Gale force gusts caused damage to several competitors among the large turnout at Howth Yacht Club's Heineken Autumn League yesterday with four boats reported dis-masted and at least one man-overboard incident. The damage was mainly confined to the larger racing classes with the smaller boats enduring physical discomfort only.
It was also a day for skill and endurance as the result sheet proved at the end of the day. Class Zero saw the crew on Cracklin' Rosie hold its edge over their challengers to win by an impressive ten minutes after handicap corrected time.
Early on, Bob Stewart's Great Bear had been a close second but a squall caught both boats unawares and some wild broaches followed.
While Cracklin' Rosie' quickly recovered and dropped their spinnaker, Great Bear were less fortunate to be approaching the mark that the class leader had just passed.
Having rounded up and fought with their kite for several minutes to regain control, the Prima 38 was forced to gybe around to round the mark correctly after over-standing it considerably.
Although Great Bear recovered, they were unable to regain enough ground to stop Dave Cummaford's Converting Machine from taking second place. The Welsh boat further proved its choice of taking a conservative approach to the race.
Racing with only five crew on board, they chose to sail the course often with no headsail and neatly picked up points for second place.
Roy Dickson now leads Stewart by three points in the class. Third overall Trinculo was involved in drama earlier when a chinese gybe saw a crewman washed overboard while the yacht dis-masted almost simultaneously.
The crew was immediately recovered but a radio message was also transmitted and both the IMES Rescue Helicopter at nearby Dublin Airport and Howth Lifeboat went to Trinculo's assistance.
While the Class Zero yacht retired under tow from the Lifeboat, there were other incidents later on.
Three more yachts were reported dis-masted while a fifth suffered serious damage after wrapping its spinnaker about its rig.
Another boat broke its rudder and was also towed ashore by the Lifeboat. Nobody was injured in any of the incidents.
Elsewhere in the 209 boat fleet, the single event discard kicked in yesterday was gladly accepted by several dozen boats who retired soon after leaving the harbour, matched by a similar number who chose not to sail at all.
However, the overall standings with two races to go show little change at the front of several classes.
Colm Barrington's Velvet Glove and Jim Hyland's Maxim are still separated by just three points in Class One, having once again repeated their season long duet of first and second place respectively.
