Cork
Week Day Four Report
The
penultimate day of Cork Week 2004 was dominated
by the news of Hasso Plattner's decision to withdraw
Morning Glory from the event. The decision appears
to be a result of the intense rivalry between
the German maxi and rival Z86-footer Pyewacket
owned by Californian Roy Disney.
Yesterday
(Thursday) saw Morning Glory protest Pyewacket
over allegedly failing to give space when rounding
the leeward mark during the first race of the
day. The protest was upheld by a five-member International
Jury but Morning Glory has already ended its series
and did not start the afternoon race.
Meanwhile,
the final day of racing for the 499-boat fleet
sees few classes with certain outcomes though
most have narrowed their contenders to just a
few boats. Inevitably, the tented village at the
Royal Cork Yacht Club was the liveliest it has
been all week last night (Thursday) with crews
taking full advantage of the extensive entertainment
options.
In
the 1720 Sportsboat fleet, Graeme Scott's King
Quick leads the class while pre-event favourite
Anthony O'Leary on Antix has just Friday's racing
to make the eleven-point leap from fifth overall.
The
Laser SB3, X332, Impalas, Mixed Sportsboats, Gentlemen
No Spinnaker and ECHO classes are all wide open
among the leaders in each.
Just
Class 3 under IRC handicap is certain with Robin
Aisher's Yeomantix continuing her three-day lead
of the 39-boat division with an eleven point lead
and a sixth place discard.
Hanging
in the balance is the outcome of several classes
such as the IRM fleet where Peter Harrison's Chernikeef
2 holds a slender two-point lead over David McLean's
Babbalaas.
George's
Sisk's Wow from Dublin leads Class 1 with a two-point
lead from Christopher Sharples' Maverick 2. In
Class 6, Howth Yacht Club's Anthony Gore-Grimes
has one of the best scores of any boat in the
regatta counting four firsts and an eighth.
Class
Zero will be close affair though Disney's Pyewacket
seems to be the clear favourite. The battle for
second and third places remains open however and
Robert Elliott's Erivale continues to hold Colm
Barrington's Flying Glove in check.
Click
Here for official results.
