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7 September 2005, 03:09 pm

Light Winds Allow Small IRC Rated Halftonners To Make It To The Podium

ECOVER Halfton Classics Cup 2005

Dinard, France

The Halfton Classics Cup in Dinard, France ended as it began with very light conditions making for slow going on the halftonners. All along the week the winds were in the five to ten knot range, except for the short offshore race, where for long hours there was no wind at all.

The light conditions imposed hard work on board of the halftonners with a heavy IRC-rating, like Sibelius, Half Red and Taranta as they had to outsail their slower sisters by sometimes ten minutes per hour, which was very hard indeed in the light winds prevailing in the Bay of Saint-Malo.

The Irish entry Blue Berret Pi managed to lead the fleet for the first days, only to let the final victory slip away in the last offshore race, of which the result could not be discarded. One minute before the start of the ultimate race a diver was still clearing seaweed from the boats propeller. The Irish boat never recovered and ended the race in a disappointing 23rd place. Due to the double points for the long offshore they finally ended in third place in the final ranking.

In the final general ranking places one and two were taken by the smallest ratings of the fleet: Gingko, a lovingly restored old prototype sailed by Frenchman Patrick LOBRICHON had a remarkably consistent series and took the overall victory by a large margin over second placed Hakuna Matata, another boat carrying a low rating.

The marvelous scenery of the Bay of Saint-Malo offered unique sailing conditions for the 30 halftonners and their crews.

The next Half Ton Classics Cup will be held in Dublin, Ireland, in the summer of 2007.

The Half Ton Classics Cup was organized from 28 August-3 September by the Yacht Club of Dinard in France and sponsored by ECOVER, Belgian manufacturer of ecological cleaning products and sponsors of Mike GOLDINGS' (GBR) Racing Team.