Corona Extra 1720 Europeans at Baltimore Sailing Club

Corona 1720 Europeans at Baltimore © Aedan Coffey

Corona 1720 Europeans at Baltimore © Aedan Coffey

Mark Mansfield, Terry English and his crew aboard Gut Rot have won the Corona Extra Cork 1720 European Championships hosted by Baltimore Sailing Club in West Cork, Ireland 1-3rd September 2011. A competitive and resurgent fleet of 28 boats made the start line on day one including six from the UK making up the best fleet seen in the class for nearly a decade.

Day one saw steady conditions of 10-12 knots from the East in the race area located between Sherkin, Cape and Hare Islands which was a pleasant downwind sail between the Islands from Baltimore Harbour which only two weeks earlier had been host to the infamous Rambler 100 following its dramatic Capsize after rounding the Fastnet Rock on the 15th of August.

Reigning Irish National Champion Mark Mansfield started well with a bullet in the first race closely followed by multiple 1720 national and European Champion and current Irish Helmsman's Champion Nicholas O'Leary on board Tbone owned by Crosshaven duo Tom Durcan and Clive O'Shea in second ahead of his father 2010 Commodore's Cup winning Captain Anthony O'Leary on board Wet and Ready in third.

The second race was led by Nicholas O'Leary all the way to the finish only to find he was OCS at the start which handed the race win to his father. Cork man Finbarr Jeffers managed an impressive second in Wahoo followed by Denis Murphy in Aquatack.

Race three saw Nicholas O'Leary finally take his win followed by Mansfield and Neil Angel from Brighton in the UK on All Talk in third. Mansfield took an overnight lead with local team Peter O'Flynn and John Crotty on board Two to Tango lying second scoring a consistent 4, 4, 5.

Day two and the wind had blown hard during the night and then swung to the West leaving a good swell and testing conditions in 10-14 knots with a strong tidal flow thrown into the mix. Race four eventually started after a few delays caused by shifting winds and first out of the blocks was another local team Jim Griffiths and Ben Cook on board Smile & Wave who held off a stiff challenge all the way round from Mansfield to take their first win of the event with Anthony O'Leary in third.

Race five was packed with incidents at the start but T-Bone prevailed with Mansfield second again and Anthony O'Leary third.

Race 6 Had Gut Rot first, Wet N Ready second and Two to Tango third meaning Mansfield took a healthy lead into the last day but the two O'Leary's were tied on points for second and two to Tango just on their heels.

Day three and a fast moving front eventually left the race area bathed in sunshine and with a steady 12-16 knot breeze provided champagne conditions for Mark Mansfield and Terry English and the crew onboard Gut Rut to secure the championship with a 10 point lead and a race to spare. Aquatack won the first race followed by Wet N Ready and Gut Rot in third, Gut Rot won the penultimate race with Tbone in second and Smile & Wave third.

Final race 9 was won by Tbone who managed to catch Gut Rot who was leading after the final leeward mark and forced them to do penalty turns pushing them back into forth but despite this valiant effort it was all in vein as Gut Rot already had the event in their pocket. Robert O'Leary (yes another sibling from the same family) took second followed by Smile & Wave in third who managed comeback of the day having crossed the start line in plumb last after missing the pin mark at the start.

So Mark Mansfield on Gut Rot wins the championship by an impressive 10 points over Nicholas O'Leary on Tbone in second and Anthony O'Leary on Wet N Ready just three points behind in third. The consistency of Two to Tango showed taking a very respectable forth and Smile & Wave rounding off the top five. Neil Angle from Brighton YC was the top UK boat finishing 8th on All Talk.

Commenting on his win, Mark Mansfield said
‘It was a tremendous event with a very strong tough field sailed in ideal conditions and well organised by Baltimore Sailing Club. No quarter was given nor expected and I think everyone had great sailing over the three days. I have to pay special tribute to my part owner Terry English and the crew, Mike Budd, Joe Bruen and Bernard Fitzpatrick. It was a fantastic showpiece for the 1720 class which is building in numbers significantly.'

Race officer David O'Brien and his team must be congratulated on their hard work in testing conditions to provide excellent courses and big thanks also to the sponsors Corona Extra for providing excellent post race liquid refreshment, lots of giant inflatable Corona beer bottles around Baltimore village and helping to make the event possible. Great racing in great boats with apres sail Irish style going into the early hours plus a warm welcome from Baltimore Community made for one special event.

More photos on the 1720 Sailing Facebook Group.

Overall Results: