Varian and Dee prevail in mixed conditions

AFTER a weekend of mixed conditions and close competition, Paddy Varian and Peter Dec's Scamp emerged overall winner of the Heineken-sponsored Ruffian National Championship at Dun Laoghaire.

For most of the four-race series, it was a contest between the eventual winners and Fred Ridgway's Scruffian while the remainder of the 17-boat fleet duelled for the minor positions.

Friday's racing schedule was slimmed down to a shortened first race as north-easterly winds reached force six and higher, producing a rough sea on Dublin Bay. While Scamp had led for most of that race, Ridgway and crew were close behind and dared to use their larger spinnaker on the penultimate leg, narrowly gaining the lead at the final leeward mark and leading to the finish.

Saturday's race saw both boats once again locked in combat but it was Varian's turn to turn the tables on Scruffian in a copycat performance of the opening day.

With a poor forecast for Sunday, had the series ended there, the tie-break would have given the national title to Scamp as she had the most recent race win. But the weather relented and a perfect 15 knot breeze endured for the final two races.

Another first yesterday morning left the Scruffian crew needing a win in the final plus the tie-breaker to take the series. In the final analysis however, it was Chris Moore on Paramour in a firm third place that took advantage of the duelling lead boats to win the final race while Scamp's second secured the overall win from Scruffian in the runner-up position overall.