SAILING: Although the 1720 keelboat is out of Dublin Bay Sailing Club's programme due to lack of mid-week numbers, and the traditional Mermaid class appears also in decline, there are reasons to be cheerful, not least the formation of two new national classes this season, both with their roots in Dublin Bay.

Irish and British skippers are working in tandem to form separate but identical Beneteau 31.7 owners' associations following the growth of the one-design cruiser-racer over the past four seasons.

And in a second brave initiative, a band of Dublin sailors have introduced the three-man Etchells keelboat to Ireland, which featured in this column in January, and have announced the first Etchells Irish national championships in August.

Now, the eight-man Beneteau, with 40 of the French designs racing nationally, are following suit and the aim is to organise one-design racing for what class officials say is the "only modern" cruiser-racer on the market.

It's a point well made in the Dublin Bay and Howth areas, where 22 of the Finot/Conq designs are based.

Previous to the French arrival the choice was the smaller Puppeteer or Ruffian and, more recently, the Sigma 33. But none of these designs, despite healthy fleet sizes, are in commercial production, whereas the 31.7 is the product of one of the world's largest yacht builders.

Undoubtedly, the successful promotion by the Irish Beneteau distributor BJ Marine, who, in 1999, saw the gap in the Irish market for such a cruiser-racer design, was a leg-up for the new class.

But it was the boat's on-course prowess, however, when she competed as part of a class II handicap fleet, that really started to turn heads.

Now the Beneteau owners have formed a class association, and the challenge is to stage its inaugural national championships this season. More details on 087 938 0555.

In the smaller classes, work continues apace at Lough Derg for the staging of at least one of six European championships being held in Ireland this year.

The freshwater venue will play host to the Waterways Ireland Mirror European championship in July.

Finally, the ISA is seeking to appoint a racing manager to develop the sport of competitive sailing. Details of the full-time position are on www.sailing.ie