A raft of gatherings over the coming weeks will set much of the scene for next year’s domestic sailing season. And as is customary, the front-loading of the programme together with overlaps and conflicting regattas delivers an own-goal for the sport.
First up this weekend is the Irish Sea Offshore Racing Association, which has been enjoying a revival thanks to dynamic leadership.
Competitors had a choice of 10 races from May to September, with the overall winner decided on best results from five races, of which three must be from key designated courses.
The formula is attracting crews from both sides of the Irish Sea and a small armada of boats to ports throughout the summer months.
Compete in
Crucially, the ISORA formula permits crews to select which races to compete in, while also looking at non-ISORA events, most of which will be staged in the first half of the season and are recommended by the organisation.
Next weekend, the Irish Cruiser Racing Association (ICRA) will hold its annual conference at the Royal Irish Yacht Club. Amongst the topics will be next year’s programme, America’s Cup foiling techniques, as well as session with Philip Bendon, who led Irish Team to success at the European Youth Match Racing Championships.
And like ISORA, the ICRA leaders are also commending significant events to skippers and crews of boats from around the country, a potential combined participation of several thousand sailors.
And herein lies the bugbear for so many skippers and crew organisers: there is a finite amount of days the amateur sailor can commit to each year and loading up the time-demanding commitment that comes with crewing means something has to give somewhere.
In June alone, the national championships will be held from the 13th to the 15th, just two weeks before the Round Ireland Race. Many will be forced to choose between the two.
Cork Week
And soon after the Round Ireland, the venerable if emaciated Cork Week will be staged in Crosshaven, where recent years suggest an upturn in demand from domestic crews who appreciate the event for its true spirit.
Meanwhile, back at sea, barely a week after starting the Transat Jacques Vabre off Le Havre, the leading multihulls are preparing to cross the notorious Doldrums zone north of the Equator this weekend.
Ireland’s Damian Foxall, co-skipper to Sidney Gavignet on Oman Air Musandam is locked in a match-race with rival Multi-One Design (MOD) entry Groupe Edmund de Rothschild at the front of the fleet.
A total of 44 boats in four classes started the 5,450 nautical mile course to Itajai, all racing two-handed as they trace the historic coffee route between France and Brazil.
