The day dawned clear and bright.. hah, who are we kidding? It had been raining since 2300 the night before, but the forecast was for the rain to lift, and all of the wind forecasts disagreed on what would happen – some said it would fill in from the south, others said it would veer north and fall.
Fifty-two boats entered the race this year, and 47 showed up on the start line. Neil Colin, the Race Officer, delayed the start until 1110, to give a few stragglers a chance to get out of the harbour and up to the line. The pin end was favoured by most of the bigger boats, with Aster1x joining in. A flooding tide ensured the start was all clear (by several boat lengths in many cases), and the fleet was away. Well, most of it was away; the last boat cleared the line at 1140 – the flooding tide and a falling wind close to the land was the undoing of several competitors. Those who favoured the pin end, despite a stronger tide, benefited from more of the wind that was sweeping over the Muglins and Dalkey.
After a bit of rain, the wind filled in again, and reigning champion Eleuthera was first around South Burford (the course was shortened due to a forecasted lack of wind) and back just after 1245. The rest of the fleet came home over the next 2 hours, with the final boat crossing the line at 1520.
Results for the race can be seen here.
