The J24 class is to get a shot in the arm when the one design keelboat makes a return to southern waters for the International Sailing Federation's (ISAF) Nations Cup event, a grand prix event to be held in Cork Harbour.
Royal Cork Yacht Club hosts the grand finals from September 5th-9th, and the J24 class is aiming to be a major part of what amounts to a showcase for Irish sailing when boats from the national fleet are used in the final of the 65-nation event.
At the same time, the class is to use the opportunity to revive its fortunes along the south coast.
The J24 class boasts a national fleet of 60, with active centres in Belfast Lough, Lough Erne, Lough Neagh and Lough Ree, as well as Dublin Bay and Carlingford Lough, but does not appear on the south coast.
Ireland have wildcard entries to the grand final for both an open and women's team, and these places will be offered to the winners of the national keelboat match-racing championships, to be held in Cork on April 29th and 30th, but so far no decision has been made on what type of boat this will be sailed in.
In the early to mid 1980s, there was a fleet of six J24s in Cork harbour, but two sank, one was lost on the rocks and the boat's reputation suffered as a result.
The J24's fortunes were also hit down south by the arrival of the Royal Cork's own designed keelboat, the 1720 sports boat, which had enormous appeal in the harbour and rivalled the J24 when she first arrived there in 1993.
But now the 1720's own fortunes have waned, at least at club racing level, and the Tony Castro design has evolved more as an event boat, so the J24 class president, Michael Clarke, from Lough Erne YC, hopes his class can take any leverage they can get from Nations Cup participation and rekindle interest in the J24 in the harbour.
There was considerable feedback to last week's column on the Irish Sailing Association's (ISA) proposed grading of fixtures and international events for 2007.
One of the reasons behind the move, it transpires, is to thwart falling yacht club memberships nationally and to boost overall racing activity by promoting a clear fixture list to those outside the sailing fraternity in the hope it might make the sport more understandable.
One official said: "We can't just sit on our laurels and assume everything is okay because our big Cruiser regattas are successful."
Crosshaven's Donal McClement maintains, "It is not the ISA's role to be dictatorial, it is rather to give leadership with the support of its member clubs.
"The simple fact is that the sailing calendar has got more and more popular in recent years, so clashes in events are unavoidable" he added.
The issue has stirred debate on the association's website with a number of valuable - if anonymous - contributions on its bulletin board.
In relation to small clubs running big events, the ISA's David Quinn says such clubs have full ISA support to ensure they run a top-quality event.
"This will include ISA going to Eurosaf to try to find international race officers if none are available in Ireland, putting them in touch with Irish judges and race officers if they can't supply them," he said.
