#Kinsale - Kinsale Yacht Club will host an Open Day from 2-5pm next Sunday 15 March, and Rear Commodore Caroline Forde has invited anyone to come, enjoy a cuppa and chat, and take a tour of the clubhouse.

Boat trips out of the KYC marina will also be available, weather permitting, while the club will be hosting a competition for free membership among other prizes.

It comes ahead of Kinsale's pre-St Patrick's Day maritime parade on Monday 16 March, for which participating boats will parade past the pier head, followed by refreshments in the clubhouse afterwards.

#kinsale – After last week's postponement, KInsale Yacht Club race organisers were delighted to get three races in today although only the Full Rig Lasers, Squibs and a solitary RS 400 braved the elements. Winds were Southerly veering to South Westerly and remained steady at 10 knots with occasional gusts of 14 knots. Race Officer John Stallard organised a rapid turnaround between races, mindful of the chilly conditions.
Monkstown's Ronan Kenneally swept the leader board again today with 3 bullets in the Laser Full Rig fleet. This places him as the current overall leader for the series on 7 points with the next closest rival being fellow Monstown sailor Paul O'Sullivan on 12 points.
Ewan O'Keeffe was the solitary representative of the RS400 fleet however they proved themselves an able match for the Squib fleet and certainly seemed to relish the conditions. Racing in the KYC dominated Squib fleet is proving extremely competitive indeed. There are even rumours of Saturday practice sessions! In fact today's competition lead to the dismasting of one of the squibs, the mast had a previous repair which gave way. Fortunately helm Joe O'Connell (Sail No. 487) and his crew were uninjured and efficiently rescued by KYC Cruiser Class Captain Nigel Dann & helpers on board the trusty Fiona.
With only 2 more days of racing Colm Dunne & Rob Gill (Allegro 134) have a firm lead on 7 points but are hotly pursued by KYC's Commodore Finbarr O'Regan & his son Colm ( Fagin 100) on 12 points. Once again a ferocious battle is raging for third position with KYC's Victor Fusco & Ruth Ennis (Espresso 150) on 26 points, fellow Club mate Mark Buckley (Sail No. 4) on 28 points and Squib newcomer Amy McCarthy & Dave Gibbons (Lazarus 483) on a very credible 30 points.

#kinsale – While the bulk of the early entries for the ICRA Nationals, now totalling 42, come from the domestic fleet the championships that runs in conjunction with June's Sovereign's Cup has also attracted a number of early UK entries.

Yealm Yacht Club, near Plymouth, will be represented by the Ker 40, Geronimo (Andy Williams). Coming from Wales is Neyland Yacht Club's Corby 36 Roxy 6 of Milford Haven (Robert Davies) and sistership Stratisfear (Guy Cowper) is also coming across the Irish Sea, from Royal Dee Yacht Club.

Organisers report a buoyant take up before the early bird deadline this weekend.

The current entry list is downloadable below as a PDF file.  

#cruiserracing – ICRA are reporting a buoyant line–up of early entries for its national championships to be sailed off the Cork coast in June. The 2015 Irish cruiser–racer National Championships has attracted an early entry of 40 boats from Ireland, Northern Ireland and the UK. An expected fleet of over 100 will sail in the combined ICRA and Sovereign's Cup event at Kinsale Yacht Club. 

The discounted early bird entry deadline is February 14. 

#kinsaleyachtclub – Day two of the ASM Kinsale Yacht Club frostbite series saw typical frostbite weather, cold, bright, sunny with near perfect sailing conditions. The wind was 10–knots gusting to 12.5 from NNW. Each of the 5 fleets got 3 great races in shifting conditions which made it a great test for all competitors. Each of the fleets had close racing, especially the ever popular Squib Fleet.

Race Officer & KYC Sailing Secretary, John Stallard was delighted to see the arrival this week of the RS400 fleet which has added greatly to competition and made for a beautiful spectacle in the bright sunshine on Kinsale inner harbour.

Maeve Leonard from RCYC appeared out today in the Laser Radial fleet and produced 3 bullets to dispense with all opposition. Her club mate Luke McGrath achieved the same result in the Laser 4.7 fleet.

The Full rig fleet was smaller today and the field is led by Monkstown's Ronan Kenneally followed by Club mate Paul O'Sullivan.

