It was a day for the Farr 52s at Ford Cork Week yesterday as the Peter Harrison’s Chernikeeff 2 led from the first mark to the finish of the 24-mile coastal course in the IRM High Performance Class, heading a 1-2-3 for the class’s biggest boats.

With the easterly winds remaining gentle through the day and the initial breaks gained on straight line speed there were few opportunities for the medium sized smaller boats to get in and upset the big boats dominance.

With Pete Newlands calling the tactics and David Bedford steering, Chernikeeff won the start and was unimpeded as they headed slightly offshore they locked into the first band of better wind pressure. At the end of the short beat to the Fairway Buoy they were first to set a big jib top reacher and they built a useful lead. In pursuit Nick Hewson’s Team Tonic, steered by Jeremy Robinson with top dinghy sailor, Paul Brotherton, calling tactics, sailed low and set an asymmetric spinnaker but this proved to be less successful.

Indeed only on the long tactical run did Team Tonic get back through Bear of Britain to take a second place which ensures they now lie in second overall to Glyn Williams’ IC 45 Wolf which finished sixth, second of the IC 45s. The leaders compressed again on the leg in to the harbour with Chernikeeff just edging the win by a mere six seconds on corrected time after three hours and 15 minutes of racing.

All the way round the course the IC45s had close racing, with local ace Joe English back on the wheel of David McLean’s Babbalaas, gaining the upper hand to finish fourth.

Overall things look good for Glyn Williams’ IC 45 Wolf. Their cause was not helped by Peter Morton’s Mills 50 Mandrake which separated Babbalaas in fourth and Wolf in sixth, but they have an eight-point lead now and surely only need a solid result in today’s (Friday’s) notoriously tricky Harbour Race to win the series.

Results

Inshore Coastal Course

1 Farr 52, Chernikeeff 2 (Peter Harrison) 3hrs 52 mins 41 seconds

2 Farr 52, Team Tonic (N Hewson) 3:52.47

3 Farr 52, Bear of Britain (K Hobday/T Louis) 3:54.31

4 IC 45 Babbalaas (D McLean) 3:54.31

5 Mills 51, Mandrake ( P Morton) 3:55.10

Overall

1 IC 45 Wolf (G Williams) 14pts

2 IC 45 Bounder 2 (C Little) 22pts

3 Team Tonic 23pts

4 Babbalaas 24pts

5 Farr 40, Too Steamy (N & A Haigh) 27pts