SAILING:THE OCEAN Youth Trust (OYT) is to hold an investigation into the sinking of its only sail training vessel, the 70-foot ketch the Lord Rank on Wednesday. The ketch, crewed by a qualified skipper, hit rocks off the North Antrim Coast. The three crew and three passengers were rescued by lifeboat. The yacht sank hours afterwards during a salvage operation.
A statement issued by the trust’s chief executive, Bronagh Cappa, said an investigation is now underway into the circumstances of the incident and OYT cannot comment further until that is concluded. The loss of the ship compounds the problem for Irish sailing training as it follows the sinking of Asgard II in the Bay of Biscay in September 2008 and leaves Ireland without any sail-training vessel.
Wednesday’s accident also follows the loss of another Irish 70-foot yacht, the Clipper Round the World Race yacht, Cork, which hit rocks in Indonesian waters in January.
This week’s investigation will reveal how the vessel grounded in its home waters.
On the Olympic circuit this week, some fine individual race performances by Irish sailors in Russia and Italy belie current overall mid-fleet positions.
In Villareggio, Italy, there are two Irish Star keelboats competing in a 132-boat fleet. Both Peter O’Leary and David Burrows, sailing together for the first time, and Max Treacy and Anthony Shanks are mid-fleet in a regatta that runs until Sunday. After a poor start Treacy and Shanks scored a fourth in Wednesday’s race to be the Irish highlight so far.
In Tallinn, Estonia, Annalise Murphy has been leading several races at the European Laser Radial Championships. A win in race six saw the Dún Laoghaire sailor move to 17th overall in the 81-boat fleet and assured her of gold fleet status on the Baltic sea.
Northern Ireland’s Debbie Hanna and Tiffany Brien are also racing in the event that concludes this evening.
One Irish entry in the Commodores’ Cup rather than two now appears likely, although the Irish Cruiser Racer Association (ICRA) has long believed two teams would considerably increase Irish chances of success.
The Cork Harbour team of Antix (Anthony O’Leary), Marinerscove (Dave Dwyer), and Roxy 6 (Rob Davies) is nevertheless a strong one.
With just two months to go to the 10th edition of the biennial Rolex Commodores’ Cup, the international fleet has every prospect of being one of the more exotic in recent events – a noteworthy success in these straightened times.
The headline contingent is perhaps South Africa, participating at the regatta for the first time. Hong Kong has confirmed it will be back following its happy venture in 2008 and with Cork’s Jamie McWilliam as team captain.
Northern European teams Ireland, France and the United Kingdom, which are the traditional backbone of the event, will all be present. The Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC) anticipates a total of 12 teams at Cowes, where racing takes place from August 15th to 21st.
Two British teams have been announced. The British go into the race as defending champions, with GBR Red holding the 2008 title. GBR Red will comprise White Heat (King 40), Quokka 8 (Grand Soleil 43) and Premier Flair (Elan 410). GBR White’s line-up is: Alice II (Farr 45), La Reponse (Beneteau First 40) and No Chance (Beneteau First 35).
