SAILING: David O'Briencautions against over-regulation of the sport after the recent incident on Dublin Bay.
Almost a month after the massive marine leisure rescue operation at the International Youth Regatta, the implications for sailing remain uncertain.
The largest mobilisation of rescue services for a sailing event since the Fastnet race disaster of 1979 was set off after a squall hit the junior fleet on Dublin Bay, and a number of separate investigations into the incident are continuing, not least one conducted by the host club, the Royal St George.
However, the incident, while it received national and international attention, was not isolated. Greystones Sailing Club had its own afternoon of high drama just one day earlier. Severe squalls hit a fleet of 16 boats, crewed by 30 sailors with an average age of 12. Racing was cancelled, and although all the children were picked up by the club's rescue boats, nine racing dinghies were abandoned. These were later collected by the coast guard.
It serves as a reminder that capsizes and squalls are an integral part of racing. What happened to the fleet in the International Youth Regatta happens regularly in dinghy sailing around these shores. What happened when they came ashore does not.
There has been considerable comment, among sailors at least, that rescue services over-reacted to the situation at Dún Laoghaire and that, left to its own devices, the club would have accounted for all those who put to sea.
There were no casualties.
Equally there have been questions in the media as to how the children were afloat when a Small Craft Warning (SCW) was in operation.
The answer to this question and many more will emerge from the Marine Casualty Investigation Board (MCIB) and Irish Sailing Association (ISA) investigations now under way.
A number of positive outcomes are, however, immediately obvious, not least the ability of two thirds of the youth fleet to make it back ashore unassisted. Life jackets worked, wet suits worked, club patrol boats worked and most importantly, when called for, the emergency plan worked.
If this can be called an over-reaction, it's far preferable that it occurred than any other outcome.
Predictably, perhaps, there have been calls from county council officials for full regulation of water-based events by local authorities.
What is perhaps not quite so obvious at this stage will be the reaction from politicians when the investigation findings are published. There will undoubtedly be some pressure for more regulation of junior sailing, at times when an SCW is in operation. However, any seasoned sailor will testify that centralised forecasting of sea conditions only gives part of an overall picture.
On the Friday of this year's Volvo Dún Laoghaire Regatta, there were six courses in different parts of Dublin Bay.
Even though the bay is only about 10 miles square, some races were shortened because there was too much wind and not enough visibility; at the same time some races could not be started as there was not enough wind.
The decision to run events depends on the forecast, but also on an assessment of local sea conditions, the number of safety boats, quality of radio communications, and the skill of the sailors involved.
Sailing bodies need to point to the track record of the sport as a whole before allowing the authorities to take any action arising out of the youth regatta incident.
The sport itself needs to adapt to show itself capable of learning from such incidents - the Volvo regatta featured a new "sign-in, sign-out" system for all 522 boats, ensuring that organisers had an accurate tally of the numbers of up to 3,500 sailors racing on the bay at any one time.
Information like this could be vital in the event of a sudden change in conditions afloat.
Although some sailors at the Volvo regatta were critical of this innovation, the sport, and all who are devoted to it, cannot be complacent where safety is concerned. Otherwise, it may face the thin end of a regulatory wedge.
One of sailing's greatest attractions lies in its freedom - the freedom of the seas, and of the wind. Recent events may yet prove that the price of this freedom is eternal vigilance.
Laser race win for Tingle
Katie Tingle brought cheer to the Irish camp at the Laser 4.7 European Championships at the National Yacht Club when the 17-year-old Cork sailor won the opening race on the penultimate day of the series, writes David Branigan. The win stands alongside her two previous third places and moves her into 14th overall in the 61-strong women's championship that sails its final two races today. The lead overall has become a Croatian affair with Tajana Ganic taking over the lead from Lina Stock but only after the tie-break split them. Team-mate Antea Kordic holds third place.
In the men's event, former Optimist sailor Yan Chekh from Russia extended his overall lead of the event to a 15-point comfortable though hardly assured lead.
