Olympic hopefuls' duel hits round two

SailingRound two of the contest between the pair of Irish Star class contenders for the Athens Olympics gets under way at Club Nautic L'Escala close to Barcelona today with the practice race of the European championship.

Incumbent and triple Olympian Mark Mansfield with Killian Collins leads the three-event series while Max Treacy and Anthony Shanks will be seeking to close the gap after their poor showing at the Miami Olympic Classes Regatta in January.

After this, just the World championship remains in the Irish trials and the absence of the American contenders, currently concluding their own stand-alone trials regatta, should boost the Irish standings in Spain over the next six days.

Meanwhile, as the battle between the Cork and Dublin Star crews is under way on the Mediterranean, Treacy and Shanks's own club at home, the Royal St George YC, can thank them in part for winning the Mitsubishi Motors Sailing Club of the Year for 2004, a full 21 years after it last won the prestigious ship's wheel trophy.

In recent years the club has staged a number of major international events including the ISAF World Team Racing Championships, 470 European Championships as well as the sailing disciplines in the Special Olympic World Games which, according to club commodore Aongus O'Brolcháin, was a rewarding experience for all involved.

The Royal St George YC will again stage the Mitsubishi Motors Youth & International Classes Regatta on July 5th and 6th, featuring Olympic Courses and Fast Series with 10 races over two days.

Classes covered include 420s, Lasers, Radials, 4.7s, Toppers, Mirrors & Optimists to a maximum of 250 boats. Crews under 21 years of age are eligible and ace coach Jim Saltonstall will deliver his big screen video debrief.

Meanwhile, 2004 is certainly proving a landmark year for Irish Sailing.

Last month saw Noel Butler crowned Cork Dry Gin Sailor of the Year, exploding the myth that participation in the sport required prior family involvement. The Galway-born sailor won the Laser 2 World Championship just eight years after taking his first "Try Sailing" course.

This week sees one of the country's newest sailing clubs announce a state-of-the-art facility in the heart of the nation's capital city. Poolbeg Yacht and Boat Club has commenced construction of a new clubhouse plus 100-berth marina just 26 years after the community-based club was formed.

The project was hampered by the abandonment of a Government-stated objective to develop a necklace of marina facilities around the coast.

However, the €1.5 million project is set to continue thanks in part to a Sports Capital grant of €150,000 as well as pre-selling of leases on berths aimed squarely at the emerging developments in the docklands area.

Met Éireann yesterday announced its small-craft warning service will resume this year from April through September following a successful trial in 2003. The system will provide warnings of winds reaching a minimum of Beaufort Force six on Irish coastal waters up to 10 nautical miles offshore.

Warnings will be delivered to the Irish Coast Guard for transmission on their marine VHF working channels in addition to Weatherdial forecasts and on Met Éireann's website at www.met.ie. The small-craft warning is structured in a similar fashion to the current gale-warning service, which will continue to be operated as normal.