Royal Cork Yacht Club

The Star 2009 World Championship commenced to-day at Varberg, Sweden. With the exception of Britain’s Iain Percy and Andrew Simpson all the top Star sailors including past Olympians and World Champions are competing.  There are two Irish teams at the event which has an entry of approximately 95 boats.  These are Royal Cork’s own Peter O’Leary and  his crew Tim Goodbody of the Royal Irish YC, current holders of the Star Class Eastern European Championship  title and a world ranking of ninth, and Max Treacy and Anthony Shanks of Dublin.

After to-day’s race the leaders are Poland, Sweden and Switzerland.  Treacy and Shanks finished in 12th position.   O’Leary and Goodbody  finished in 15th position having been lying seventh at one …

The dockside post mortems started almost as soon as Yann Eliès (Generali) crossed the finish line at 1759 and 15 seconds yesterday evening (Saturday), followed within the space of an hour by no less than 15 of his rivals. Numbered among them were most of the big names in this bumper 40th edition of the classic French offshore racing series. In Figaro terms such a neglible time difference between boats means it’s still practically level pegging for the overall title, and the start of the second leg next Tuesday is an opportunity to very quickly wipe the slate clean.

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Eliès Celebrates First Leg Victory in Coruna – But a Long Way to Go

The dockside post mortems started almost as soon as Yann Eliès (Generali) crossed the finish line at 1759 and 15 seconds yesterday evening (Saturday), followed within the space of an hour by no less than 15 of his rivals. Numbered among them were most of the big names in this bumper 40th edition of the classic French offshore racing series. In Figaro terms such a neglible time difference between boats means it’s still practically level pegging for the overall title, and the start of the second leg next Tuesday is an opportunity to very quickly wipe the slate clean.…

Eliès Still Holding Narrow Lead in Nail-biting First Leg Finish

The 52 solo skippers competing in the first leg of La Solitaire du Figaro are nearing the finish line at Coruna this evening, after a typically hard-fought leg which has seen some distinct strategic choices. Leading the fleet since Friday evening is Yann Eliès (Generali), returning to competition for the first time since miraculously surviving severe injury during the 2008-2009 Vendee Globe. The racing is close however, and in such a competitive class nothing will be certain until the very end. Estimated time for the first finishers is from 19H00 local time.…