SAILING - CORK WEEK:LIGHT WINDS played fickle games with the organisation of the first day of racing at ACC Bank Cork Week at Crosshaven yesterday, but the conditions failed to upset the programme for the 410 entries and more than 5,000 competitors afloat.
Only the Harbour Course for the big boats was significantly affected as only the biggest entries in Class Super Zero were sent inside Roche's Point for the famous rounding off the buoy off the scenic port of Cobh, while the remaining boats were finished back at the harbour entrance.
It wasn't a day to have a massive super-maxi; a little more breeze is needed for winning results and the ebbing tide inside the harbour didn't help in the near calm conditions.
And so it was the turn of the smaller Transpac 52-footers to hold sway among the exotic attractions, with Stuart Robinson's Stay Calm showing the way on corrected handicap time.
Ireland's Colm Barrington on Flash Glove took third behind Niklas Zennstrom's Ram, while George David's giant 90-foot Rambler from the United States was unable to break free from the smaller boats, in spite of leading on the water, and so placed 13th out of 15 boats.
Nor could a sizeable contingent of America's Cup-winning Alinghi crew led by Brad Butterworth on Numbers, Dan Meyers' 66-footer, who placed seventh in the class.
But the Harbour course is but one type of racing this week, and plenty of variety is certain to upset this early form.
Elsewhere, the breeze was kinder to the 26-class event in which local boats were to the fore.
In Class 5 on IRC handicap, Barry Rose's Obsession VI leads after day one thanks to a second and first place in yesterday's racing.
Twenty-eight boats are competing in the fleet, with a mix of competitors from both Ireland and Britain.
Taking a break from Olympic preparations in Qingdao and returning to his roots was Peter O'Leary, competing in the 1720 Sportsboat class that has attracted more than a dozen boats, mostly from Britain.
Olympian O'Leary leads after two races, while another O'Leary and possible future Olympian, Robert, was in third place.
Meanwhile, the 1720's nemesis in Ireland, the Laser SB3, has a 40-strong entry at Cork Week and Niall Peelo was busy flying the flag for his Olympian sister as ciarapeelo.ie placed ninth, one of the top Irish boats behind overall leader David Cheyne in Redman Fisher Ridgefence after three races.
Also at Cork Week, Ireland's entry for the Volvo Ocean Race (VOR) was sailing as part of its crew-training programme that will be based in Cork and Galway for the next six weeks.
Renowned yachtsmen Neal McDonald (Britain) and Anthony Merrington (Australia) were yesterday announced as the latest additions to the existing 10 crew.
McDonald has one Olympics, three America's Cups, three Whitbread and Volvo Ocean Races on his CV, while Merrington has 17 years of racing experience under his belt, accumulating over 120,000 nautical miles, including two round the world races.
The team plans to switch from its base at Haulbowline to Galway in August, where they will stage a 2,000-mile qualifying passage, before moving to Alicante for a refit in final preparation for the VOR start in October.
Meanwhile, there were celebrations in Dun Laoghaire at the weekend when news that Don O'Donoghue, with Brian Matthews and Mark Pettitt, sailing Seabird won the famed Edinburgh Cup and overall British Dragon championship at Plymouth.
The trio led into the final day, and with just two races remaining a third place and final race win comprehensively secured the title.