In the Squib fleet KYC's Colm Dunne and Rob Gill have an astonishing result of 6 bullets after 6 races, they are hotly pursued by KYC's Commodore Finny O'Regan and his son Colm.

Sail number 1260 takes the lead in the fledgling RS400 fleet.

Racing continues next week....

Squibs on a Run

Maeve Leonard of RCYC looking happy with 3 wins from 3 races

KYC's Colm Dunne & Rob Gill in their Squib Allegro, in the lead with 6 bullets after 6 races...

Committee Boat stalwart Sue Horgan

Lasers heading to Castlepark

All photos courtesy of Seamus McLaverty of ASM Marine

#kinsale – American travel bloggers, Monique Davis and Drake Roberts (DrakeParagon), who are living on their boat on Kinsale Yacht Club Marina for the next few months, made this short video over the past few days with clear skies and good weather conditions showing off the south coast town to be the beautiful and special place.

#cruiserracing – The 2015 ICRA cruiser national championships will be sailed in conjunction with Kinsale Yacht Club's Sovereign's Cup regatta, the Cruiser–Racer conference heard at the weekend. Eight races are planned over four days.

The full Notice of Race for the Wednesday June 24 to Saturday, 27th event has been published and is available to download below as a PDF document and details are below. A Notice of Race for the White Sails Cup is also downloadable below.

ICRA NATIONALS & SOVEREIGN’S CUP 2015

1 ORGANISING AUTHORITY [OA]
1.1 The Organising Authority (OA) is Kinsale Yacht Club in conjuction with the Irish Cruiser Racing Association (ICRA)
1.2 The Event is the ICRA Nationals and Sovereign's Cup 2015 and incorporates the Irish 1/4 Ton Cup.
1.3 For more information contact regatta drector on: +353 21 4773 433 email: [email protected]

2 RULES AND ELIGIBILITY
The Event is governed by the Racing Rules of Sailing (RRS) of the International Sailing Federation (ISAF), the prescriptions of the Irish Sailing Association (ISA), the IRC Rating Rule parts A-C, the ISA ECHO Performance Handicap System, the rules of ICRA, the Quarter Ton class rules
Safety: The regatta is an ISAF Category 5 event. The OA reminds all persons in charge of their obligations in this regard. Copies of the Special Regulations are available from the ISAF website at www.sailing.org
2.1 To be eligible to compete in the Event boats shall, except when sailing under Quarter Ton Class rules
2.1.1 Comply with the definition of a cruiser in the ICRA Constitution;
2.1.2 Have an IRC rating or ECHO standard within the range .800 to 1.250;
2.1.3 Comply with the relevant IRC rating and ECHO handicapping rules

3 ADVERTISING
3.1. The OA reserves the right to refuse entry to the Event, if there is in its opinion, a conflict between a competitor's sponsor and the Event sponsor.
3.2. Boats may be required to display advertising chosen and supplied by the OA.

4 CLASSIFICATION
4.1 ISAF Regulation 22, Sailor Classification Code, will apply. Category 3 sailor allowance per class is set out in the table below.

It is the personal responsibility of every sailor to determine their ISAF Regulation 22 status. Apart from the exceptions set out in the table below, ISAF Group 3 competitors, including competitors who are not classified but who satisfy the requirements of the Group 3 definition, are not permitted to sail in the event. The OA may request a competing boats crew list together with related ISAF sailor IDs
4.2 Group 3 competitors are not permitted to helm except in an emergency.
4.3 Competitors who require an ISAF Classification should apply, in good time, on www.sailing.org/isafsailor

5 CREW LIMITATIONS
IRC Rule 22.4 is deleted. There is no limit on crew number or crew weight as required for boats rated as One Designs or restricted by
Class Rules.

6 DIVISIONS
6.1 Entrants will be divided into DIVISIONS which will not be finalised until after the closing date of 12th June, 2015.
6.2 The composition of divisions will be determined at the sole discretion of the OA on receipt of the entries, having regard to the following criteria:
6.2.1 The need for a reasonable number of boats in each division;
6.2.2 Having as close a spread as possible in the range of handicaps in each division.
6.2.3 Extra divisions from those used in previous years, with different breakpoints, may be created.
6.2.4 It is the intention to include a division which will group all ¼ tonners
6.3 The OA reserves the absolute discretion, in the interests of fair sailing for all competitors, to allocate any boat to any division.

