Photo of the Three Fleets >>
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This year's Autumn League - sponsored by WD-40, Crystal Holidays and The Food Room - ended on a high note from a competitive viewpoint, with moderate northerly winds and plenty of sunshine to complete the series with two back-to-back races on three courses.
While a number of pre-racing favourites and series leaders came through to take the honours in their respective classes, there were a few anxious moments on some boats, with some indifferent results on the final day.
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Class 1 - Storm - Pat Kelly
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In Class 1, no such concerns were on board Pat Kelly's Storm, with a win in the first race sealing the series in which their discard was a 2nd place. While Ross McDonald's Equinox challenged hard and won the second race of the day, it was never going to be enough so the runner-up spot was their reward.
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Class 1 - Equinox - Ross McDonald
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The same two boats also shared the day's spoils in the WD-40 mini-series and the overall placings were identical to the IRC, although a double success on ECHO meant Equinox enjoyed overall honours in both events ahead of their main rival.
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Class 2 - Kinetic - Colwell & Murphy
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The day didn't start well for Class 2 favourite Kinetic with an OCS in the first race which was won by the narrowest of margins by MiniMumm (Cobbe/McDonald) ahead of Impetuous (Noonan/Chambers). That aberration was put to rights in the second race with the Colwell/Murphy crew getting the nod over Impetuous, a result that wrapped up the IRC title with six points to spare over Dave Cullen's King One. A second and a first on ECHO were sufficient to give Impetuous overall victory in that division to add to 3rd overall on IRC.
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Class 2 - Impetuous - Noonan & Chambers
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Class 3 - Alliance - Vince Gaffney
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Class 3 ended as it started with Vince Gaffney's Alliance to the fore. Winning the first race ahead of Kevin Darmody's Gecko and then swapping places in the second was more than enough to maintain the overall lead and win on IRC by four points from the principal rival. The ECHO honours went to Malahide boat Tobago (Tom Ray & Others) which tied with Gecko on points and won on better discard.
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Class 4 - Flashback - Hogg, Breen & Gregory
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Class 4 - Bite the Bullet - Colm Bermingham
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Trinculo (Michael Fleming) and Bite the Bullet (Colm Bermingham) won the two races in Class 4 on both ECHO and IRC, the upshot of which was overall success on ECHO for the Bermingham crew by three points over the Boyle's On the Rox. On IRC, a third and a second put Flashback on level terms with Bite the Bullet on points but getting the nod on countback.
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Class 5 - Alphida - Harry Byrne
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Stephanie Ennis and Windsor Laudan will remember the 2010 Autumn League with some fondness, as their debut series in the veteran Shamrock Demelza was outstandingly successful in Class 5. The smallest boat in the fleet was competitive throughout the series and a double win on ECHO just cemented their dominance of the class, with a healthy 8-point margin over runner-up Harmony (D&H Toomey). Harry Byrne's Alphida, with a first and second on the final day, emerged top of the IRC rankings by two points ahead of Joe Carton's Voyager.
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Etchells - Northside Dragon - Jay Bourke
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On the one-design course, Jay Bourke's Northside Dragon from the Royal St.George YC, experienced its worst day of the series, with a 9th and a 4th, yet discarding that last place in the opening race was enough to take the Etchells title by a single point from Simon Knowles' Jabberwocky. The day's two races were won by Robert Dix's Glance and Dan O'Grady's Kootamundra Wattle respectively.
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J24 - Jibberish - O'Kelly, Walsh & Wormald
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Mossy Shanahan, helming Scandal, enjoyed a good win in the first J24 race with a minute to spare over national champion Flor O'Driscoll in Hard on Port although the latter had the last laugh by reversing the order in the final race. Howth's Jibberish (Fergus O'Kelly et al) did not have a good day but even two third places were enough to head the small fleet by one point from Scandal.
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Puppeteer - Harlequin - Clarke & Egan
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A double success for Puppeteer champion Garrett May and crew on Ibis was no doubt satisfying but it was never going to be enough to deny Harlequin (Clarke/Egan) unless the early pace-setter faltered badly. Finishing right on the tail of the double-winner was all they needed to take the crown by a comfortable 8-point gap. On handicap, another double success, this time by Flycatcher (Wright/Dillon), moved them up the rankings to 2nd overall, one point behind a delighted Harlequin crew taking those honours too.
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Squib - Klipbok - Emmet Dalton
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After a slow start, Emmet Dalton's Klipbok emerged at the top of the Squib fleet yet again but it required two straight wins and two average results by the series leader Kerfuffle (Craig/Raune) to achieve that result. A double handicap success for Rechaun (C.Kellett) did not spoil the party for Emer Harte's Puffin, handicap winner by a single point from Phil Merry's Shadowfax.
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17 Footer - Aura - Ian Malcolm
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17 Footers - Sheila - Derek Bothwell
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It was all change on the Seventeen's course, with two firsts giving the overall honours to Ian Malcolm's Aura, three points clear of the early leader Rita (Lynch/Curley). A first and a second on handicap were also enough for Aura to enjoy a double success, with Derek Bothwell's Sheila taking the runner-up spot.
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