Sailing Weekly column: Plans for the 2004 sailing season are at an advanced stage on both sides of the Atlantic in what looks to be a year for keelboat racing. The newly-formed Irish Cruiser Racing Association will hold an open forum in Kilkenny next weekend while a new 3,300-mile race from Baltimore, Maryland, to Baltimore, Cork, has also been announced.
The format for the ICRA conference at the Newpark Hotel on Saturday 29th November has tapped into a rich vein of popular support that has also found interest from industry leaders. Three of the most innovative naval architects will be in attendance, along with rating office delegates and sailmakers.
The ICRA's momentum can be attributed to a long-standing absence of truly national co-ordination of the various keelboat fleets around the coast and, thankfully, the perceived Cork-Dublin divide now appears relegated to friendly bar-stool banter.
The format for the day centres on the organisation's structure and the inaugural national championships to be staged in Howth on 14-16 May 2004 and which will then rotate to Kinsale in 2005.
The afternoon will switch the focus to future developments and in particular design and handicapping issues. Rival designers John Corby and Jason Kerr from Cowes, along with Wicklow-based Mark Mills, will be joined by Mike Irwin from the Royal Ocean Racing Club's Rating Office in Lymington and each will each make a short presentation. UK McWilliam and North Sails will also attend as sponsors along with Afloat magazine, BJ Marine, Matthews Chandlery, Viking Marine and X-Yachts.
Registration for the conference begins at 10 a.m. and organisers have requested an advance indication of likely numbers to assist the venue.
Meanwhile, the organisers of the Volvo Ocean Race stop-over at Baltimore, Maryland, have announced a major new event to begin on May 30th next. The St Brendan's Cup is supported by Fáilte Ireland and is aimed at boats of 45 feet and over that will race to Ireland and organisers are eyeing the event as a feeder for the Round Ireland Race and Cork Week later in the summer.
A future event in 2007 is intended to link to the next America's Cup, for which the new venue will be announced next week. The list of potential venues has been slimmed to three contenders in France, Portugal and Spain, with the latter widely tipped as favourite thanks to the patronage of King Juan Carlos.
The St Brendan's Cup envisages a "Dublin Bucket" for maxi-sized super-yachts and among the first entries is Jim Muldoon's 73-footer Donnybrook. The event will support charities at both venues, with Baltimore Lifeboat the beneficiary in Ireland.
