SAILING/Round Ireland Race: Slightly later than tradition, the epic circumnavigation that combines competition with adventure is set for the off tomorrow afternoon when the starting-gun is fired for the BMW Round Ireland Race at Wicklow Sailing Club.
In the build-up, it seemed a fleet of 45 boats would start the 704-mile offshore classic, but an unprecedented number of withdrawals, mostly due to gear failures, have left the likely starting number at 39 boats, still a healthy turn-out.
Peculiarly, this race is likely to be the longest yet fastest since the first course was sailed in 1980. Longest - in terms of boat length - and fastest (possibly) given the variety of speed machines entered.
The weather will as always have its say in the distribution of luck, but forecast models suggest moderate breezes that may allow a fast spinnaker leg as far as the Fastnet Rock. But if that sounds like good news for those crews which got a good old thumping off Wicklow Head in 2004 in the roughest start for the race, an upwind slog along the west coast may be in store.
Such a forecast might normally end any predictions of a course record, but this year the biggest yacht ever has entered. Stuart Thwaites has shipped his 98-foot super-maxi Konica Minolta to Europe for the summer season, and took up the idea of entering this race by Ger O'Rourke when both were in Australia for last year's Sydney Hobart Race.
But there are plenty of other "have-a-go" campaigns lining up.
Class Super Zero is stuffed with boats of around 60 feet, including the official Round Ireland record holder JP Chomette on City Jet Solune, who followed his unsuccessful challenge in this race two years ago with a dedicated attempt last year that brought about a record.
Last year saw Dave Nixon and a Howth YC team sail O2 Team Spirit, and this boat returns again sailing as Spirit of Kilrush, which indicates huge growth of interest from the western seaboard.
But the Round Ireland is not just about the celebrated big boats that achieve line honours and possibly a record.
Determined to keep this event aimed squarely at the accomplished club sailor, racing under IRC handicap opens up the possibility of an overall win for a smaller, less glamourous entry.
The majority of the fleet fall under such a category, and choosing from various offshore veterans is tough. But watch out for George Radley's refitted veteran Imp from Cork, or Aodhan Fitzgerald's Ireland's West.
Fitzgerald sailed the last race in the new two-handed division, which will be sailed again this year but is suffering from a clash with the Round Britain and Ireland Race.
Last year Eamon Crosbie and his tough crew on Calyx Voice & Data took on the big boys in their new 32-footer in a tremendous performance given the rough conditions.
And in 2002, Eric Lisson's Grenada 38 Cavatina from the Royal Cork Yacht Club persevered to the end, sailing to the boat's and crew's best ability.
Both past winners are sailing tomorrow, but if predictions are called for then an each way option of sorts is needed. Enter O'Rourke and his now crack squad from Limerick on their well-proven Cookson 50-footer Altana Chieftain and its powerful canting keel.
With a class win in the Sydney Hobart plus a sparkling performance in the recent IRC British Nationals, the west looks set to wake the rest when the first boats complete the course, possibly as early as next Tuesday.
