In fresh westerly winds that saw one boat dismasted and another holed, the first three races in the 10-race series of the Ecover Half Ton Classics Cup were sailed on Dublin Bay yesterday (Tuesday 10 June) and it was a good day for the Irish, with three boats heading the IRC standings.

Henri-Lloyd Harmony (Tino Hyland/Nigel Biggs, Royal St George YC) dominated proceedings with three wins on the water that also translated into three handicap wins to lead the 25-boat fleet going into the second day. The 27-year old Rob Humphreys design has been known to perform well on the English south coast and clearly the Irish owners have mastered the formula so far.

George Radley’s Miss Whiplash from Glandore Harbour SC scored a 2-3-5 on the water to finish the day in second overall on both scratch and IRC. Per Elisa (Robbie Tregear/Paul Pullen) from Royal Cornwall YC was only a point behind on scratch while another Dun Laoghaire entry – Jim Houston/Roddy Angus’s Misjif– had the better results on handicap to end the day third overall on IRC.

It was not a good day for much-fancied local boat Dick Dastardly (Kinnear/Cusack/O’Neill) of Dun Laoghaire Motor Yacht Club. After a good 3rd in the opening race and 11th in the second, the third race proved to be a disaster. They firstly had to recover a crew member through the guardrails and then shortly afterwards broke their mast to dent their hopes.

Another Irish boat, Henry Hogg’s Eliminator from Garrykennedy, was holed but still managed to complete the race schedule.

Racing for a fleet that is represented by five nations continues today with another three races on the programme.

Results (day 1)

Race 1 (IRC)
1. Henri-Lloyd Harmony (Hyland/Biggs, Royal St George YC)
2. Miss Whiplash (G.Radley, Glandore)
3. Dick Dastardly (Kinnear/Cusack/O’Neill, DMYC)

Race 2
1. Henri-Lloyd Harmony (Hyland/Biggs, Royal St George YC)
2. Misjif (Houston/Angus, Royal St George YC)
3. Blue Berret Pi (Connellan/Madigan, RIYC)

Race 3
1. Henri-Lloyd Harmony (Hyland/Biggs, Royal St George YC)
2. Miss Whiplash (G.Radley, Glandore)
3. Chia Chia (Eagleton/Waterhouse, Liverpool YC)

Overall (after 3 races, subject to protest)
1. Henri-Lloyd Harmony (Hyland/Biggs, Royal St George YC) 3 points
2. Miss Whiplash (G.Radley, Glandore) 10 points
3. Misjif (Houston/Angus, Royal St George YC) 14 points