Quick off the mark Mustang Sally takes the overall lead

AFTER a morning of gale force winds and torrential rain, racing finally got under way at Kinsale and the third race of the Kevin O’Leary Nissan April League turned out a great one.

OOD Alan Crosbie posted a one-hour postponement and, on cue, the rain stopped and the southerly gales gave way to a fresh southwesterly of 20 knots, although the sea was still rough. The fleets gathered for the start at the Bullman area and a windward leeward course suited all competitors. Black Head was the weather mark for Class One and Hake Head the mark for Classes Two and Three, with Bullman Buoy the leeward mark for all classes.

The Class One fleet had the perfect start, taking the bias at the committee boat end. Quick off the mark was Eamon Rohan’s Mustang Sally, with yacht designer John Corby aboard testing her performance after recent alterations. The Corby 41 Mariners Cove, with David Dwyer, once again took line honours, this time by over three minutes, but Tom Roche’s Beneteau 47 Isobar carved through the fleet and outclassed the hybrid racing machine to win Echo on handicap, with Simon Coveney and Paul Hyde second on Dark Angel. In the overall context, that left Isobar leader from Aidan