Light winds brought a change to the expected pecking order of the Cork Dry Gin 1720 National championships off Howth yesterday. Doubts over the fairness of the opening race were fuelled last night by a protest lodged against the race committee. A 25-degree windshift in the last third of the first beat of the championship ultimately led to many of the leading crews not finishing within the time limit following a committee boat signal to shorten course. Those who were unable to finish in time included Howth's top ranked Mike Evans, Falmouth-based Donal O'Halloran and the class European champion Mark Mansfield from Crosshaven.
Local champion Robert Dix goes afloat this morning for the second day's racing, sure in the knowledge that his light air consistency in home waters has afforded him an overnight lead of 1.25 points from Northern Ireland's Alan Aspey.
In spite of a late comeback to finish third in race three yesterday evening, Mansfield struggled in the opening races and now counts 49 nett points in a lowly 15th overall. His club mate and rival, the defending champion, Anthony O'Leary is in a similar position: he has 43 points and lies 10th.
Inland, only one of three scheduled races were sailed on Lough Derg yesterday as fickle winds that never rose above three knots hampered progress in the first day of the Bulmers Laser national championships. Northern Ireland's Ed Simmons from Coleraine beat Ballyholme's Bill O'Hara into first place in the full rig division while in the radial class Connor McGaughey, from East Antrim Boat Club used his light air-boat speed on fresh water to best advantage. Local helmsman Peter Bayly was the winner of the 4.7 rig fleet.
On Dublin Bay there are 46 confirmed entries to contest this year's Stentor Challenge for classes 0, 1 and 2 tomorrow.
The annual Dublin Bay Sailing Club (DBSC) end-of-season event, which doubles up as the Irish Sea Open CHS Championships, has entries from Northern Ireland, Wales, Cork and the East Coast.
Max McMullen's Mustang Sally is back to defend the overall title and faces competition in Class 0 from Roy Dickson's Cracklin' Rosie and Cormac Twomey's Sarah J.
Comanche Raider and Brava from the North, and Corwynt III from Wales compete in the 12boat class zero fleet .
Kinsale solo sailor, Damian Foxall, took the winning gun at Concarneau, Brittany in the final leg of the Figaro in 10:20:59 . While his penalty on leg three put him out of the overall running, this final victory is the first for a "foreigner" in the modern day French Figaro race - the world's premier single-handed yacht racing championship. Having held second place behind Gilles Chiorri across the first part of the Bay of Biscay from Spain, Foxall took the lead on the approach to Ile d'Yeu, the first turning mark. The wind then permitted him to steer a direct course up the coast of France towards Concarneau - making it easier to defend his position.
Foxall, after the disappointment of the previous leg where he came in third, but was knocked back to mid-fleet with a penalty for outside assistance.
Finishing in fifth position yesterday, race leader Michel Desjoyeaux managed to retain his overall lead, to take the Figaro title on this 29th staging of the race.
