Irish Dragons on fire

IRISH sailors were celebrating this week after a weekend of victories and high placings at two important events in Britain. The results could mark a new trend where Irish boats are competing with increased frequency - and better pay-off's - in Ireland's nearest neighbour's waters.

Robin Hennessy and Des Cummins' Water Rat defeated 31 other boats to win the UK South Coast Dragon Championship where all the best home sailors were in action. The event provided an ideal shake-down at the start of the season and the win is a welcome boost for prospects later in the summer.

It was also Water Rat's first away outing and the new boat was aided by a new suit of sails from crewman and sailmaker Philip Watson's Dublin loft.

The three-day event enjoyed a full range of conditions from medium breeze up to 30 knots and the three man team are bullish for the coming months' racing.

Other Irish boats competing also picked off top results at the event. The John Lavery, Paul Maguire and Geoff Chadwick-partnered Das Boot took second overall and also counted a first place in one race. Mick Cotter's Whisper was unable to complete the three-way hat-trick in spite of the presence on board of current Irish champions Simon and Mark Brien but still finished fifth overall.

The Royal Irish Yacht Club hosts the Dragon Gold Cup on Dublin Bay in mid July and these early results are viewed positively both as an indicator of form and the healthy state of the national fleet. The Hennessy-Cummins boat had been holding sixth over-all in the last event but had to pull out due a family bereavement, while Cotter finished best of the national fleet and included a win in one race.

Vinny Hoescht was the 1996 winner, although Denmark's Pol Ricard Hoj-Jensen remains outright favourite for the title. Hoescht's tactics, however, are causing some concern among the Irish sailors. The German skipper chose two 15-stone crewmen to beef up his weight advantage in very un-Dragon-like spirit.

Meanwhile, on Derwent Reservoir near Newcastle Upon Tyne, Gerbil Owens and Rebecca Killian won the British Mirror Inland Championship in their third outing in the new MMI Flashpoint V. The boat has been built specially for the World Championship in Canada and the Dun Laoghaire pair beat the British and European Champions. The victory is a first for the Irish Mirror class.

In another strong showing, third place went to Max Treacy and Nickic Craig just behind Robert Shaw of Sunderland. The third Irish boat finished 12th overall in an uncharacteristic result for Ross Killian who was sailing a new Mirror and crew. Thirty-four boats competed in total and a full range of conditions, including 40 knot squalls on Sunday for the finals, prevailed throughout the five-race event.

Further west on the Irish Sea, the ISORA fleet held their first race of the season from Wicklow to Pwehlli, Wales. Garreth Evans Corwynt Ill emerged overall winner while Adrian Lee's Sigma 400 Janey Mac took fourth.