SAILING ROUND IRELAND RACE:AFTER A battering endured along the Atlantic seaboard, relief is in sight for most of the fleet competing in the BMW Round Ireland Race as the lead boats reach the finish of the 704-mile course in Wicklow this morning. Gales have also taken a toll, a number of boats opting out of the event.
Mike Slade's super-maxi ICAP Leopard was expected to reach the finish line around dawn following a record-breaking circumnavigation of Ireland that betters Colm Barrington's 1998 record of 76 hours, 53 minutes, 57 seconds.
Headwinds for the opening 24 hours of the race are, however, likely to have denied the 100-footer a sub-60-hour record.
The battle for the overall race title under IRC handicapping is still being decided by the remainder of the fleet, the first of which was around 100 miles behind the super-maxi; Adrian Lee on his Cookson 50-footer Lee Overlay Partners yesterday edged in front of Piet Vroon's Formidable in the handicap stakes.
In turn, Vroon was match-racing Kenny McCullagh's crack Ballyholme team competing on Alburn, though both appear to be hunting the third-place line honours rather than a handicap result.
But the overall race could yet be turned on its head when the lead pack reach the Irish Sea and the 100-mile dash to the finish.
Last night's weather charts showed south to south-west gales, which would offer a pounding leg southwards for these boats. However, and perhaps after these have finished, the wind should shift farther to the west, effectively tracking the mid-fleet boats around the course.
Such an outcome could result in a fast fetch to the finish and upturn the handicap race standings. In short, this race will be wide open until the back-markers close on the finish line.
That still leaves Eric Lisson on Cavatina with plenty of scope to produce a race record - a hat-trick of wins - if he can keep the Granada 38-footer from the Royal Cork Yacht Club moving quickly.
The OC Tracker satellite monitor on the internet showed five boats ducking out of the race yesterday. Matt Davies on Team Kingspan from Howth YC described the race as the "toughest" in the last 10 years of racing offshore after blowing out two spinnakers as the Corby 41-footer surfed at peak speeds of 24 knots.
Slingshot co-skipper Michael Boyd, racing with Niall Dowling, described peak wind speeds of more than 40 knots on Monday night but was pleased to have reduced sail to a furled headsail and three-reefed main having earlier been able to fly a spinnaker.
