Reilly eyes course record for Slade maxi

SAILING/ROUND IRELAND RACE: With just over three months before the 704-mile Round Ireland Race gets underway from Wicklow Sailing Club, entry-levels are off to an unusually keen start. In other years, perhaps a handful of crews might have been finalising campaigns at this time of year but already several key entries have been confirmed.

At last week's IMF Dublin Boat Show at the RDS, details of the largest ever yacht to compete in the race were announced by Sligo Yacht Club's Martin Reilly. At 92 feet, Londoner Mike Slade's maxi is already bigger than any previous entry and will eventually become 105 feet prior to her Irish charter after returning from wintering in the Caribbean.

Irish Whitbread veteran Joe English will skipper the entry, as yet unsponsored, for the race with a mixture of Sligo YC sailors and Slade's regular crew. The campaign will be based at Dún Laoghaire's new marina prior to the race start on Saturday, June 22nd, before leaving for Wicklow where the boat's deep draft would be too deep for the port there to rally with the other entries.

Reilly's objective is an attempt on Colm Barrington's course record and race handicap victory on board Whitbread 60-footer Jeep Cherokee in 1998.

It is unclear whether the Royal Irish YC record holder will defend his title though regular crew-mates have suggested that such a campaign would only be decided closer to the race start.

Meanwhile, previous regular entries such as Roy Dickson's Cracklin' Rosie is another entry. The Howth boat has been in close contention on several occasions in recent races only to be defeated by wind or tides on the final approaches to the Wicklow finish. However, at 40 feet overall, she is ideally sized for an attempt on the primary trophy for the race for the fastest boat on corrected handicap (IRC) time.

Also back in the fray will be the Irish Air Corps who last sailed in 1998.

Previous skipper Commdt Tom O'Connor will be navigating the 40-foot entry that will be skippered by Lieut Mick Liddy. The nine-strong team have been drawn from the fixed-wing and helicopter sections of the SAR (Search and Rescue) service including mixed ranks of pilots and air-crew.

Their team has been given the free use of Xerces by owner Dan O'Neill of the RIYC and the crew plans to use their circumnavigation as a fund-raiser for Our Lady's Hospital for Sick Children, Crumlin. General campaign costs will be funded by the sailors own resources while title sponsorship and other revenue will be donated in full to the hospital.

Training commences today with a full meeting of the team to plan regular Dublin Bay Sailing Club racing to familiarise themselves with Xerces before undertaking a number of ISORA offshore races in preparation for the main event.

Meanwhile, as interest in offshore sailing appears to be under going a rebirth in Ireland, the full line-up of the SCORA (South Coast Offshore Racing Association) team for the Commodore's Cup this August is expected to be confirmed in the coming days.

Led by Donal McClement, the SCORA interest in this stepping stone event to Admiral's Cup lies in stark contrast to the east coast where most interest appears to be focused entirely on hosting the latter event in 2003.