SAILING NEWS ROUND-UP:HOPES OF an Irish result in the Mediterranean Sea this week rest solely with Dún Laoghaire entry Barry Hurley and Andrew Boyle, who with 200 miles left to sail today lie second in the double-handed class of the Rolex Middle Sea Race.
The Royal Irish Yacht Club (RIYC) pairing are making less than two knots at times but are expected to cross the line in Malta some time tonight after more than six days negotiating the tricky course.
South African entry Eddie De Villiers, Welbourne 46, Hi Fidelity, who crossed the Royal Malta finish line early yesterday shortly after a thunderstorm, is the clubhouse leader, eclipsing the Greek Farr 52, Optimum 3 Aspida.
Inching along the south western coast of Malta, the race is just 100 miles shorter than the Round Ireland’s 700 miles.
After sailing 3,000 miles from Dublin bay just to make the start, Hurley is determined to end the 2012 season on a high. The Irish 35-foot yacht, that lies in contention from a fleet of six double handers with light air conditions, look set to prevail today too.
In July, sailing solo Hurley claimed the Round Rockall race inaugural trophy. ‘The last few days have been the slowest yet most intense racing I can remember. We dread the thought of being timed out after all this effort, but still cling to the hope of finishing within the time limit,” Hurley told The Irish Times from on board his yacht Dinah.
Irish involvement in the race was reduced when a second Dún Laoghaire yacht, Gallileo, skippered by Des Keliher, retired due to the light winds on Tuesday, but there is Irish interest in at least two other international entries in the 83-boat fleet.
Fireball dinghy champion Kenny Rumball, also from Dún Laoghaire, is aboard German entry Kohinoor, a Carter 55 Custom Sloop and Irish sea offshore campaigners Liam Coyne and Brian Flahive are racing on the Maltese J122 entry Otra Vez.
UCD students take up their positions in La Rochelle, France, today buoyed up by a last-minute title sponsorship deal for an assault on the Student Yachting World Cup, a title won previously by the Cork Institute of Technology.
Although lack of funding has already led to the withdrawal of two teams from next week’s competition, Team Ireland, under captain Cathal Leigh Doyle, is celebrating a deal with sponsor Miagen just in the nick of time.
The annual regatta attracts the top student sailors from around the world, including Australia, Canada, Japan, Britain and the USA.
Dublin Sportsboat sailor Ben Duncan completed a standout season in the SB20 last weekend when he added the Midland championships to his Easterns, Southerns, Westerns and National titles. Duncan only lost out on one event in 2012, the northern areas in Carrickfergus, pretty much an unprecedented run in the class.
