Top Performances at the Topper Nationals

Four sailors travelled to Dunmore East last Thursday for the Irish Topper Nationals. Against a fleet of the best 50 Topper sailors in Ireland it was a tall order in strange waters with ferocious tides ready to trap the unwary. In fact so strong was the tide on day one that only five boats made it round the windward mark and the rest of the fleet piled up in what looked like a start line rather than a mark rounding. It lashed rain all day but despite this Conor O'Farrell banked a 3rd and a 6th, Stephen Finnegan an 8th and Conor Quinn a 10th. Anna McNulty fell victim to the dreaded black flag.

On day 2 in sunshine and strong winds O'Farrell came into his own with 4 top 10 results including a 2nd. Quinn was happy with a 9th a 10th and an 11th, McNulty recovered well from her first day to take two 9ths and a 14th. Finnegan couldn’t match his first day's performance but was happy with several mid fleet scores.
With only 2 races on the Sunday the pressure was on O'Farrell who had been lying third overall overnight. Despite sailing well and delivering an 8th and a 2nd, it was unfortunately just not enough, and left him in 4th overall, still a tremendous result. Quinn, Mc Nulty and Finnegan all managed to finish well up the fleet in both races leaving Quinn a creditable 12th overall, remembering that he is 2 years younger than the winning sailor. Great things to come here. McNulty finished 19th overall and Finnegan 26th, all very strong results from young sailors who can only improve.

Sunday Sailing
With Paddy Rooney in charge the Cranley Boys finally came good with two bullets - there must be something in that new rape seed oil wax they are coating their hull with. Paul McParland was flying also and took his season's best results with two seconds. Meanwhile Matthews and Hicks are knocking on the door claiming not one but two thirds - a worrying development for Lyon Cup contenders.

Cruiser Racing Results Sat 7-Jul-12
Race 1
1st: Synergy - Chris Cassidy
2nd: Maximeyes - Mick McCann
3rd Gannet - Brian McCann

Race 2
1st: Synergy - Chris Cassidy
2nd: Maximeyes - Mick McCann
3rd Gannet - Brian McCann

CLYC Sailors at Dunmore East. L-R: Conor O'Farrell, Conor Quinn, Stephen Finnegan and Anna McNulty

Conor O'Farrell - 4th Overall in the Topper National Championships