Howth Yacht Club

Autumn League - Day 6 (Final Day)
Saturday 20th October

'Tight Finishes' a feature of '07 Autumn League

by Graham Smith

With 'last race-best result' tie-breaks required to decide three classes and six other handicap divisions won by a single point, it was a close run affair in much of this year's Anglo Irish Bank Autumn League although Class 0, Etchells and SB3s had emphatically clear winners.

The series finished in moderate 15-knot southerly winds with all bar about 25 of the 180 entrants in 11 classes competing in ideal conditions.

Class 0

Class 0 - 1st IRC - Rosie - R & V Dickson - HYC

While not replicating last year's six straight bullets, Roy Dickson's 'Rosie' did win four of the five IRC races sailed to head off 'Tiger' (Hughes/Harris) which had to be content with another second overall behind 'Infinity' (Alan Chambers) whose second successive win was enough to give him the ECHO honours by a point.

Class 1

Class 1 - 1st IRC - Contango - B Cunningham - RIYC

After a poor start, 'Flashback' (Breen et al) came back with a vengeance in Class 1 as the series went on and a last day win on IRC just wasn't enough to spoil visitor Barry Cunningham's day as his Royal Irish YC crew on 'Contango' maintained the lead they had from race one.

Defending class winner 'Same Old Story' (Dermot Cronin, MYC) also did well to recover from a poor start to finish 3rd overall.

And the ECHO prize went outside Howth too, with Michael O'Hare's 'Aurora' from Carlingford Lough winning the last race to open up a 3.50 points lead over second-placed 'Makutu' (Doyle/Newman/Fagan) of HYC.

Class 2

Class 2 - 1st IRC - Dux - A Gore-Grimes - HYC

'King One' got the gun in race 5 but second on the water converted to another first for 'Dux' (Anthony Gore-Grimes) to head off the challenge of 'Kinetic' (Murphy/Colwell) who had a retirement in the wild first race and was always playing catch-up. Only three points separated the two boats after discards and they were a further six points ahead of 'Aloha' (Nolan et al).

That was a good return for a consistent series for the Bolero which was rewarded with the overall ECHO first place ahead of 'Tigger' (Cassidy/Mulhall).

It was a close run thing in the IRC Restricted Division between Pepperbox (the Farrellys) and Toughnut (Dermot Skehan) and although the former won the last race, it was the latter that emerged victorious by a mere point in the overall standings.

Class 3

Class 3 - 1st IRC - Hydrogin - Colbert & Davis - MYC

Class 3 had been nip and tuck all series, with 'Hydrogin' (Colbert & Davis) from Malahide vying with East Coast Champion Vince Gaffney on 'Alliance', each with two wins apiece. Although 'Hydrogin' got her fifth gun in a row, it was another Malahide boat 'Goyave' (Camier/Fitzpatrick) which won the race but crucially for Colbert, Davis and crew, they corrected to second ahead of Gaffney.

Tied after discards, the final race result decided the series in favour of the Hydro 28 which also took 2nd overall on ECHO behind HYC's 'Maverick' (Paul & Brian O'Neill).

Class 4 (White Sails)

Class 4 - Ist IRC & ECHO - Alphida - H Byrne - HYC

In the White Sail classes, Harry Byrne's 'Alphida' had a poor result by her high standards in Class 4's final race but all the effort in the previous outings paid off as they 'did the double', beating 'Changeling' (Kieran Jameson) by a single point overall on both handicap systems. Michael Fleming's 'Trinculo' picked up 3rd spot on both handicaps.

Class 5 (White Sails)

Class 5 - 1st ECHO - Brazen Hussy - Stirling & Barry - HYC

Class 5 was decided on a tie-break, after 'Brazen Hussy' (Stirling/Barry) and 'Man O'War' (Brendan & Cabena Smith) had fought tooth and nail all series. Both ended with 7 points after discards, but 'Brazen's' last race win was the determining factor in overall success.

Etchells

Etchells - 1st Scratch - Snow Patrol - O'Grady & Others - HYC

The Etchells was considerably more straightforward. Four wins and discarding a 2nd meant Irish Champions Dan O'Grady, Raz Beshoff and Paul Reilly on 'Snow Patrol' were never in any doubt, with Roger Cagney et al on 'pEtchellant' the best of the rest, nine points adrift.

Puppeteer

Puppeteer - 1st Scratch - Harlequin - D Clarke - HYC

In the Puppeteers, normal service was resumed when Dave Clarke's 'Harlequin' duly won the last race to wrap up the scratch title with five points to spare over runner-up 'Mojo' (Robbie Stanley/Tim Callen).

On handicap, the consistency of 'Gepetto' was enough to give Edward O'Reilly and his crew the honours, despite the late surge of form by Neil Murphy's 'Yellow Peril'.

Squib

Squib - 1st Scratch - Betsy Blue - F O'Kelly - HYC

Another class decided before the finale was the Squibs where Fergus O'Kelly's 'Betsy Blue' registered another gun to win the series by five points from Peter Byrne's 'Aurora'.

On handicap, it was a battle of the ladies, with Melanie McCaughey's 'Astrix' stringing good results together throughout the League to head off the challenge of Emer Harte's 'Puffin'.

17 Footer

17 Footer - 1st Scratch - Hera - H & M Duffy - HYC

The biggest upset, however, was reserved for the Howth 17 Footers where a three-way tie for first overall saw 'Oona' (Peter Courtney) and 'Isobel' (Turvey & O'Doherty) again denied but the glory instead going to Jane & Michael Duffy's 'Hera'.

Winning the last two races was the big difference and the final race success was the clincher after discards left the three boats on equal points. 'Isobel' at least had the consolation of a comfortable handicap win over 'Hera' in the overall standings.

SB3

SB3 - 1st Scratch - Aranow - D Faherty - HYC

The Laser SB3s' winner was known before the last race even started, with Des Faherty's 'Aranow' having a perfect score to finish four points clear of Ben Duncan's 'Sharkbait' in a small fleet that is expected to be significantly larger next year.