Cortez and The Cucumber
“Then felt I like some watcher of the skies
When a new planet swims into his ken;
Or like stout Cortez when with eagle eyes
He stared at the Pacific—and all his men
Looked at each other with a mild surmise—
Silent, upon a peak at Darien.”
A stout Mark Windward took up his position on the balcony at Cullaun and stared at the lake in wild surprise – a Cullaun Regatta was actually starting on time, 12 noon GMT, as distinct from CWT (Cullaun Whatever You’re Having Yourself Time).
A fleet of 20 boats took to the water in bright and breezy conditions. A course was set with, with the windward mark to the North West.
While one might encourage one’s crew tocheck the starting line for any bias, perhaps Meabh Hawkins took it to a new level, i.e., water level, before the first race. Peter Collins executed a swiftman overboard recovery in time for the start. A last-minute wind shift saw Humble Pie start on port leaving the starboard fleet in its wake, and leaving the OOD red faced! (However, some would say that that is his complexion!)
Line Honours for race one went to Peter Collins and Meabh Hawkins who completed the Feva Course in 37:22 ahead of Chrisand Andrew Caher who came home first in the main fleet in 38:14 followed by Monika Schaefer and Christine Heath in second and with Billy O’Mahony and John Clarke in third.
Race two was, in the words of one competitor, “carnage”. The course had been readjusted with the assistance of Brian Connolly but during the race, a squall flattened a lot of the fleet.
There is no doubt that visitors to Cullaun frequently comment upon and admire its picturesque setting. However, Monika and Christine from Greystones appeared intent on checking out the Twelve O’Clock Hills by boat, but were eventually persuaded to come home by Diarmuid and Frank on rescue duty.
Similarly, Paul Killen and Margie Crawford from East Down seemed keen to check out the depths of Kilkishen Bay, but also returned to the fold.
Line Honours went to Chris and Andrew Caher followed by Margaret Hynes and Sarah Concannon, with Billy O’Mahony and John Clarke third. Meabh Hawkins and Peter Collins completed the Feva Coursecoming home in fourth place on the water which was a commendable performance, taking into account the testing conditions.
The third race had fewer starters and even fewer finishers as the fresh conditions took their toll. Line Honours againwent to Chris and Andrew Caher. Billy O’Mahony and John Clarke came second. Jim O’Sullivan and Kevin Donlon came third.
Going Turtle spread through the fleet like a trend on Instagram. A number of elder statesmen took a swim, and as for the younger crowd, Robert Stafford and Laura Collins just could not control themselves, while Grace Golden and Muireann McGrath and Ruth Golden and Ingrid Thunder Biesty spent so much time on the hulls of their respective boats, that one wondered were they trying out a new method of sailing??
If Day One belonged to Chris and Andrew Caher, Monika Schaefer and Christine Heath from Greystones dominated Day Two, where four races were completed with admirable economy by the OOD, who was ably assisted by Rachel Thunder who brought poise and precision to the proceedings.Monika and Chrstine won all four races. Robert Stafford and Laura Collins ledthroughout the final race only to be pipped on the line by Monika and Christine. Chris and Andrew Caher kept up their performance levels with three second place places and Billy O’Mahony and John Clarke kept the podium in view with two third places and a fourth-place finish. Really consistent performancesover both days saw Coranne Heffernan and Jane Collins claim a second place oncorrected time in the sixth race to finish a very creditable sixth place overall. Consistently impressive boat speed alsostood to Laura Collins and Robert Stafford to finish the best of the Juniors
The Cucumber
A close analysis of the results achieved by Chris Caher, reveals that he was never outside the top three over seven races, which might suggest a mental picture of a skipper, screaming, sweating from every pore, flaying his crew with a cato’nine tails, squeezing every ounce from his boat and crew.
Instead, whaty ou find but someone who appears to make about as much effort sailing a winning Wayfarer as he does changing channel with a TV remote! – As cool as a Cucumber! Congratulations to Chris and Andrew. Mark Winward “Over and out”.
A final word from our Commadore.
What is she saying? Anwsers on a post card to
Cullaun Sailing Club Cloonaherna Kilkishen, Co. Clare V95HH6A
Gallery of photos from the weekend