7 PROGRAM OF RACES
7.1 The Skippers Briefing will be held at 1800 Tuesday 23rd June 2015 in Kinsale Yacht Club.
7.2 Racing is scheduled to be held on Wednesday 24th June to Saturday 27th June 2015.
7.3 The scheduled times of the first warning signals for each days racing will be 1155
7.4 On the last scheduled day no warning signal will be made after 1530, except in the case of a race where a postponement, abandonment or general
recall has been signalled.
7.5 Races will be scheduled to achieve a program of eight races maximum over the Event

8 SCORING & DISCARDS
8.1 The Low Point scoring system of Appendix A will apply.
8.2 Three races are required to be completed to constitute a Championship.
8.3 If 5 or more races are completed 1 discard shall apply.

9 FEES
9.1 The cut off criteria for Early Entry Fee is 14th February 2015. Closing date for entries is 30th May, 2015 unless extended by the OA.

ENTRY FEE: Early Entry By 14th April Thereafter
Over 45' to 50' E390 E410 E470
Over 42' to 45' E370 E385 E445
Over 38' to 42' E330 E345 E395
Over 32' to 38 E290 E305 E350
Over 28' to 32' E270 E285 E325
28' and under E250 E260 E300

9.2 The entry fee includes marina berthing for the competing boat from Tuesday night 23rd June to Saturday night 27th June inclusive and includes 5 additional nights that can be taken free of charge anytime during the summer of 2015.
9.3 There will be an additional fee of €50 euros per boat per lift (payable on the pier) for craning in and out facilities for boats arriving by road by prior
arrangement.
9.4 Entries may be made online through the event website
9.5 Entries are accepted at the sole discretion of the OA.
9.6 Entries are accepted for the full Championship only - boats may not enter for individual races.

10. RATINGS & HANDICAPS
10.1. IRC certificates shall be ENDORSED and have a VALIDITY DATE no later than 12th June, 2015 and are required to race in all IRC Divisions with the exception of Class 5, White Sail IRC when an unendorsed IRC certificate will suffice.
10.1.1. No alteration in a boat's TCC will be permitted after this cut-off date except as a result of a rating protest, or to correct Rating Office errors. Such errors shall be certified in writing as such by the Rating Office.
10.1.2. A boat's owner and any other person in charge shall ensure that the boat is maintained to comply with her measurement and that her rating certificate
remains valid for all races in the series.
10.1.3. If, for any reason, a boat's TCC is changed after the cut-off date above it shall be the duty of the boat's owner or any other person in charge to inform the OA of any change immediately and any increased TCC shall be applied to all races in calculating her series score. This provision is subject to 10.1.5
10.1.4. The name/s of the equipment inspector/s and/or measurer/s shall be published on the official notice board for the duration of the event [RRS 78]
10.1.5. The validity date may be extended in extraordinary circumstances at the sole discretion of the OA. The boat seeking the extension shall apply in
good time in writing setting out the grounds for the extension.
10.2. A copy of the boat's current IRC Endorsed certificate shall be included with the entry form or submitted at registration. This copy shall be available for inspection by another competitor at any time.
10.3. The OA reserves the right to inspect any boat to ensure compliance with IRC certificates.
10.4. Each entry will be assigned an initial ECHO Handicap based on current ECHO Handicap data gathered from the various handicap authorities. A
system of progressive ECHO handicapping, where each boat's handicap is automatically adjusted on the basis of performance in each race, will apply.
The act of handicap adjustment or failure to adjust will not be grounds for a request for redress. (This changes RRS 62)

11. HAUL OUT RESTRICTIONS
Boats shall not be hauled out once launched and during the Event except with and according to the terms of prior written permission of the OA.

12. PRIZES
Overall Prizes and trophies will be awarded under IRC and ECHO.
12.1 The Sovereign's Cup will be presented to the boat which in the opinion of the Regatta Committee performs to the highest standard under IRC.
12.2 The Portcullis Trophy will be presented to the boat which in the opinion of the Regatta Committee performs to the highest standard under ECHO.
12.3 A White Sail Trophy will be presented to the boat which in the opinion of the Regatta Committee performs to the highest standard under white sail
12.4 The Irish Quarter Ton Championship Trophy will be presented to the Quarter Tonner with the lowest points score under IRC.
12.5 The Michelle Dunne Prix D'elegance Trophy will be presented to the boat and crew which in the opinion of the Regatta Committee is the best turned
out at the regatta.
12.5 Final prize giving for the ICRA Nationals and Sovereigns Cup and Irish National Quarter Ton Cup Regatta will take place on Saturday 29th June in
Kinsale Yacht club.

