Dún Laoghaire event 'something for everyone'

SAILING: With last week's Dublin Boat Show hailed by industry representatives as one of the best for the marine leisure sector, attention now turns towards the summer season, which is also set to be one of the busiest.

The second staging of the combined regattas that forms the Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta in mid-July is in advanced planning following extensive consultations over the past 18 months. With funding secured, attention has switched to building the entry list from 400 boats to a fleet that could see 600 compete over the four-day series.

A fundamental ingredient is ensuring "something for everyone", a lesson taken from the Royal Cork Yacht Club's model event that is Cork Week.

In broad terms, this means delivering programmes for the "white sails" crew, another for the serious club racing crew while also appealing to the "exotic", all-out racers.

"The 'white sails' division is a great entry into racing with the option of further involvement for the beginner," Phil Smith of the organising committee told The Irish Times. "Equally it can be an exit level for more experienced, serious sailors who want to wind down a little."

Evidence that the new division is filling a gap can be seen from the Murphy & Gunn Spring Chicken Sunday morning series that regularly achieves turnouts of 50 boats or more, in turn delivering a crowd several hundred strong to the National Yacht Club after racing.

However, the majority of participants will feature in the club racing classes that will be spread around seven separate course areas in 26 individual classes.

"The size of the fleet and quality of racing is the main appeal for the club sailors who can also race alongside the serious hot-shots," says Smith.

The exotics have already started showing interest. While the Transpac 52 racing fleet will be concentrated in the Mediterranean for the Breitling MedCup series, as many as three of these Grand Prix yachts are reported to be preparing to enter the Dún Laoghaire event.

The event has been timed to complement rather than compete with the biennial Cork Week, but parallels have also been made with Cowes.

Ashore, filling the long Dún Laoghaire waterfront and its four large clubs, its marina that is undergoing extension to 830-berths, well-serviced public transport and ferry links plus numerous bars and restaurants will be a task in itself even with several thousand competitors.

Organisers predict 75,000 people will attend over the four days, while as many as seven countries are also confirmed when the Ecover Half Ton Cup championship is included.