In spite of the exceptional Summer conditions on land, the fleet in the Volvo Round Ireland Race have been on the receiving end of pounding waves as they battle the Atlantic seaboard.
Niall Dowling’s Baraka Gp continues to hold sway for the lead on the water, defying several bigger boats that trail the Ker 43-footer as they started crossing Sligo Bay on Monday evening.
However, while the Dun Laoghaire skipper and his professional crew that includes Ian Moore from Carrickfergus are contenders for line honours, the overall race win decided on IRC handicap is likely to fall to a smaller entry.
The bulk of the fleet remain close to the leading bigger boats in spite of the rough conditions.
However, the conditions have taken a toll on ten boats so far that have been obliged to seek shelter mainly due to gear failure but in one instance for a precautionary medical check for a crew-member who had a minor injury.
Race headquarters at Wicklow Sailing Club had been informed of several false alarms for man-overboard incidents but one turned out to be correct when a crew-member on Michael Boyd’s chartered Jedi was “immediately and efficiently” recovered early on Monday morning.
Line honours in the race is expected to be decided on Wednesday morning with the majority of the fleet expected back at Wicklow on Thursday and Friday.
