Switzer appeals disqualification

The overall leader of the Heineken Autumn League, Ian Switzer, has appealed to the national authority over his disqualification after last weekend's breezy, fourth race. The dispute arose over a port and starboard incident.

Under a new sudden death rule introduced this year as a measure to stem rule abuse within the 208 boat fleet, a disqualified yacht may not discard the result. It is a rule that has cost Switzer the lead and dropped him to eighth place in the 19-boat division.

David Greene and Richard McGoveran's S and S 30 Equity now assumes the lead in Cruisers III from Mossy Shanahan at the helm of Pathfinder.

The result also puts victory in the team stakes into doubt. Switzer, the skipper of Gung-ho, was in contention for the team prize along with Mustang Sally's Max McMullan and Michael Guinan's Fastbuck who must now rethink their strategies for the final two races of the country's biggest sailing league.

Switzer, the most successful Cruiser III campaigner who has won five of the six biggest prizes of the season, confirmed his intention to appeal the Howth YC decision yesterday.

"Hand on my heart I feel I was wronged and I am appealing," he told The Irish Times.

Though there was no collision the protest committee, chaired by Scorie Walls, upheld the protest lodged by class two entrant Richard D'Alton, the skipper of Freebird, the right of way yacht, who claimed to have hailed twice before luffing to avoid Gung-ho on port tack.

A full set of up to date individual race results and overall placings for each of the 10 classes and 20 divisions is on Howth Yacht Club's event website: www.hyc.ie.

In an effort to complete five races before the end of October the schedule this weekend in Cork harbour is for two races, one tomorrow and one on Sunday with first gun at 12.24 p.m. on each day.

1720 class winner last weekend, Mark Mansfield continued his impressive form in a build-up to the Irish Sailing Association's Church and General sponsored Helmsmans Championships to be sailed in the Sportsboat class on October 31st.

Controversy surrounding this year's invitation list is mounting following an ISA committee decision to exclude the Cruisers III, Laser II and Shannon One Design class champions on the grounds that the respective class associations failed to nominate their champions before the ISA deadline.

The 24 helms invited so far for the championship are: Tom Fitzpatrick (Holder), Gerbil Owens (Junior Champion), David Burrows (Olympic Nominee), Damian Bracken (GP14), Bill O'Hara (Laser), Percy Boyle (Mermaid), Roy Van Maanen (Enterprise), Gareth Flannigan (1720), Andrew Sargent (Squib), John Lavery (Flying 15), Michael Cotter (Dragon), Neil Spain (420), Terry Harvey (IDRA 14), Peter Dee (Ruffian), Matthew Treadwell (Fireball), John Sullivan (Disabled), Tom Dwyer (National 18), Stephen Duffy (Multihull), Tim Goodbody (J24), Richard Swanson (Dart 18), John Wallace (Albacore), Matthias Hellstern (Mirror European Champion), Mark Mansfield (1720 European Champion), Maurice O'Connell (Skiff).

Meanwhile, on the west coast, Jarleth Cunnane and Jamie Young, both members of the illfated South Aris expedition to Antartica last year, will give a slide-show and talk on events leading up to the capsize and sinking of their replica lifeboat craft. The talk will be held at Galway Bay sailing club on October 21st at 9.0 p.m.

A team of leading Irish climbers and sailors attempted to follow the footsteps of two Irish explorers, Tom Crean and Ernest Shackleton.

In 1915, after their ship, the Endurance, was wrecked in pack ice close to the Antarctic peninsula, the two made the famous "open boat journey", an 800-mile voyage in a tiny lifeboat from Elephant Island across the Southern Ocean to South Georgia.

For details contact Commodore Michael Donohue on Tel: 091 751783.