Down to the wire

As fog bound Dublin leaves Flying Fifteen Worlds hanging

A cricket match between Australia and New Zealand on the fog bound platform of the National Yacht club at Dun Laoghaire was as close to competition as the 77 competitors in the Subaru Flying Fifteen World Championships got yesterday.

The cancellation of racing due to fog means that the entire series - the World Championship title and the Subaru Cup for the best Irish performance - will be decided by today’s final two races.

"It is clear that this is going to go right down to the last leg of the last race," said Principle Race Officer, Jack Roy last night.

As the boats are lowered down the slip this morning, the leaders are the Australian pairing of Rod Beaurteaux and Chris O’Keefe - with Ipswich school teacher Mike Hart and Richard Rigg in second place.

Local stars Justin Burke and Alan Green start this morning in third place overall and believe it’s all to play for today: "Absolutely anything can happen - we could end up first - or 21st! Our strategy will be to very simple - to get a decent start and stay in contention," said Burke. The closeness of the competition is reflected in the fact that each of the leading three boats have finished one of the four races held outside the top 25!

Burke and Green were working last night on their final preparations and they believe they have some advantages for today’s final shoot out: "The lighter winds suit us. We’re not a heavyweight crew," declared Greene. The patience the pairing have shown could also play a big part in this afternoon’s races. In the fourth race they were virtually dead last at one stage - but grafted their way up to 28th.

Also in the hunt for glory today will be the Sean Craig/Stephen Boyle - currently lying ninth and Gerry Donleavy/Ciaran Crummey in 14th. These and other Irish pairings will all be chasing the magnificent Subaru Cup - and hoping to beat the best ever previous performance on an Irish pairing at a Flying Fifteen World Championship - Gerry Donleavy’s 9th place in 1988.