as a place for gentle sailing in the Fall - unless there happens to be a hurricane about - doesn't always hold up, as there have been some rugged and not very warm conditions to contend with.
Despite that, the Howth team have been in there battling for a place on the podium, and though the two leaders - Glenn Dardon of US and Per Roman of Sweden - are veering towards being out on their own ahead overall after three races, the Irish boat has put in a steady scoreline of 9, 6 and 4 - it's certainly trending in the right direction - to be,fifth overall, with more racing scheduled for today (Friday), and the series concluding tomorrow (8th October)
J/80 Worlds results
