Kinetic force to be reckoned with

John Murphy's Corby 26 on fire at day two of Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta

The was supposed to be 'no wind Friday' but a light southeasterly breeze filled in by midday to give all classes some cracking racing at the Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta.

With the regatta now at the half way stage, John Murphy’s Corby 26 Kinetic is looking like a good bet for the overall title at the Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta. Kinetic has three straight bullets after two days racing. Kinetic races out of Howth Yacht Club just across the bay from Dun Laoghaire and skipper, Murphy is delighted with their performance: “We work hard on our boat preparation and our sailing and there is good hardware, good sailors, good racing, and great Craic in IRC Class Two.”

Richard Filder’s Corby 37 Impetuous had a great day on the water; winning the first race of the day and coming third in the second to top IRC Class Zero. Tactician on Impetuous is Hamish MacKay, who represented Scotland in the last Rolex Commodore’s Cup.

“The race officer did a great job today,” he commented. “He was patient enough to let the breeze settle in and gave us a short course for the second race before it shut down. It is a competitive class and if we get big breeze tomorrow ,we may struggle against the bigger heavier boats, so it still all to play for.” Alan Hogg’s Mills 40 Plymouth-based, Argie Bargie ended the day in fine style, winning the last race of the day to claim second, overall in class.Tim Costello’s Mills 43 Tiamat is still very much in contention in third.

The biggest one-design fleet, the SB3s, is currently dominated by a New Zealand skipper, Ben Duncan, helming Shark Bait. He was given a scare in the final race of the day hitting the leeward mark, in close company of main rival, Sean Craig’s Squalo Bianco, but Shark Bait mounted an impressive comeback, to finish third and retain the overall lead.

The White Sail Fleet enjoyed some fantastic sailing conditions in Killiney Bay, one of the most scenic locations on the east coast. In Class 2, Godfrey and Taylor’s Sigma 33 Archatron came out on top, winning the only race of the day. The Welsh yacht is based at the South Caernarfonshire Yacht Club and was third in class at this year’s Abersoch Keelboat Week. However. Colm Berringham’s Elan 333 Bite the Bullet from Howth is still leading the class.

The Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta, Ireland’s largest regatta, runs from Thursday 9 July to Sunday 12 July 2009 and will see an armada of some 450 boats and 3,000 sailors from the UK, Ireland, Italy, France and Spain descend on Dublin Bay. Thousands of visitors are also expected to take part in a weekend of free, fun activities, including funfairs and street entertainment. The VDRL will conclude the festivities by playing host to Green Dragon and skipper and double Olympic medalist Ian Walker when they are officially welcomed back to Ireland.