Season approaches its peak months

SAILING/Column: Inaugurations and launches abound this week as the sailing season builds to its peak months. There have also been modifications to racing instructions as national priorities become rearranged for the Republic of Ireland's World Cup encounter with Spain this Sunday lunchtime.

The final race of the inaugural BMW Open Championship for keelboats has been rescheduled for 9.30 a.m. on Sunday morning to allow time to return to a big screen marquee ashore at the Royal St George Yacht Club.

The event expects to attract between 60 and 80 crews and gets underway this morning with a series of Windward/Leeward courses.

Olympic coach Jim Saltonstall, credited with master-minding Britain's haul of gold and silver medals at Sydney 2000, will be following the event throughout the day and will then provide a commentary on the racing this evening on big screens at the club. No discards are allowed for the series.

The three-day series will also be the final inshore event for IMX38-footer Xerces, one of the 31 boats to start the 704-mile Round Ireland Race that gets underway next Saturday from Wicklow.

Search & Rescue pilot Mick Liddy leads an Air Corps crew that includes BT Global Challenge skipper Tom O'Connor as navigator.

The team was announced at a display in Dublin's docklands this week when a Dauphin performed a rescue simulation with their colleagues on board Xerces. The crew has raised more than €11,000 for Our Lady's Hospital to date.

And for those Round Ireland crews who run into problems in the early stages of the race, the Western Yacht Club at Kilrush Marina on the Shannon will host the annual WIORA Week (West of Ireland Offshore Racing Association) from June 24th to 29th.

At the moment 50 crews are expected from Limerick, Kerry, Galway, Sligo, Mayo and Clare in classes 1, 2, 3, as well as Sigma and Beneteau classes under IRC and ECHO handicaps.

Meanwhile, chairman John McWilliam reports that entries for July's Ford Cork Week has topped 555 boats to date.

"The IRM fleet has attracted some really smart Grand Prix operators", he said. "The IRC Classes should be hot. They are nearly all the same size and their cross-class time differences are super-tight."

Finally, Aaron O'Grady has become the latest Athens 2004 hopeful to embark on a full-time campaign in his chosen class, the single-handed Finn dinghy.

Having attained a world ranking from regular competition over the last two years, his first priority has been to complete his college studies.

"Aaron's approach is exactly what we recommend - securing an athlete's long-term future allows full concentration on the demands of an Olympic campaign." said Team Manager Garrrett Connolly at the announcement of Neutrogena's sponsorship.