Top British sailors to work on Irish race yacht

SAILING: Two of Britain's best sailors will lead Ireland's newest racing yacht into competition on the international circuit this season. America's Cup helmsman and double Olympic medallist Ian Walker will be joined by double-Olympic Gold medallist Shirley Robertson on board Eamon Conneelly's Transpac 52 Patches racing for Galway Bay Sailing Club.

Following his time with Team GBR, the first British America's Cup challenge in 15 years, Walker has a broad career following his previous silver medal as crew in the 470 dinghy and more recent silver in the Star. He is understood to be the skipper designate for the Galway campaign.

Robertson is the Scottish Olympian who took gold in the Europe single-hander in Sydney and repeated the result in the three-person Yngling keelboat in Athens last summer.

Designed by Reichel Pugh naval architects and currently in build at Green Marine in Lymington, Patches will join a growing numbers of class-mates in Europe in a rapidly emerging revival of big-boat racing.

While definitely an Irish campaign, it is certain Walker will bring his best crew-members to complement Conneelly's regular sailors from Dark Angel to bring the boat's capability up to full potential in its first season after its launch in April.

The €1.5 million project will include the Scottish Series in May, the Dún Laoghaire to Dingle Race (D2D), Sovereign's Cup and Galway Bay Series. Its overseas schedule includes the Fastnet Race, Sardinia Cup and Rolex Middle Sea Race in Malta towards the end of the summer.

Meanwhile, the Irish Marine Federation has secured Allianz Direct as the overall sponsor of this year's Boat Show that takes place at the end of next month. The biggest show ever is promised with over 200 stands. The largest previous exhibit stood at 5,000 square metres but a pavilion marquee has been added to cope with demand bringing the total floor area to 6,000 square metres. Space at the show is now sold out.

According to a statement from Allianz this week, sponsorship of the boat show provides an opportunity to communicate directly with the pleasure craft community, build relationships with marinas and is an ideal forum to help reinforce important issues such as water safety.

The IMF reckons the show ranks now alongside the largest national consumer shows. A scheme has identified 900 disused facilities around coasts, often in economic blackspots for modest developments of sustainable long-term small docks and moorings.

Lack of infrastructure is proving the largest obstacle to development of the sector but with sales variously estimated in the tens of millions of euro in new boats and equipment, the IMF will be pressing for creative solutions for uncapping the marine leisure market for domestic and overseas users.

As usual, organisers have renewed their appeal to have sailing clubs and classes represented at the show in a repeat of the regular difficulty in motivating voluntary groups to attend. The show is the single biggest recruitment opportunity for dinghy classes in particular.

The Allianz Direct Boat Show will take place in the RDS, Dublin, from February 23rd to 27th.