Neil O'Toole had a run at the Island Trial on Saturday 16th July. And he put on a hell of a show.
The first eyeball of the time put the result as a dead heat with Rory Fitzpatrick's time of 25 minutes and 20 seconds. The adjudicator had to take a moment before heading off to double check.
The final review gave O'Toole a time of 25 minutes and 32 seconds. 12 seconds off the record. 12 seconds in 25 minutes.
That's not a big margin.
We'll get a head-to-head video, but meantime here's O'Toole's run.
As the Island Trials matures and settles down, we've decided to go for an annual presentation. The Moth Nationals were the stage and a good place to hold the first annual presentation of the new perpetual trophy.
The trophy is itself a work of art. Laser etched stainless steel on a Carbon Fibre background, with the names of the first two winners engraved on the first (fotos to follow).
Rory Fitz.
A brief presentation at the end of the Moth Nationals dinner saw first Paul Keane and then Rory Fitz receive a presentation of the trophy, to acclaim of the multiple Olympians and and Mothies present.
We await challenge from across the sailing spectrum, from Moths to Kites to multihulls. Bring it on. And don't forget that there is also the corrected time trophy to fight for. Discussion tonight suggests the eternally active Water Wags might even consider a shot!
We'll get more details asap, but Stephen Oram had a go recently and got a good time. Not enough to beat the record held by Rory Fitz but a fast time nevertheless. We'll get everything posted as soon as work permits!
The Island Trial has returned with a vengeance. With several foiling moth sailors deciding that the record had to be attempted and with a RIB wisely taken along as support the Island Trial record - previously held by Paul Keane in a Laser - was absolutely obliterated.
Rory Fitzpatrick has set a new record of 25 minutes, with Neil O'Toole in 29 minutes and Stephen Oram still fast but caught by a lull in Dalkey Sound and forced to tack on the run back to the finish. The previous record, reasonably quick in a Laser, was set by Paul Keane in 46 minutes. That pace wasn't bad for a Laser over the approximately 10.5km course, but it's been flattened.
Rory spent some time off the foils in the sound, and the Moth sailors reckon an additional 4-5 minutes can come off the time.
Through the sound at speed...
....or not.
Fitz back on the foils and away
Conditions were good with little in the way of waves at the south end of the island, a place where sea monsters can sometimes dwell. And apart from the lulls in the sound the sailors could concentrate on maintaining top speeds.
Fitzpatrick was touching 40km/h on the run away from the startline and sustained 30km/h for long periods. O'Toole was only a little slower in a straight line but spent more time off the foils in Dalkey sound, with Oram caught for longest by a lull. It only takes a few moments for a foiling moth to be GONE, and that's what Fitzpatrick did, leading by a couple of kilometers at the end. Astonishing stuff!!
There seems little an "normal" dinghy can do against the moths, but on a rough calculation the PY title is still accessible. A Moth needs to go REALLY fast all the way. A Laser at full plane can sustain 20km/h. It's not out of reach, but the absolute record seems beyond most dinghies now. If the Rumball claim of 30 knots in a Fireball is real then we'll expect to see them having a go.
Meantime can a keelboat do it? A multihull? A kite is getting set up to have a go and that's likely to have a good shot at the record, but for now it's all hail Rory Fitz. He's the man.
There was a long discussion over modifications to the course of the Island Trial. In the end simplicity won out.
We have a startline between the lighthouse on the East Pier and the Bailey light. And the course is around the island and back. No marks, no rules, no limits. Just fast.
And send your GPX file to the website afterwards.
Remember, as before, there's no "event". This is something you do for yourself, by yourself, with the support and rescue craft you organize yourself.
The old time set by Paul Keane on the course with DBSC marks will stand as the fastest on that course, but it's straightforward to declare a past and a future. The new course is the traditional past and is the simplest and best future.
Much like Frankenstein's monster or a good b-movie zombie, the Island Trial is hard to kill off permanently.
Recent discussions in Dun Laoghaire saw strong interest from racers to re-animate the event, with proposals for an adjusted course, a requirement for pre-entry acceptance of terms and conditions, and potential incorporation into one of the Dun Laoghaire clubs' summer schedules. As before we'd use the DBSC marks, although the DBSC itself can't necessarily participate in organizing the event.
The main discussion point for the moment is the route.
The original route, in red, went right around Dalkey Island and back along the coast. But with very fluky wind in the sound and the chance of high waves at the back of the island it often led to either slow times or simply prudent abandonment.
Two alternates have been suggested. One is to use the Muglins instead of Dalkey Island. The other is to use the DBSC's Island Mark.
Have a look at the map (you'll have to zoom in a little). The detailed courses are below.
Option 1: ----------
Start
Bulloch Mark - Port
Island Mark - Port or Starboard
Bulloch Mark - Starboard
Finish
Total approx 8.5 km
Option 2: ----------
Start
Bulloch Mark - Port
Island Mark - Port
Muglins - Port or Starboard
Island Mark - Starboard
Bulloch Mark - Starboard
Finish
Total approx 10 km
We want to hear suggestions, pros and cons, before moving ahead. Put your comments below!
