O'Learys head impressive Crosshaven line-up

SAILING NEWS:AS BEFITS the conclusion of the main season, this weekend sees the annual gathering of the panoply that is the sport in this country representing dinghies and keelboats for the ISA All Ireland Championships at the Royal Cork Yacht Club in Crosshaven.

Senior and Junior sailors from almost every major area of competition are represented, including traditional racing classes.

As with each year’s line-up, picking likely candidates who will lift the famous silver salver is tricky. However, several showdowns are certain.

Defending champion Nicholas O’Leary must rank top of the pile, even if only for the delivery of last year’s championship despite being a relative newcomer to the sport.

Once again, the O’Leary family pedigree will be to the fore as a generational rematch between father and son, as father, Anthony, is the 1720 Sportsboat representative who placed second in 2008.

But the fleet has considerably more depth than a two-horse race. Wild card Annalise Murphy, arguably Ireland’s top female sailor and as a world-class athlete in the Olympic Laser class, is certain to make the cut for Sunday’s final.

Dave Dwyer from Kinsale and Baltimore, as Irish Cruiser Racing Association and British champion, must be a strong contender, boosted by his time in the Etchells and Dragon classes.

Sligo’s Tim Corcoran, a four-time GP14 National champion, is also in the mix of classes that will be on Cork Harbour.

Local knowledge could also play a hand in the championship, and to this end Ewen Barry, as 5o5 representative, and Colin Chapman, from Cork’s National 18 fleet, must have an edge. Dublin-based but Cobh-raised Flor O’Driscoll from the J24 class has plenty of form on his first home waters as well.

Racing for the senior fleet begins this afternoon in the ISA Sailfleet J80 keelboats, in a change of format that sees the event move to three days, beginning with a round robin series.

Among the junior and girls’ fleet up-and-coming sailors abound, many with full-scale international campaigns to their credit, either from competition or coaching or both, indicated by the wild card nominations, such as World Under-17 champion Philip Doran, Mattie O’Dowd, winner of the Europa Cup, and Saskia Tidey, who competed in the ISAF Youth Worlds in Brazil just two months ago.

ISA ALL-IRELAND CHAMPIONSHIPS – Senior nominations:N O'Leary (2008 defending champion); P Lawton (Fireball); A O'Leary (1720); S Hyde (ICRA Division 1); F O'Driscoll (J24); E Barry (5o5); B Duncan (Laser SB3); L Hanley (Shannon OD); A Murphy (Wild card – Laser Radial Worlds); P McMahon (Laser); J Driscoll (Squib); A Carr (IDRA14); N Spain (ICRA Division 2); T Corcoran (GP14); P Dillon (Dublin Bay Mermaid); A Gallagher Multihull); G May (Puppeteer 22); M Duffy (Howth 17); C Chapman (National 18); D Dwyer (ICRA Division 0). Juniors: K A Boylan (Mirror); M Condy (Laser 4.7); C Dickson (Mirror); J Dolan (Topper); P Doran (Wild card – Laser Radial); R Harrington (Laser Radial); E Jones (Topaz); D Kissane (Laser 4.7); R Lehane (Wild card – 420); C Lyden (RS Feva); F Lynch (Topper); M O'Dowd (Wild card – Laser Radial); J Quealy (Topaz); C Simms (Laser Std.); S Tidey (Wild card – Laser Radial); C Dickson (Wild card – Mirror); S Murphy (Laser 4.7); B Morehead (RS Feva).