Bourke holds his nerve

Sailing 1720 European ChampionshipAustralian Glenn Bourke restarts his day job in Southampton this morning with the major announcement of the new Volvo One-design rule for the next round-the-world race, in 2005.

The former triple Laser world champion and past match-racing world champion (four times) also succeeded in winning the Fáilte Ireland 1720 European Championship on Saturday in a well-contested 11-race series.

Having led from the outset, Brian Lennon and Roger Cagney's Howth entry Hibernian appeared on course for victory with three races remaining on Saturday. A slip in the first race saw Bourke's Yachts and Yachting take a narrow lead. The tables turned once more and a 10-point lead for the Irish boat seemed unassailable going into the last race.

Hibernian's helm Tim Powell could not have believed his misfortune in the final: buried at the start and then on the wrong end of the line for the first wind-shift on the upwind leg. By the final leg, Lennon and Cagney could see the championship slip from their grasp with the gut-wrenching feeling that comes with a 27th place in a series where a typical race would have provided a win or top-three finish.

Bourke finished seventh, which was enough to win the championship with three points to spare over the Howth boat.

Defending title-holder Des Faherty on Aquatack was third overall with Mel Collins at the helm. World match-racing champion Chris Law, racing Tom and John Murphy's Peugeot Motocycles, ended fifth overall but speculated that had the jury not disqualified them from race seven for failing to take a penalty turn in time they would have finished second overall.