There was a squall of sailors this week at the Old Jameson Distillery in Smithfield. They rolled up to the door in the morning to hear who was the 2001 Cork Dry Gin Sailor of the Year. Roy Dickson, a company director from Sutton, who is the skipper and owner of Cracklin' Rosie, was named sailor of the month for last September, partly in recognition of his victory in the Fastnet Race last August.
October's sailor award went to Paddy Barry, who was leader of the Northwest Passage expedition from Ireland last year. The voyage took them across the Atlantic, up to the coast of Greenland, along the coast of Canada and Alaska, breaking through the ice in the Northabout, a 50-foot sailing vessel of aluminium made in Knock, Co Mayo, especially for the historic voyage. The boat is currently moored in Nome, Alaska, said Berry. The eight-man crew plans to go to the Pacific in June and after that "we could go anywhere", said the sailor who works with Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council.
Last year's recipient of the award, David Burrows, who happens to be the son of Richard Burrows, managing director of the Groupe Pernod Ricard, was ready to hand over the title. The trainee accountant won two Olympic races in Sydney and finished ninth overall in the Finn class. Did he miss the full-time demands of sailing and training? Yes, he said wistfully.
Then the overall winner of 2001 was announced and the male-dominated sport paid homage to this year's Cork Dry Gin Sailor of the Year: Maria Coleman, from Baltimore, Co Cork. Having just flown in from Miami, where she finished third in an Olympic regatta, she's off over the coming months for championships in the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, France and Canada, bringing her 12-foot boat, The Europe, with her each time.