Cruiser-racer fleets offer a complete experience – for those who dare to follow

The passing last week of Somers Payne and the farewell tributes in Crosshaven at the Royal Cork YC spoke of the loss of a legendary figure from the foundation of the sport of sailing in Ireland. Stories of the yachtsman and sportsman, an officer and a gentleman in the truest sense, have long been told by generations of young sailors around Cork Harbour.

One question posed last weekend was that of comparison: who are the legends in the making of the current era that will be as well regarded in decades to come? There is a sense that something vital is missing from the present-day mix.

For sure, the highs and lows of Annalise Murphy at last Summer's London Olympics smashed through pre-conceived opinions to achieve fame of sorts that captured the general public's imagination, especially during her fateful medal race final.

Kenefick preparations
Elsewhere, David Kenefick on The Full Irish this week begins the final push in preparations for this summer's Figaro single-handed circuit and his quest to win the prestigious top rookie award. His stories will certainly relate feats of both seamanship and competition as he follows in the path of other top professionals such as Damian Foxall and Justin Slattery.

Yet it was Payne's generation that represents the much larger cohort of both the sport and pastime of sailing that can be seen in the following that Irish clubs hold; the so-called grassroots of the sport. If new legends are to emerge from this section of the sport similar opportunities to meet, sail with and against such "stars" in the making are needed.

Modern sailing
But gone are the two-tonners and 40-footers, racing offshore for days at a time with crews of 10 or 20 people each on a panel that dominated the 1970s and '80s in Ireland. Modern sailing hinges on more technical boats and equipment, smaller in size with reduced crew requirements competing on short courses in races of an hour's duration or thereabouts.

Economic and social changes mean disappearing every weekend to race offshore is less appealing while family life has also changed yet this is where the stories of legend would once have been created.

All the more reason that the opportunity for club crews to travel by sea in support of regattas such as the Sovereigns Cup in Kinsale or the Irish Cruiser Racing Association National Championships in Fenit or the Volvo Dún Laoghaire regatta in July are so vital for that added feel-good factor.

The Dún Laoghaire to Dingle Race is an ideal feeder event, crew experience plus a competition for those heading to the south coast. And the Irish Sea Offshore Racing Association started its season last weekend with a fleet of 20 boats, modest by historic standards but significant for the 100-plus competing crew.

In as much as dinghy sailing at club level is vital to the future of the sport, so too are the cruiser-racer fleets that offer a complete experience – for those who dare to follow.