Injured Foxall tells of capsize

Sailing Column: Damian Foxall is out of hospital, suffering only a compressed sternum and bruising following this week's dramatic rescue from the 60-foot trimaran Fonica which capsized some 450 miles off the French coast.

As storms caused havoc for the Transat Jacques Vabre fleet, survival became the name of the game after seven separate incidents, including the capsizes of Foncia and Orange Project which triggering an Atlantic air-sea rescue operation on Tuesday.

Foxall (36), recounted yesterday how the capsize occurred while he led the extreme transat challenge. Four of the nine 60ft multihulls have now been knocked out in a reminder of the 2002 Route du Rhum race, when similarly severe November conditions, in a comparable transatlantic race, left only three finishers from 18 multihull starters.

"I'd often gone through what-if scenarios in my mind, but couldn't believe it was happening for real as the boat pitch-poled," the Derrynane sailor said.

He had just handed over the tiller of the 3 million craft to co-skipper Armel Le Cléac'h (28), and gone below to get ready for a tack when they were hit by a huge gust of up to 50 knots.

"The next thing the tri lifted high out of the water and capsized. I got caught under the boat between a winch and the boom and thought I was in real danger, but then the boom moved a little, maybe because of the big seas, and I managed to wriggle free, keeping my head above water," he added.

The plan now is to cut the rig and sails of Fonica, flood one of the hulls and tow it back to shore for refit.

A disappointed Foxall is heading home to Kerry this weekend with plans already turning to be fit in time for January's second leg start of the Volvo round the World race, where he sails as a helmsman on Brazil 1.

In Olympic news, the decision this month by the Irish Sailing Association Olympic Group to abandon the International Sailing Federation's (ISAF) world rankings system as a selection criteria for Beijing may well be gaining international credibility.

Judging by comment in the international yachting press, the ISAF itself is having a job trying to clarify the anomaly that leaves top sailors off their ranking ladder. According to Yachting World: "The absence of some world class athletes from the top echelons of the rankings is due to the logistically difficult issue of travel to some of the ISAF Grade One events throughout the world, meaning their ranking position itself may not truly reflect their standing on the world scene. What one must look at in all rankings releases is not necessarily the actual position of an athlete . . ." Quite.

At home, BJ Marine are supporting the Irish Cruiser Racing Association (ICRA) conference, with keynote speaker Eric Engoufe, the boat development director of Beneteau Yachts, for their third annual conference in Kilkenny tomorrow week. Engoufe is expected to release details on the company's new IRC optimised 34-footer.

In a packed agenda, ICRA commodore Fintan Cairns also plans to announce further news on Ireland's teams for the Commodore's Cup, review the 2005 racing season, announce the Boat of the Year and have a discussion on the major fixtures calendar for 2006.

On Dublin Bay this week, the Flying Fifteen (FF) keelboat, a class celebrating 35 years on Dublin Bay this year, moved at their class agm to withdraw from Thursday night racing on safety grounds following a number of accidents and near misses this season. The problem is due largely to congestion at mark roundings when different fleets of yachts converge.

On seamanship grounds, class captain Tom Murphy has requested that Dublin Bay Sailing Club (DBSC) move FF midweek racing to Tuesday nights instead.

The Fifteens are the first of the 18 classes to seek the move, but it may not be long before others follow suit, effectively splitting midweek racing over two nights.

The question for DBSC organisers now is whether the bay is overcrowded on Thursday's, or whether midweek race course management might be improved.