Sailing: With last weekend's finale to the Olympus Autumn League at Howth and this weekend marked by the conclusion to the October Series at Crosshaven, attention has turned in earnest towards 2004, considerably earlier than usual.

Two significant factors have combined to bring this about and Irish sailing stands on the cusp of an exciting period of development.

The principal development is the formation of the Irish Cruiser Racing Association (ICRA), which will act as an umbrella body for all cruiser-racer owners and their representatives in the country.

The ICRA anticipates combining all the major cruiser-racer divisions under a single-event banner annually to stage national championship for the first time. Proposals to be considered include staging the first of these championships in Howth in 2004, possibly in May, with the 2005 event being held as part of Sovereign's Week at Kinsale.

All of these issues and more will come before an open meeting of the ICRA at the Newpark Hotel, Kilkenny, on November 29th to consider: a) the promotion and development of the national championships, b) the presentation of the selection details for the Irish teams to participate in next year's Commodore's Cup, and c) a presentation by a number of leading yacht designers of their current designs, followed by a panel discussion with Mike Urwin from the IRC rating office.

Meanwhile, last weekend's conclusion to the Autumn League at Howth saw an unprecedented level of satisfaction amongst owners, particularly amongst the big boats of class zero. Although the majority of boats ranged in size from 38 to 45 feet overall, the state-of-the-art, Jason Kerr-designed Voodoo Chile swept the boards.

Entries in this class totalled close to 20 boats, and domestic fleets of this size and enthusiasm haven't been seen in Ireland in 10 years, and, until this season, it has been dominated by Colm Barrington's line of one-off racers.

However, 2003 saw strong challenges to his reign, firstly from Galway's John Killeen on Nimmo, who won at Sovereign's Week, and then last weekend from Eamon Crosbie on Voodoo Chile.

"This has been the best event this year and we got beaten by a well sailed, better boat," Barrington told The Irish Times. "It's a bit like we were four years ago ­ we were the new technology then, they are now."

The Royal Irish YC skipper confirmed that Gloves Off is on the market, and while a replacement is understood to be planned, speculation is rife as to whether John Corby will retain the design brief against Jason Kerr's rising star.

Looking to next season, Nimmo's owner, John Killeen, is enthusiastic. "We've had a good year, nine events, and this was the best ever," he said. "We have to bring sailing up to a professional standard and the Cork Week organisational structure should be repeated around the coast."

Killeen welcomes the formation of the ICRA and also predicts further growth on the west coast as a result. Next season could see more new cruiser-racers on Galway Bay, and he also predicts a marina will be in place in the area within a few years.