In spite of a satisfaction rating of 83 per cent for traditional starts from Dun Laoghaire's West pier, Dublin Bay Sailing Club will commission a new committee boat for floating starts next season that will include five new bay marks, offering up to 18 course varieties for one of Europe's biggest yacht racing clubs.
Primarily the aim is to relieve congestion on midweek starting lines and to allow race officers more flexibility to redesign courses and also to shorten races in dying summer winds.
The committee boat will also eliminate problems encountered by keelboat classes that have gone aground in pre-start sequences caused by silt-ups.
The decision to introduce this and other innovations in the club's 117th season follows the findings of a survey of its 1,100 members. The full findings are on the club's website at www.dbsc.org.
Elsewhere, an ISA tribunal into the circumstances surrounding the retirement of Lobster from the 2000 Round Ireland race has accepted the explanation of skipper Gary Horgan
The tribunal, the first of its kind, heard that on the second day of the race, one of two fan belts broke on board the yacht. Horgan, concerned that Lobster would have no auxiliary power in an emergency if the remaining fan belt failed, arranged for a replacement fan belt to be brought out to his boat along the south coast.
Under the Round Ireland rules, once a yacht starts the race it is not allowed to receive outside assistance, but when help is received it is normal practice to advise the race committee which in turn may impose a time penalty.
Lobster completed the race and Horgan signed a declaration form but omitted details of receiving the fan belt. On August 28th, Horgan wrote to Wicklow Sailing Club and advised them of the incident and the following day again wrote to the club to apologise and retire his boat from the race.
An ISA statement said that in considering the incident, the tribunal took into account Horgan's letters and noted that his main concern in arranging for the fan belt was one of safety.
The ISA statement added that although a full declaration should have been made, it accepted Horgan's explanation and has determined that no further action is appropriate.
The number of challengers for the America's Cup has grown to four with defending syndicate the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron formally accepting Dennis Conner's New York Yacht Club challenge.
Other challenges so far have come from Italy's Punta Ala Yacht Club, the Seattle Yacht Club of the United States and the Societe Nautique de Geneve of Switzerland.
