Busy weekend on Dublin Bay as crews return

SAILING: In a peak-season weekend, every available space on Dublin Bay will be in use as a host of championships get under way, marking the return from holidays of many racing crews.

Competition generally gets hotter about now anyway as crew work and boat-handling becomes more efficient but after last week's Commodores' Cup in Cowes, some boats may have an added edge after a bruising nine-race series there.

Dublin Bay Sailing Club's annual Bank of Scotland series already has 56 entries, not quite last year's record of 63 boats though several more are on the cards. The event is aimed at larger keelboats of the zero, one, two and Sigma 33 one-design fleets. It is arguably at the pinnacle of domestic inshore racing competition and in the absence of a middle ground event, the next level is the Cowes event just ended.

Three boats entered this weekend can, however, bear testimony to the real gulf that exists between the two events in terms of standards. Colm Barrington's Gloves Off has always led its field in the Irish Sea region and is again in action this weekend following its delivery from the south coast of England. Its team performed with some distinction, ending sixth though easily capable of fourth or better.

The Ireland Green team-members Cracklin' Rosie from Howth and Dun Laoghaire's White Knuckles 2 are also expected for the DBSC event.

A disappointing 11th overall belied their true result, marginally better, of 10th as they beat the Belgian side on the water.

After a week of aggressive and no-holds-barred international competition on the Solent, it will be interesting to see these teams sailing in home waters against their regular domestic counterparts.

Red faces and blooded oilskins may have abounded for the last-placed team at Cowes but the experience these crews received will far outweigh any embarrassment from having made the leap to at least try racing at the next level.

But for this weekend, expect plenty of tight racing at the front end of each class as the Cruiser Challenge marks the penultimate event before the Autumn Leagues start and season scores are settled for another year.

Also switching from Cowes to Dublin Bay are a number of J24 sailors. Olympic coach and 1720 national champion Maurice O'Connell is one of a host of Irish crew competing in the Alfa Romeo-sponsored European Championship that runs from next Monday to Friday at the Royal Irish Yacht Club and a practice race precedes the 10-race series on Sunday morning.

The Cork sailor sailed as tactician last week on Chernikeef 2, the Farr 52-footer owned by British America's Cup team founder Peter Harrisson.

Now O'Connell is switching to helming a smaller sized one-design.

Meanwhile, up and coming Olympic and America's Cup sailors are in action in the Optimist and 420 National Championships in Dun Laoghaire and Howth respectively.

The Optimist single-handers started in rainy conditions yesterday and their fleet will swell to 240 as the junior divisions join in over the weekend.

Across the bay, the impact of the Irish Youth Sailing Academy is being felt as 100 crews from 20 clubs around Ireland and also from Britain swing into action in the popular 420 class where as many as 10 boats are in contention for honours.