13 REGISTRATION AND SAILING INSTRUCTIONS
All entrants shall register with the Event Office in the KYC. Sailing Instructions will be available at registration and may be posted on the event website.
Registration will take place on the following days:
Monday 22nd June 1400 – 1700
Tuesday 23rd June 1000 – 1800

14 RACING AREA & COURSES
14.1. Races will be sailed in the waters off Kinsale Harbour.
14.2. The courses to be sailed will be windward leeward or fixed mark courses.
14.3. Competitors are advised to ensure there is a working VHF radio on board each boat as the courses for the Round the Cans races may be called out on VHF.

15. ACCOMODATION & SOCIAL
15.1. Information on local accommodation is available on the Event website.
15.2. Entertainment will be provided after racing each day.
15.3. Competitors are granted temporary membership of KYC for the duration of the Event subject only to the Club rules for withdrawing or withholding
such membership.
15.4. On Friday 26th June KYC will host a Ladies lunch for the wives and partners of the competitors and their guests. Details will be available on the event web page. It is intended that all funds raised during this event will be presented to the Access Sailing Committee from KYC for the promotion of sailing amongst disabled youths at Kinsale yacht Club

16. SAFETY & DISCLAIMER OF LIABILITY
16.1. The safety of a boat and her crew is the sole responsibility of the person in charge [RRS 46] who must do their best to ensure that the boat is fully found, thoroughly seaworthy, and manned by an experienced crew who have undergone appropriate training and are fit to face the conditions encountered. The person in charge must be satisfied as to the soundness of hull, spars, sails, rigging and all gear. The person in charge must ensure that all safety equipment is properly maintained and suitably stowed. The crew must be familiar with the use and position of such safety equipment. The person in charge accepts that the responsibility for a boat's decision to participate in a race or to continue racing is theirs and theirs alone. Neither these regulations nor any action of the OA in any way limits or reduces the exclusive responsibility of the owner or the person in charge.
16.2. The wearing of personal flotation devices is strongly recommended at all times
16.3. Competitors participate in the championship at their own risk - see Fundamental Rule 4, Decision to Race. ICRA, KYC, their officers, servants and agents accept no responsibility in respect of loss of life, personal injury or loss of or damage to property sustained in conjunction with or prior to, during or after the event.

17. INSURANCE
It is a condition of entry for each boat owner to have their boat adequately insured against any risk, including civil liability to third parties and to ensure that such insurance remains valid for the entirety of the event.

18. MARINA
18.1 Marina berths will be available, free of charge, from Tuesday 23rd June until 1200 on Sunday 28th June 2015. Berths will be allocated on arrival and are subject to suitable space availability.
18.2 A limited number of marina berths will also be available from Sunday 15th June 2015. The provision of berths will be at the discretion of the OA and
advanced booking is required. Requests for an advanced berth should be made by contacting the KYC Marina Manager.

19. SPONSORSHIP
The Irish Cruiser Racing Association and Kinsale Yacht Club are very pleased to welcome Covestone Asset Management as our sponsor at this year's event.

20. MEDIA WAIVER
Competitors give their consent to the OA to use or so license the use of their name, comments, photographs and likeness as it sees fit for the promotion of cruiser racing. The OA reserves the right to use or to license the use of any images and sound recorded during the Event free of charge,

21 WHITE SAIL/NON–SPINNAKER
White sail/non-spinnaker boats please refer to addendum to this notice of race

#youthsailing – ISAF youth silver medallist Seafra Guilfoyle is a wild card entry into this weekend's All Ireland youth sailing event at Kinsale Yacht Club this Saturday. Crosshaven based Guilfoyle, who won world silver in Portugal in July, is slated against 19 other top Irish youth sailors who will compete in the double–handed Topaz dinghy fleet. 

Over 30 sailors from 11 classes were considered and the Irish Sailing Association organisers say their selection process allocated places based on the numbers of boats declared by the classes attending their national championships. The full list on invitees for the weekend fixture is published below (with some crew names missing).

The host Topaz dinghy has two nominees from its own national championships held in Dingle and the RS Feva also has two sailors attending. The Optimist class has three sailors slated including top European championships perfomers, Clare Gorman of the National Yacht Club and James McCann of Royal Cork. 420 dinghy youths are represented by national champion Peter McCann and girls champion Cliodhna NiShuillebhain of the host club.

