After success at the Portuguese Grand Slam earlier this month, Michael O’Connor was already up to speed in the SB20 class, but with only two wins from seven races, the Royal St. George Yacht Club ace did not have it all his own way in a tightly fought 14-boat Eastern Championships at Dun Laoghaire Harbour on Sunday afternoon.
The entire championships were reduced to one afternoon after losing Saturday and Sunday morning to no wind on Dublin Bay.
Despite the time constraint, Race Officer Barry O'Neill ushered in a new championship format of short sharp racing in five to 10-knot conditions. The longest race was 23 minutes, and the shortest 19. All the boats finished within one and a half minutes of the winner in all races.
A start at the 14-boat Royal St. George Yacht Club SB20 Eastern Championships on Dublin Bay Photo: Orla Finnegan
O'Neil told Afloat there had been a 'superb' response to the new format from the fleet superb but was unsure how it might work in 20 knots.
Seven races from a possible 12 were completed, with one discard applied.
Sailing with Davy Taylor and Keith Staunton, O'Connor ended up on top with 13 points, but just a point adrift in second were Stefan Hyde, Jerry Dowling and Jimmy Dowling on Bàd/Kilcullen.
Third, again by a single-point margin, was Royal Cork Yacht Club trio Mel Collins, Aidan Mac Sweeny and Kieran Dorgan in Gold Digger.
The new SB20 course format deployed for the 2023 Eastern Championships on Dublin Bay includes the option of stopping a race after one round with 'no drama'.
