Calendars in Kinsale fill quickly and Sunday saw the annual Ecumenical service of Sea Sunday attract sailors and fishermen and first responders to the seaside town. The annual vintage car rally added character and colour and one mile South of Sandycove Island the second day of the Barry Ryan Civil Engineering sponsored open keelboat Regatta saw Dragons and Squibs sail in idyllic conditions.
Saturday’s racing had been testing for Race Officer Donal Hayes with a wind swing of over 100 degrees toward the end of the second race. It had been well forecast and planned for, and before the Dragons could finish their smashed avocadoes on toast, the seasoned mark layers of Kinsale Yacht Club had laid a whole new course. Fingers were crossed but the wind stayed fair and true. At the end of the day Cameron Good et’ al led the Dragons and Colm Dunne the squibs – but by small margins, and it was all to play for in day 2.
There was a particularly sweet win for Glandore’s Aphrodite in Race 2 as she spotted a line of wind no one else had and slipped away from the pack, winning a full leg ahead of boats half her age. The boat enjoyed it just as much as the crew.
On Day 2 the weather again delivered what was forecast and Grand Prix conditions provided three tough races. Sailing isn’t always enjoyable to watch but a Dragon Fleet, start-line scramble resulted in a number of recalls and a lot of open exchanges of opinion. The excitement continued with personal battles fought and marks being put down well into the afternoon. Wins were not easily come by.
The Squib fleet were just as contentious and the nip and tuck racing left no room for error. Race 2 was marred/enhanced by a number of boats protesting a single boat – but all for different reasons. The fleet appeared to self-regulate, the protested boat retired and protests were withdrawn. Asked about what happened the only answer was ‘That would be an ecumenical matter’.
A stellar weekend, enjoyed by all.
Results:
Squib
1 Allegro (C. Dunne & F. Ward)
2 Outlaw (I. Travers & K. O’Riordan)
3 Fifty Shades (C. Daly & M. Buckley)
Dragon
1 Little Fella (C. Good, H. Kingston & S. Furney)
2 Serefina (B. Goggin, D. Murphy & H. Lewis)
3 Tenacious (A. O’Neill, E. O’Neil & D. Horgan)