The Mirror dinghy is also included with teams coming from Lough Ree  YC and Sutton Dinghy Club.

Class	Helm	Club	Crew
RS Feva	Alison Dolan	Blessington SC	Grainne Young
RS Feva	Triona Hinkson	Royal St.George YC	Catherine Kelly
RS200 - Youth	Stephen Craig	Royal St.George YC
Optimist	James McCann	Royal Cork YC	Michael Carroll
Optimist	Gemma McDowell	Malahide YC
Optimist	Clare Gorman	National YC
Mirror	Shane McLoughlin	Sutton DC	Oscar Langan
Mirror	Tiarnan Dickson	Lough Ree YC	Rory MacAllister
Topper	Hugh Perette	National YC
Topper	Ros Morgan	Skerries SC
Topper	Adam D'Arcy	Royal Cork YC	James Hassett
Laser 4-7	Johnny Durcan	Royal Cork YC	Florence Lyden
Laser 4-7	Rory Caslin	National YC	Scott Levie
Topaz	Jack Kiely	Dungarvan HSC
Topaz	Paddy Cunnane	Dingle SC
International 420	Peter McCann	Royal Cork YC	Micheal O'Suileabhain
International 420	Cliodhna NiShuillebhain	Kinsale YC
GP14 - Youth	David Johnston	Sutton DC
Wild Card	Harry Durcan	Royal Cork YC	Harry Whittaker
Wild Card	Séafra Guilfoyle	Royal Cork YC

#420sailing – Four Royal Cork, two Howth/Skerries combinations plus a Kinsale YC and Malahide YC team will contest the 420 and 470 Junior European Championships in Gdynia, Poland this morning.

The seven boat Irish youth sailing line up comprises Harry Whitaker and Grattan Roberts, RCYC; Peter McCann and Arran Walsh RCYC;  Lizzy McDowell and Cara McDowell Malahide Yacht Club; Douglas Elmes and Bill Staunton, RCYC; and Skerries/HYC; Robert Dickson and Sean Waddilove, Howth YC/Skerries SC; Cliodhna Ni Shuilleabhain and Jil McGinley Kinsale YC and Royal Cork YC and Ewan McMahon and Colin O'Sullivan, Howth.

The two Junior European Championships are held alongside each other to support the natural transition between the 420 and 470, although the racing format and course areas are separate.

A total of 332 sailors are competing, with teams from 25 nations contesting the 420 Junior Europeans and 470 Junior Europeans. Joining the European nations are teams from Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, New Zealand and the USA.

Warm-up events for both classes has seen the 470 Class running a three-day training clinic led by world-class coach Nigel Cochrane (CAN), whilst the 420 fleet has enjoyed the Polish 420 National Championships as a training ground. The 420 National Championships gave an early taste of form with fifty-eight teams competing, including twenty-five international teams. The Nationals was won by Greece's Nikolaos Brilakis/Nikolaos Georgakopoulos and top ladies team were Poland's Ewa Romaniuk/KataRzyna Goralska in second overall.

Some of the sport's most talented youth teams are set to flex their muscles on the race tracks of Gdynia, including the 2014 470 Men Junior World Champions, 470 Women Junior World Championship podium finishers, the defending 470 Women Junior European Champions and a stellar line up of 420 sailors including medallists from the recently held 420 World Championships and the ISAF Youth Sailing World Championships.

Keeping Poland's ambitions burning strong are 38 of the nation's best young sailors, with ten teams in the 470 fleets and a fourteen-boat line-up in the 420 Class.

The 2014 420 and 470 Junior European Championships officially opened this evening at an opening followed by sailors' buffet.

470 MEN AND WOMEN
Reigning 470 Junior World Champions, Jordi Xammar/Joan Herp of Spain successfully defended their 2013 Junior World Championship title in Italy in June and are now on a quest to do the double this year and add the 470 Junior European Championship to their growing gold medal haul. After their win at the 2013 470 Junior Worlds, the pair fell short of the podium at the 2013 Junior Europeans, finishing 4th by 10 points, so are back to make amends. Competing here in Poland was a last minute decision for the pair who were on vacation and simply had an overwhelming mission to compete and try to claim the Championship medal which has so far eluded them.

