Sailing Weekly Column: Maria Coleman was the top Irish performer in yesterday's final of Hyeres Olympic classes week, although Wednesday's capsize while in third place contributed to her drop from second at the half-way stage to 10th overall in the Europe class of the prestigious French event.
The 35-year-old Baltimore skipper, who has ambitions to improve her third in the world rankings with less than 17 months to go to the Olympics, was disappointed with her slippage but she nevertheless ranked far ahead of any other squad member.
She is the only Irish sailor from a panel of 17 across eight classes to have reached the nomination standard and is free to concentrate solely on her boat speed for the Athens regatta.
"It was a weird regatta, we were racing in thunder storms, and dodging the lightning on the course," she said. "I am happy enough with my 10th as five of the top 10 in the world were outside the top 15."
Hyeres proved a tricky enough regatta with 20 knot winds coming from opposing directions on each day of the 12-race event.
Wednesday was a due east day but on Friday, the wind, though strong, became even more fickle with 50-degree wind shifts ensuring no racing had been completed by noon.
The regatta beat its own record for entries again this year, with 1,102 sailors from 48 countries.
Ireland was also represented in the Laser class but none of the five sailors has made the gold fleet. David Burrows is not competing but two other Finn campaigners, Youen Jacob and Aaron O,Grady, are sailing. The double-handed 49er and the 470 teams are there along with Feargal Kinsella in the 2.4m class. Full event results available at: www.hyeres.ffvoile.net
Meanwhile, as the two Irish Star keelboats head for the spring European championships in Hungary with their selection process in some doubt, the Olympic Council (OCI) report into the ISA's handling of the 2004 selection criteria is to be presented to the OCI council next week.
At home, 20-year-old Larne woman Debbie Hanna has won an Ulster Sports Trust award for outstanding achievement. Her gold medal at the Commonwealth Sailing Championships in Melbourne was just reward for all the hard work and training. She also finished top female in the same class at the Sail Melbourne Olympic class regatta.
Staying north, a 25-boat J24 fleet races for its national championship honours, with 10 races on Lower Lough Erne this Bank Holiday weekend, sponsored by Waterways Ireland, but, disappointingly, four new Italian J24s built for the championship will not arrive in time.
Two are for Dublin bay owners Bryan Maguire and Gerry Jones and two for Lough Erne YC members Tim Rippey and Michael McCaldin.
At international level, Pippa Wilkinson will follow in her father's footsteps when she sails for Ireland at the ISAF youth world championships in Madeira, Portugal. She is the only member of the team that does not hail from Crosshaven as the Royal Cork - in what must be a wake-up call for other clubs - won all four slots for the youth squad.
Wilkinson, from Nettley in Hampshire, will crew for Lisa Tait at the Olympics of youth sailing in a 420 dinghy in the double-handed girls category.
Her father, Jamie, won silver and Ireland's only ever yachting medal as crewman to David Wilkins in the 1980 Moscow Olympics.
Also competing in Portugal in July are: double-handed boys: John Downey/Jeff Tait (RCYC); single-handed boy: Nicholas O'Leary (RCYC); single girl: Jenny Murray (RCYC).
ISA YOUTH ACADEMY TEAM FOR 2003: Top two 420 boys (born 1986 or later): S Mitten/N O'Hagan (RStGYC), K Stallard/A Murphy KYC; Top two 420 boys (born '87 or later): T & D MacColgain SCYC, K Rumball/D Moran. Top two 420 girls (born '86 or later): L Reilly/F Macken HYC, J Ormond/A Campbell KYC. Top 420 girls (born '87 or later): C McCarter/H Lennon SLYC. Top two Laser boys (born '86 or later): M Norris LEYC, D Taylor LEYC. Top four Radial boys (born '86 or later): C Byrne RstGYC, F Cudmore RCYC, G Kingston RCYC, A Barry RCYC. Top two Radial boys (born '87 or later): P Adair BYC, A Dolan RCYC. Top two Radial girls (born '86 or later): J McCready EDYC, C Murphy NYC. Non-funded members: E Tait/L Stallard (KYC), I Croxon*/C Magee (RstGYC), R McDonald (HYC), P Reilly (SLYC), A Lane (RCYC), J O'Dowd (RstGYC*) *Subject to review when fit to compete.
All places on the academy will be re-allocated at the end of the 2003 season based on the National 420 and Laser Class rankings.
