Sailing Round-upIrish Paralympic sailor John Twomey has been injured in an on-the-water collision but continues to race in the World Disabled Sailing Championships in Perth and yesterday scored 12th and eighth in the opening rounds.
Kinsale's Twomey, with crew Brian O'Mahony and Anthony Hegarty, were training in their Sonar keelboat in advance of the 2006 championships when they were involved in a port and starboard incident with an American competitor.
The Irish boat was on a starboard tack and had right of way, according to Twomey, an Irish Sonar and Dragon champion. He received stitches to his right arm, muscle damage and severe bruising.
Damage to the Irish boat was a foot from the stern, just above the waterline, leaving a 12-inch-diameter hole in the hull that had been shipped from Cork to Australia specially for the event. Emergency repairs had the fibreglass boat fixed in time for the regatta.
The Irish trio are in Perth with the second Sonar team of Paul McCarthy, Paul Ryan and Chris Thomas, all Kinsale Yacht Club members, to secure a place for Ireland at the 2008 Paralympics.
Fifteen teams are confirmed for tomorrow's Leinster Schools' Championships at the Royal St George Yacht Club in Dún Laoghaire.
Last year's hosts, Gorey Community College, are sending three teams to join a comprehensive line-up of Dublin schools including Malahide, Skerries, Belvedere, Gonzaga, St Andrew's and Loreto colleges.
The top four teams will represent the region at the Irish Schools' Sailing Championships at Schull Community College in April.
The Royal Yachting Association (RYA) are in Irish waters next month to address a shortage of race judges and host a training course at Howth Yacht Club on February 11th and 12th.
The course is intended to improve standards of judging at all levels and to formalise the structure of a national judge qualification programme.
Race judge trainer Chris Watts will present the course, assisted by the Irish Sailing Association's (ISA) Bill O'Hara.
Places are limited and will be allocated on a "first-come first-served" basis. Judges interested in attending are requested to contact the ISA.
As part of their 50-year celebrations, Tralee Bay Sailing Club (TBSC) at Fenit on the Dingle peninsula are hosting a number of significant fixtures.
WIORA (West Ireland Offshore Racing Association) week returns to the club for four days of racing, hosted from June 21st24th. In July the club host the Mirror Munster Championships and in August the Fireball National Championships.
TBSC have over 500 members, with on average 50 dinghies and 25 keelboats or cruisers berthed in nearby Fenit Harbour Marina.
The club have their own sailing school and last year 300 children and adults learned how to sail in Tralee Bay.
