SAILING: Royal Cork's Mark Mansfield and Killian Collins have replaced the Bermudan pair of Peter Bromby and Martin Siese in third place in the Star keelboat world rankings after their result in the European Championship in October.
The International Sailing Federation's (ISAF's) final ranking of 2002 is encouraging for many of the Irish Olympic sailing team, whose sports council funding is linked to the ranking ladders.
Both Mansfield and Collins, and Maria Coleman - each ranked third in the world - will qualify for world class one funding of up to €30,500.
There is no Irish sailor ranked World Class two (four to eight in rankings or World Championships). However, Max Tracey and Anthony Shanks in the Star, along with Tom Fitzpatrick and Frazer Brown in the 49er dinghy (ranked 10th and 14th respectively), share World Class three (nine to 19 in rankings or worlds) funding of up to €19,100 each.
David Burrows also qualifies as World Class three based on his performance in the 2002 World Championships, where he finished 14th.
The two Finn sailors, Aaron O'Grady and Youen Jacob, are ranked as international sailors (top 60, or top 40 at worlds) and, along with 470 sailors Gerbil Owens and Ross Killian, will receive funding of up to €11,500 each.
In the Laser class, Rory Fitzpatrick will qualify for developmental funding as he is ranked in the top 100 (74) and is under-23 years of age. Russell McGovern will qualify as the number one ranked Laser sailor in Ireland.
Staying with Olympic sailing, this column sadly reports the sudden death of the 1972 Olympian Kevin MacLaverty (1936-2002), in early December.
Kevin, a naval architect, originally from Belfast, moved to Donegal in the late 1970s and was a founder member of Moville Boat Club. He was a leader in the dinghy revolution of the 1970s that did so much to develop Irish sailing.
Elsewhere, in Australia, at the end of his first year as a sailing professional, Cork's Maurice O'Connell has signed up to race the 2002 Sydney-Hobart race aboard Howard De Torres' IMX 40, Nip n' Tux.
O'Connell joined the crew for a pre-race warm-up event and the boat leads the Telstra British Trophy inshore series. Nip n' Tux has scored two firsts and two thirds in the IMS division after four races.
Although sailing on one of the smallest boats in the fleet, O'Connell says his new-found crew are both tough and talented. The 650-mile ocean classic gets underway on St Stephen's Day. Full race details are available on www.rolexsydneyhobart.com.au.
Staying in Sydney, the designer of the high speed International 49er dinghy Julian Bethwaite has produced a new design of trapeze harness for dinghy sailors in the wake of an alarming number of fatal accidents that have been attributed to the conventional trapeze hook attaching itself to the boat or rigging.
Whether his new design is a breakthrough remains to be seen but, as he points out, the hook is only one aspect of safety in high-performance dinghy sailing. Care also needs to be taken with buckles, laces, sheet tails and ill-fitting life-jackets
Dublin Bay Sailing Club's first ever winter handicap series, which ran over seven weekends and attracted 20 entries, finished last Sunday.
There was a variety of courses sailed from the outfall around the Muglins, with Owen O'Driscoll's Kernach winning. Jabberwocky, helmed by Tim Costello, was second, and Jim Ryan's Albatross from Poolbeg Yacht Club was third.
The popularity of the Turkey Shoot series has prompted DBSC to stage a Bunny Run spring series from February 2nd to March 9th.
