SAILING:Although participation in winter sailing has reached new heights around Ireland, thanks in part to the convenience of marinas and modern clothing technology, it is the warm waters of Florida that will next see Ireland's best sailors in action.

Next month, Key West will be the epicentre of big-boat racing when hundreds of crews, largely from the US but also from further afield, gather for Acura Race Week.

This is followed by a change in tempo when the combined Olympic fleets gather off Key Biscayne for the Miami Olympic Classes regatta that starts the circuit for these hopefuls in the new year.

The same city then stages the next big series when Miami Race Week, better known for decades as the Southern Ocean Racing Conference (SORC), will gather more of the big-boat racers in a highly competitive series.

This event will be a proving-ground to measure the response of American crews to the migration of the IRC-handicapping system so widely favoured in Europe and other parts of the world that has eclipsed the US IMS system.

Though the uptake of IRC certificates in the US has been relatively modest, it stands poised to become the dominant handicapping system and may even become accepted as a truly global system as a result.

The eastern seaboard events have lured several of Ireland's best known boats to concentrate their competition for at least the beginning of the coming season.

Irish Cruiser Racing Association Boat of the Year Chieftain is already en route, and marks the next phase of skipper Ger O'Rourke's highly competitive campaign with the Cookson 50.

Also of note is Colm Barrington and Magic Glove. Following the saga of the Commodore's Cup last summer, he has already made his intentions clear. Recognising the growing popularity of the IRC system in the US, his new year will start at Key West and progress north to all the major regattas before heading west for the famous San Francisco Big Boat series.

Meanwhile, the Irish Sailing Association have announced that Carmel Winkelmann is the 2007 Volunteer of the Year. Her commitment has spanned 50 years, and quite apart from her race officer duties at Dublin Bay Sailing Club, several generations of young sailors owe their enjoyment to "Aunty Carmel's" enthusiasm and support.

Sadly, another figurehead of the sport will not be attending the ISA National Conference & Awards Dinner in February for her presentation.

Veteran from the 1948 and 1952 Olympic Games, Alf Delaney passed away Wednesday. He will be long-remembered for his active involvement in sailing right up until recently.