A recent conversation in a sailing club raised some interesting points. Essentially, the debate centred on the broad variety of classes found in the sport not just here, but in every corner of the world.

Two viewpoints emerged. The first that a given class had a far higher standard of sailing than another and this class could be called `national standard' while the other could be considered sailing to a `local standard'. Just two examples were cited for the comparison but the principle applied across the range.

The `opposing' viewpoint suggested a variation on this while one class winner may only sail their fleet on a local basis, their standard IS their national standard. However, if it could somehow be determined, that national champion may not be as good a racing sailor as the national champion of the other class.

The two classes used for the discussion were the Ruffian 23 footers and the International Dragon. It should be stated that neither of the parties mentioned below were involved in the debate but purely as examples.

The former is a domestic Irish built boat, concentrated primarily on Dublin Bay but with boats found along the south coast as well. The latter is a well-established international fleet and a former Olympic class.

So which is the more accurate statement: is the Dragon class representative of the national standard and the Ruffian simply a local fleet? Or is it simply the bigger class benefits from more exposure to a global fleet? Or does the answer lie somewhere between the two?

Staying with the Ruffian/Dragon comparison, surely the reality is this: Fred Ridgway and his crew on Scruffian compete regularly in Dublin Bay Sailing Club racing.

A fleet of about 20 boats compete and at the front end of the class, Ridgway does serious battle with Derek Mitchell and his team on Ruff Nuff.

The event goes to the final race and Scruffian emerges victor, successfully defending their 1999 title. Meanwhile, the Dragon class is an altogether different scene.

Andrew Craig and his crew on Chimaera attended the recent Dragon Europeans and secured a fine result - second overall to the legendary Pol Ricard Hoj-Jensen and against the top six sailors in world of Dragon racing. No doubt about it, Craig and the other Irish sailors who feature at the leading edge of the Irish scene are competing to a very high standard indeed.

But is this standard the true national standard, not just for the Dragons but for all other classes here as well, especially that it relegates the Ruffians and other such fleets into a second division known as `Local'?

Surely the real position is that all classes achieve their national standard but that this becomes relative to other classes. Fred Ridgway's result last weekend could easily equate to seventh or eighth in the Dragon fleet. This position could be the national standard. But then you move into the realms of international standards and the top crews racing in the Irish Dragon Nationals are competing to this level. In turn, the front end of the Dragon Gold Cup or Edinburgh Cup are racing to a world standard.

Producing a sliding scale that would determine the `mean national average' for a standard level of performance in sailing would make an interesting project. The Irish ECHO handicap system goes some of the way in terms of adjustments for performances in a particular keelboat fleet and is otherwise unsuited.

In the meantime, rather than becoming weighed down by fine definitions and differences between classes, the Eagle Star Champion of Champions events allows some form of distinction between the panoply that comprises Irish sailing. The essential attraction of the sport is the ability of a sailor to choose the type of craft and level of competition. The rest comes down to preparation, crew work and experience.