The final outcome to last week's Bacardi Cup regatta in Miami saw Ireland's Mark Mansfield and David O'Brien hit their best form to date with a creditable ninth overall in the 96-boat fleet. The pair are well within their goals for qualification for Sydney 2000 next September.

This latest result is a boost to their confidence ahead of the World Championships in Annapolis in May where their result will determine whether or not they take part in the Games. The large fleet at Miami will be replicated on Chesapeake Bay where up to 130 Star keelboats are expected to attend.

Before then the pair head off to San Francisco later this month for another preparatory regatta. "It's like a roller-coaster," O'Brien told The Irish Times yesterday. "Once on board you've got to stay on or miss out. The fleet just keeps getting better and better." Prior to this latest event, Mansfield had predicted a 15th place or better - the outcome bears out his judgment.

Earlier this year the pair were second of the potential qualifiers for seven remaining places in the Star event at the Games so their nomination by the ISA to the Olympic Council of Ireland is becoming more certain as each event passes. From May onwards, both plan to switch to a full-time campaign with a move to Sydney in August.

More importantly their result last weekend should boost their finances. Continued good showings will place them in a higher category for funding under the Sports Council's carding scheme while Eagle Star will also provide a performance related increase in their sponsorship.

Meanwhile, UCD successfully defended their Intervarsity Sailing Championship title at Schull last weekend, bringing them the honour of representing Ireland at the Student World Cup where they finished second overall last year. Trinity once again proved their principal opponents while Cork Institute of Technology finished third.

The 2000 championship was hailed as a particular success with more than 160 races sailed. The newly re-constituted Irish Universities Sailing Association (IUSA) has now embarked on a programme to increase the number of events as well as to increase the number of third-level establishments with teams. The template for the programme is the system in Britain where the varsity championship is a highlight of the national calendar.