"We were not planning to come, but then we decided we'd better come just to see what we could do here," smiled Xammar. "The 470 Junior Europeans has not been our Championships. We have won five other junior world titles and this is the only one we haven't won."

Predicting what will give them the edge on the race track, Xammar continued, "The wind conditions and speed are not going to be the priority here. I think more important will be tactics and strategy around the race course."

The Spanish are joined by six of the other teams in the overall top 10 from the 470 Men Junior Worlds, so an intense battle is on the cards.

In the 470 Women, defending 470 Women Junior European gold medallists Anna Kyselova/Anastasiya Krasko from the Ukraine are back to defend national pride. The pair claimed silver at the 2013 Junior Worlds, but with a raft of penalty scores at this year's 470 Junior Worlds year in Italy failed to show their true form, and didn't qualify into the Medal Race top ten 10. The pair have parked that that disappointment firmly behind them and know they can win gold here if they focus on a consistent scoreline.

Teams lining up against them include silver medallists at the 470 Junior Worlds Jess Lavery/Megan Brickwood from Great Britain and the bronze medallists Noya Bar-Am/Rimon Shoshan from Israel, These three teams, are joined by five more of the top 10 from the 470 Junior Worlds in italy.

The British pair have had a break from international competition since the Junior Worlds, focusing on work commitments and training in the UK, so are also fresh to the race track.

"We have had a good few days training out here and had some good tuning with the Canadian team," commented Lavery. "It has gone well so far and we are getting familiar with the venue and feeling happy with how we are sailing."

The 470 Men and Women will race as two separate fleets, each fleet contesting a single series of 10 races, followed by the ten-boat Medal Race final. Racing is scheduled to get underway at 1100 hours on Wednesday 13 August 2014.

420 OPEN
In the 420 fleet, there are numerous familiar faces who have headed to Poland straight from the 420 Worlds in Travemuende, Germany and are back on the race track for the 420 Junior Europeans. To ensure quality of racing, entries are limited with a strict quota of seven teams per nation, apart from the host nation who can enter 14 teams. Teams race all together, so mixed teams, men and ladies teams all up against each other.

In 2013, the 420 Ladies controlled the leaderboard, claiming gold and silver, with the men's teams surprisingly off the pace in last year's windy conditions at Pwllheli, Wales.

Lighter winds are forecast for the Championship here in Poland, but judging from today's practice race, it may be more to do with who can read the wind best as shifty conditions look set to prevail.

Spain's Silvia Mas/Marta Davila won the ladies 420 division at the ISAF Youth Worlds and are looking forward to the challenge of racing in an open fleet

"I think for me it is more fun," laughed Mas. "It is a different thing just sailing with just girls compared to mixed. In the lighter winds the girls all do better, but we drop down when the wind picks up. I think it is really fun to sail all together."

"It is a bit shifty and the waves are quite difficult, particularly on starboard," she continued. "But it is the same for everybody."

The summer has been a gruelling back to back schedule of Championships, which take their toll.

"I am a bit tired," said Mas. "But I am feeling OK as although I have raced lots of Championships I have learnt a lot."

Also amongst the pre-race favourites will be the silver medallists at the 420 Worlds, Hippolyte Macheti/Sidoine Dantes of France who were also honoured as the top team placed team aged 18 and under and crowned Junior 420 World Champions.

As well as the Greek winners of the Polish 420 National Championships, local 420 team Ewa Romaniuk/KataRzyna Goralska will also be amongst the frontrunners.

Romaniuk/KataRzyna Goralska dominated during the early stages of the last year's 420 Junior Europeans, before struggling to maintain consistency and finishing 11th overall. But 2013 was a different game, as it marked their first season together. Rock forwards 12 months and the pair have far more experience to their credit and also secured the bronze medal at this year's ISAF Youth Worlds, up from 9th overall in 2014. They didn't compete at the 420 Worlds earlier in August, so are fresh for racing here in Gdynia.

Absent from the start line will be recently crowned 420 Ladies World Champions, Italy's Carlotta Omari/Francesca Russo Cirillo, and silver medallists Kimberly Lim/Savannah Siew who flew back to Singapore to prepare for upcoming school exams. Their absence also leaves the door open for the 420 Worlds bronze medallists Aikaterini Tavoulari/Fotini Koutsoumpou of Greece to step up. The pair gave the series leaders a run for their money in Germany and can do the same in Poland, particularly after their 7th overall at the Polish 420 Nationals.

