Mark Mansfield, one of Irish sailing's most enduring legends over the last two decades, became the overall "Cork Dry Gin/Afloat Sailor of the Year" this week following an awards ceremony in Dublin.
Nominated in the November edition of the magazine for his outright victory in the Eagle Star Champion of Champions event, another success at the 1720 Europeans in Falmouth last June copperfastened the title.
Since last season, Mansfield has embarked on a concentrated effort to secure a place on the national squad for Sydney 2000 in the Star keelboat, with David O'Brien as his crewman. So far, the pair has secured the qualification standard for nomination to the team and are now concentrating on the final hurdle: qualifying Ireland for the Star event at the games.
The Cork yachtsman heads a prestigious group of monthly winners and the three short-listed contenders for the overall award were Mansfield, Maria Coleman and the Coveney family, all Munster-based.
Baltimore's Coleman seems unfortunate not to have received the overall award, especially considering that she was confirmed to have risen to fourth overall in the world when the ranking list was issued on Wednesday - ironically on the same day as the awards were announced.
Her success in maintaining impressive form in the run-up to Sydney has set a new benchmark for Irish Olympic campaigns. She has finished in the top 10 in the last three Europe class world championships, and for most of 1999 was ranked as such according to the cumulative world rankings.
However, according to a reliable source on the judging panel, the lack of a significant win during the year mitigated against her receiving the top award. Yet Coleman is currently the third highest-ranked Irish woman in any sport and choosing her for the award would surely have boosted the image of the sport as welcoming to both genders.
The high-profile circumnavigation of the Coveney family won them the July nomination and the award for sailors of that month. Their voyage in aid of the children of Chernobyl captured the imagination of a wider audience than just the sailing community and served to face down many misconceptions about sailing without apology or PR hype.
Cork Dry Gin/Afloat Magazine Sailor of the Year Award: Monthly winners - January: Justin Slattery (Maxi yacht crew in Sydney-Hobart race); February: Maria Coleman (Europe class Olympian); March/April: Gar and Orla Flanagan (Round the world voyage couple); May: Marty Maloney and Revlin Minihane (Mirror class World Champion); June: David Burrows (Finn class Olympian); July: The Coveney Family (Round the world voyage family); August: Barry Rose (Club sailor and event winner); September: Donal Morrissey (Offshore sailor); October: John Twomey and Crew (Sailing Paralympians); November: Mark Mansfield (Champion of Champions winner); December: Dr Michael Woods (Minister for the Marine).
