SAILING DRAGON GOLD CUP:AS HOWTH Yacht Club prepares for next year's Etchells World Championships, Irish clubs are preparing for a run of similar major events rolling out for the next few years. Kinsale is the latest following this week's announcement that the prestigious Dragon Gold Cup will be held there in 2012. Up to 100 boats are expected.
In addition, the ISAF Youth World Championships will be held at the Royal St George and National Yacht Clubs, also in 2012, while both the J24 and Olympic Star class keelboats will stage their World and European titles in Ireland in 2011.
Kinsale’s news is their first Dragon championship since the class held a high-profile European championship in 2003, where crown Prince Frederik of Denmark dominated most of the series afloat. Staging major championships for both the Etchells and Dragons will be key to boosting interest in the class.
In the case of the Dragon, interest in the now 80-year-old design peaked after the 2003 Europeans despite holding the world championships in Dún Laoghaire two years ago with an estimated 20 per cent drop in fleet numbers with the loss of some class “back-bone” members and the impact of the Laser SB3 class.
However, quality not quantity is the by-word for strength in the class according to national secretary Tim Pearson who points to steady results at continental events from stalwarts such as Andrew Craig, Simon Brien, Cameron Good, Johnny Ross-Murphy and Mick Cotter drawn from fleets on the north, east and south coasts. Internationally, the class is also strong and the Europeans in October had to split the entry into two fleets to accommodate the large turn-out.
Elsewhere, in the really serious money stakes of global sailing events, the big question following this year’s stop-over of the Volvo Ocean Race in Galway was partially answered this week. The final economic report of the two-week event held at the start of the summer is due and expected to contain heartening figures that will point to a successful event.
The question will be, can Galway and Ireland attract the multi-million euro event to re-visit these shores again when the next edition in 2011-2012 is held? This week saw French ocean racing legend Frank Cammas’ Groupama team announce a two-race commitment to the Volvo Ocean Race that is virtually certain to include a stop-over in France where sailing is regarded as a major sport.
Despite Galway’s widely-hailed success earlier this year (the event director Maria Moynihan-Lee will be a guest speaker at the World Yacht Racing Forum in Monaco next month) delivery of a team entry in the event now seems essential against a back-drop of the race organisers seeking to minimise costs by reducing the number of stop-overs.
Meanwhile, in Marseilles last weekend, Cork Institute of Technology’s (CIT) Sailing Team was unsuccessful in its title-defence of the Student Yachting World Cup. Trinity College, Dublin, won the event in 2006 and the CIT team was aiming to deliver a third win for Ireland.
However, after 14 races in a mix of conditions that included an overnight offshore course, the Italian team emerged clear winners, while second place to CIT’s fifth were were separated by just four points.