There are numerous faces who can rise to the top from the 108 talented 420 teams competing, so expect some early leaderboard charges from Wednesday's opening three races.

Racing Schedule
Racing kicks off on Wednesday 13 August with three races scheduled for all fleets starting at 1100 hours. The 108 boat 420 Fleet have been split into two fleets, yellow and blue and will be re-seeded for each of the three days of qualification, after which they will advance through to gold and silver fleets for the final series.

The 470 Men and 470 Women are sailing a single race series in separate fleets, with 11 races scheduled followed by the top 10 Medal Race.

 

#sailing – Sailing is a sport, not the qualification of a superior social standing.

Is that fully understood by everyone involved in the sport or is there still an element of elitism which needs to be eradicated?

The term 'yachting' was dropped a few years from the title of the national representative organisation which became the Irish Sailing Association, amidst an apparent belief that 'sailing' would be less elitist as a descriptive term and more acceptable to the public.

Most 'yacht' clubs did not become 'sailing' clubs, though there are more 'sailing clubs' it would seem than 'yacht' clubs around the country. Boats did not generally become described in the American term of 'sailboats' but remained yachts.

I see no major problem with the term 'yachting' though I understand the sensitivities which surround the different terminology. I have no qualms about admitting that I own a yacht and feel fortunate to do so.

What is of more concern to me is that the sport becomes truly a 'sport for all' and is not riddled with different levels of social strata.

There remains a degree of public perception that sailing is an elitist sport. This has dogged it gaining more general acceptance and bedevilled its reputation.

Sailing, or yachting, should be a 'sport for all' in an island nation where it is based on access to the magnificent resource of waters surrounding us.

The perception of wealthy people with big boats, sitting in clubs behind signs of 'strictly private', is not conducive to creating a widely popular sport. There is a dichotomy here because the growth of interest amongst young sailors, with more involvement in dinghy sailing such as through Optimists, has been encouraging. So has the advent of more interest in schools in adopting sailing onto their sports curricula.

The movement for change within the ISA came initially from the dinghy fraternity, where many of us who now sail cruisers, began their love affair with the sport.

The breakthrough which sailing needs, to gain more general popular public acceptance, has not been made.

People sail boats of all types

Why is this?

Throughout my years of being a marine journalist and when marine correspondent within RTE, it was difficult to get coverage for sailing. I did achieve it, but there was always a bit of a battle to establish acceptance that the sport was not just for the wealthier part of the population, but that it permeated across all social milieu. I did get that message across by quoting figures of how many are actively involved in a day's racing organised by major clubs, compared with the attendance for example at some Irish soccer matches which got plenty of media coverage. I also stressed that it was a participative sport more than a spectator one. More people within the broadcast service have become involved in the sport. But generally in the media, there is still an impression that sailing is a sport for which you need a lot of money and this is perpetuated by the oft-quoted unfortunate analogy of standing under a cold shower and tearing up money.

But sailing – and yacht – clubs are also contributors to this failure to get the message of sailing as a sport for all across. In my experience as a journalist, most clubs are poor at their public relations and the issuing of information to the press, but yet complain that the sport does not get enough coverage, even if they do not provide the information. There are honourable exceptions, who provide good circulation of information and websites, but there are many other clubs who are pretty bad at sending information and whose websites are dismal failures, not updated for long periods of time.

At the annual meeting of the South Coast Offshore Racing Association in Kinsale Yacht Club in the Spring one participant told the audience that "yacht clubs to most people would be the scariest places to walk into."

Another said: "It is no wonder that we struggle as a sport to keep people as lifelong participants, even though we can and do attract younger people into the sport at an early age."

The warning signs have been there for years, for those who wanted to note them. Sailing needed to widen its appeal, to get more people into the sport for lifelong participation.

To survive a sport needs an organised structure and clubs are needed to provide this, they must have members who pay to join and support them. They cannot exist if people use them without joining and therefore not giving on-going financial and volunteer support.

So there is a dichotomy here. Why are clubs not getting enough members, a situation which appears widespread?

The economy over the past few years has undoubtedly been a contributory factor. People have lacked disposable income and, amongst families in particular, expenditure on non-essential matters has had to be cutback. Some clubs have responded with different arrangements for membership, but as I wrote in this blog last week, I still think that new, flexible approaches are needed, particularly to encourage crews, of which most active racing boats are short.

