The Irish dinghy sailing community will be waiting with bated breath today for news of the outcome of the Enterprise World Championships at Cape Town. Three Irish boats are competing and Roy and Neil Van Maanen are currently in second place overall. The Pretoria-based crew of Pat and Peadar Mitchell hold the overall lead with points from yesterday's racing to decide the outcome.
The Van Maanen's might have entered the final day with a clear lead but for a disqualification on Tuesday for a mark rounding incident with an Indian crew. However, fresher winds would favour the Greystones crew as the leaders made their best gains in lighter conditions earlier this week.
At one stage, two Irish boats were in the top three overall as Sean Craig with Leslie Ryan of the Royal St George YC held down third place. The Dun Laoghaire crew have now slipped to fifth overall but are within three boats of regaining a podium place. The third Irish crew of Alan Jones with Nina Huet, also of Greystones SC, are faring less well and are currently 20th overall.
Although a win or a top three finish for an Irish crew at the Saldanha Bay venue would be a welcome boost for dinghy sailing, the turnout at this event is in marked contrast to last year's Heineken Enterprise Worlds at Bray SC in August. Only 29 boats are competing at Cape Town while 109, half from the UK, turned out at the Irish venue. However, several of the top-placed international crews from the 1998 event are in action this week and results are on a knifeedge at the front of the pack.
Meanwhile, at home, bad weather marked the changeover from the Frostbite season to spring by blowing out most of the fixtures last weekend. The Technomarine DMYC Frostbite in Dun Laoghaire was blown out for the second week running as was the Cable & Wireless mixed dinghy series at Kinsale. Monkstown Bay SC took the top two places with Frank Desmond and John Murphy in their Albacore followed by Laser sailor Ronan Kenneally and Crosshaven's Colm Galvin and Mark Rose in third place in their 420.
It was a different if wilder story for the bigger boats at Kinsale where racing took place inside the harbour amid 40 knot squalls. Arthur O'Connor won the final race to finish third overall in the Southmoor Properties League while overall winners on MacMagic were able to carry their retirement on Sunday to secure the title. The April League gets underway on Easter Monday - weather permitting.
Following the retirement of Colin McMullen from the post last year, the Irish Sailing Association is seeking a suitably qualified person to operate and administer the ECHO handicapping system for the Dublin region. This part-time position requires an input of approximately 20 hours per month during the sailing season (April-September) and while some degree of flexibility is possible there will be set times where attendance is mandatory. The ISA is looking for knowledge of handicap racing in the Dublin area, demonstrable computer skills and the ability to work from home through e-mail.
