O'Rourke steps up in style

SAILING: Barely a year ago, this column reported on the latest and greatest yacht to arrive on the Irish scene, delivering headlines along the theme of "the west's awake" as Eamon Conneely's Transpac 52 Patches prepared to launch.

Although known to be in the pipeline for the past year, the west coast's outbreak of cutting-edge racing yachts continues as 2006 opens with Limerick's contribution to the national fleet. Ger O'Rourke has switched his Beneteau 40.7 up to a Cookson 50-footer that has already scalped its first victory at the prestigious Sydney Hobart Race recently.

Just 12 months ago, O'Rourke accepted an invitation to race with builder Mick Cookson on the first of his new generation of yachts. "I was honoured to be asked and just humbled to be sitting on the rail with five America's Cup sailors," he said this week.

With the weight of the canting keel, six crew are replaced, and it's even possible to sail with just this number, thus fulfilling one of O'Rourke's objectives in ordering the construction of the boat.

An intensive schedule of regattas and races this season will place huge demands on regular crew, so a smaller complement on board will be easier to manage.

"I wanted to go further afield and offshore, but faster too. But this is still a cruiser racer and there are more facilities on board than on my previous boat," he said, dispelling any notions the Cookson is a stripped-out racer.

Keeping close to his intended Corinthian campaign, just one professional sailor will be on board, and O'Rourke has secured Jochim Visser, with his extensive background in canting keel boats, to race with his crew.

After the 2,600-nautical mile delivery from Auckland last August to the Hamilton Island Race Week, where he finished fifth overall, O'Rourke was able to cruise the Whit-Sunday Island's with just three on board.

At 50 feet overall, the canting keel bonus delivers an IRC handicap of 1.312, which should place it between the older Farr 52-footers and the Transpac 52s.

The first test closer to home will be the Red Funnel Regatta in April. The Solent event is intended as a shake-down regatta for the Irish crew.

The plan is for a mixture of offshore, plus some "round the cans" racing, beginning with the ICRA National Championships in May, the British IRC National the following month, while the Limerick boat will sail as Altana Pharma Chieftain for the BMW Round Ireland Race in July.

The excitement of the Sydney Hobart class win has delivered an early boost to the campaign.

"Crossing the line on the helm, both at the start and the finish, I thought to myself, 'I'm one lucky fella, sailing my own boat, with my own crew, in one of the greatest offshore races in the world'."