There are also people who sail and who do not join clubs, either they don't want to, or can't or there are not clubs close to them or for whatever reason. But they do sail, are they outside of the system and should they be considered. How can they be appealed to because they are involved in the sport. There are the traditional boats and the huge support they get. Some are members of the ISA, some of clubs, but many not so perhaps. There is a huge level of support for sailing in this sphere and many organised events which draw big support. Should the ISA reach out to these sailors, to this area of sailing activity?

This and many other aspects merit consideration to band together all interested in sailing, in all its facets. United in approach there would be a strong force which official authorities could not ignore when improved facilities and recognition are sought or when government and officialdom has to be challenged, such as in the imposition of new regulations.

On this month's edition of my radio programme, THIS ISLAND NATION, (click to play podcast above) I talked to the President of the Irish Sailing Association about his plan for a Strategic Review of the sport to deal with a decline and he accepted my suggestion that the impression of elitism is not good for the sport and has not helped its expansion and development. We also discussed whether there was too much concentration on racing and whether more support should be given to other forms of sailing, encouraging cruising.

David Lovegrove wants to get across the message that sailing is open to everyone. He would be particularly happy, he told me, if he could get that understood and accepted widely in public. We discussed how sailing can be a sport for all ages and for all people, with the uniqueness of enabling families to participate together if they wished. He recalled the time when he first got involved in sailing and the enjoyment and sense of friendship that abounded. Perhaps too, we agreed, there was less concentration then on being winners in racing and in high performance levels.

Ocean racer Damian Foxall of County Kerry

I think there is a need for Ireland to have a good presence on the international scene and that it is good for the country. It is also good for sailors to aspire to the highest levels of achievement, but have we got over-committed to competition to the detriment of the enjoyment of participation, of being on the water. Had the ISA also been too focussed on its own high performance programme and those who qualify for it and not given enough support to other sailors who may not have made it through the ISA system, but want to try on the international scene and should there be arrangements to support that. Also, for example, has the ISA been close enough to the top international sailors who have come from Ireland and sought to include them and utilise their services in promoting Irish sailing, such as Damian Foxall and Justin Slattery and where is the ISA in regard to the efforts of such as young David Kenefick making his own way onto the international scene through the Figaro Race.

All of these are interesting points to debate.

I take part in club racing, but I always try to make it clear to the crew that we are going out to enjoy ourselves and winning is not the overall aim, though it would be nice and we have been fortunate enough to do so from time-to-time. I don't like shouting on a boat, though sometimes getting something done quickly when needed can raise the vocal level. But if the enjoyment is taken out of the sport, that is not for the best.

All forms of sailing need to be engaged

Again, here we have a dichotomy, other sports are hugely competitive-oriented, why should sailing not be?

There are issues to be addressed and I wish David Lovegrove and his team every success as they try to come up with answers. He told me in our interview, that this would not be a short-term solution, but would take a lot of work and commitment by the clubs themselves. Indeed. As I wrote in this blog last week, encouraging participation is essential to arrest decline. That will mean more innovative ways of involving people, a point which Denis Kiely, who has given tremendous national service to sailing made at that SCORA meeting in Kinsale and which impressed me.

He said that often crews did not get enough of a proper introduction to the sport, didn't have enough knowledge of it and weren't given such, didn't get training, could therefore feel unwelcome and then leave the sport.

Club marinas are pretty full of boats around the country, so it is at times hard to accept that there is a decline in participation, but the meetings which have led to the new approach by the ISA have shown problems, including dissatisfaction with the national association itself. David Lovegrove has accepted this and the need for change.

He spoke to me of his enthusiasm about the work ahead to re-define the sport and his confidence in the team he has appointed to oversee different aspects of the sport and to suggested changes. These are outlined in detail in the current/Summer edition of AFLOAT magazine.

His determination to create a strong, vibrant sport, is welcome. I wish him success with his efforts. Listen to his interview in my programme here on the Afloat website (above). Everyone interested in the future of our sport should respond positively. That commitment is what the sport needs.

So – who is to blame for the decline in sailing – all of us are, if we do not make changes to encourage more people into the sport and to stay in it and if we do not adapt existing systems to ensure they feel welcome. That means all of us who want to see sailing being a sport for all accepting that sailing is just that - a sport - not a badge of social approval.