THOUSANDS OF Irish racing fans heading to Cheltenham had their travel plans disrupted by fierce winds that saw ferries cancelled, flights delayed, and tents and temporary buildings at the racecourse damaged just one day before gates open at the four-day National Hunt Festival.
The majority expected to travel to Cheltenham had been due to depart yesterday and today, but storm-force winds over the Irish Sea forced Irish Ferries and Stena Line to cancel their fast ferry sailings. Flights out of Dublin, Cork and Belfast airports bound for Heathrow and Birmingham were delayed for up to three hours yesterday morning due to strong winds in England.
That delay had been reduced to about one hour by mid-afternoon, as winds eased, said a spokeswoman for Aer Lingus.
Gusts of up to 146km/h were recorded off Ireland yesterday, said Met Éireann, and wave heights reached 4m (13ft) in the Irish Sea.
Stena Line said fast ferry passengers were taken to Holyhead by the slower car ferry Ulysses, which could cope with big waves and swell whipped up by the winds, which reached gale force nine.
The wind gusted to 110km/h at Cheltenham, where a hospitality tent at the racecourse was flattened and the starter's rostrum was blown over, damaging fencing.
"They had a pretty horrendous day over there," said Pat Clarke from Met Éireann. "They got the strong winds that we got on Sunday night, but they didn't get the moderation that we got."
The tent, which housed a restaurant, was too badly damaged to be repaired, said race officials.
But with the winds forecast well in advance, racecourse workers had earlier taken the roof down from the Guinness stand and had done their best to secure anything that could become unstable.
The racecourse's managing director, Edward Gillespie, said Sunday was "an uncomfortable night".
"The racecourse is 100 per cent fine but we have taken damage elsewhere."
Mr Gillespie said staff were trying to ensure the course could open on time at 10.30am today, in time for the first races at 2pm.
He said he felt for those travelling to the course. "We're concerned for people trying to get to Cheltenham - many ferries from Ireland have been cancelled and I wouldn't be keen to get on an airplane right now," he said.
"But I'm sure the Irish will see the cancelled ferries as a challenge."
More strong winds were predicted last night and today, but racecourse officials were hopeful that they had endured the worst of the storm.
The course managers will be particularly pleased at the survival of the Guinness tent, where anything up to 200,000 pints will be consumed over four days.
Bookmaker Paddy Power is even laying odds on the number of pints that will be sold. Between 195,000 and 205,000 pints is the 9/4 favourite with better odds on 175,000 to 185,000 pints, at 10/1.