As South coast sailors at Kinsale get a headstart into the new season over their counterparts elsewhere in the country, problems with the new IR2000 handicapping system are gradually ironing out as more owners register their boats in the changeover from Channel Handicapping. Severe weather is a more difficult obstacle for organisers of the Nissan April League to overcome but racing did take place for the second time last weekend.
John Godkin's VSOP is in the lead under both Echo and IRC2000 handicaps in Class One. Once again a consistently good performance by Godkin and mixed fortunes for his competitors are equally contributing to his overall lead, especially under Echo.
Arthur O'Connor's Luv Is and Dan O'Neill with Brian Kennedy's Xerxes are looking like putting up the greatest challenges under IRC2000. O'Connor beat Godkin in the second race by just three seconds. In Echo, Tom McCarthy and Nicholas O'Halloran made a spectacular comeback in Mayhem to win the second race and secure an overall joint second placing with Xerxes.
Two wins also for Dave Hennessy's Luas leaves him well-placed. Strong challenges from Eric Lisson and Brendan O'Driscoll's Sarabande and the McCarthys' Mac Magic have both boats joint second overall, while in Echo, Sarabande leads from Luas. The Irish Disabled Sailing Team are lying fourth overall under both handicaps.
In Class 3, Echo, a win in the second race has Conor Phelan's Golden Eye in first place overall, just 0.25 points ahead of Barry Dorgan's Suntrap. However, competition is wide open here. Pat Salter's Ragtime had to retire from the second race, having won under both handicaps in the first.
Howth YC has released details of the forthcoming ISORA week in July which will be the highlight of the season for the North Dublin club.
Organisers at Howth are expecting up to 100 entries for the event that clashes with Bangor Week on Belfast Lough.
Several weeks ago, The Irish Times reported on an initiative taken by Andrew Algeo who was keen to start a fleet of Enterprise dinghies in Dun Laoghaire in a response to a demand he believed existed. The move sparked a wave of interest from a variety of sailors at all levels and other bodies including the ISA, Dublin Bay SC and other dinghy classes.
This weekend sees Algeo stage a test event for potential crews with a view towards purchase. However, the Saturday's programme of racing on Dun Laoghaire Harbour has already become a fait accompli of sorts as nine boats have already been purchased by new crews and at least 20 will be sailing tomorrow, providing a test opportunity for undecided sailors.
To date, most of the available competitive Enterprises in Ireland have been snapped up but some second-hand boats at reasonable prices are available in Britain. Many of the crews are leaving the cruiser racer and Sportsboat scene to return to dinghy sailing.
Meanwhile, in a report on the two world championships held recently at Soldanha Bay near Cape Town, South Africa The Irish Times erroneously reported the crew list for the fifth placed Irish boat at the Enterprise World Championship: Sean Craig's crew for the event was Leslie Ryan and not her sister Fiona as reported.
