SAILING/European Championship: Last weekend's warm-up to the start of the Anglo Irish Bank Etchells European Championship at Howth tomorrow provided plenty of action for the small spectator fleet that followed the series.
Three of the 35-boat fleet endured serious damage after various collisions and with even fresher winds expected for the next three days, boat handling will be a premium skill.
The Croat Razmilovic brothers were separated only on tie-break after an evening in the protest room and either can be regarded as favourite for the title after Monday's final.
The national championships saw Dan O'Grady produce a consistent set of results to take sixth overall and, with Denis Conner not racing this weekend, he has a realistic prospect of being top Irish boat again and possibly a chance at the winner's podium.
The weekend also sees the annual Cocoon Dublin Bay Sailing Club Cruiser Challenge take place with a 70-strong fleet gathered from around the Irish Sea region split evenly across classes Zero, One, Two and Sigma one-designs.
Colm Barrington's Flying Glove faces down Tim Costello's Tiamat in a Class Zero duel though George Sisk's Wow has had a good home season and could upset the running order given half a chance.
Peter Beamish's Aztec 2 goes head to head with Eamon Crosbie's Voodoo Chile in Class One and, with Cork's national champion Anthony O'Leary not racing, we could see a battle between these Dún Laoghaire boats.
Class Two is more difficult to predict on the basis of the provisional entry list but safe money follows Anthony Gore-Grimes Dux from Howth. This 20-boat class, though, is wide open.
Last weekend's Cruiser 3 Championship once again brought the issue of crew eligibility to the fore. This arose last year for the Dublin Bay Beneteau 31.7 owners' association and is a frequent priority for many club-level sailors anxious to prevent pot-hunting owners bringing professional sailors on board for an important event.
Various remedies have been attempted, many centred around defining "professional". The latest definition demands that a sailor not earn more than 50 per cent of income from sailing.
Apart from the improbability of genuine pro sailors opening their books for inspection by ad hoc committees, a globally accepted system is already in place that meets all these needs. It originated in Ireland thanks to the Cork Week organisers at Crosshaven and, best of all, it's web-based and free of charge.
The ISAF Sailor Classification Code exists as a free service to provide events and classes with an international system of classification for sailors. Events and classes are under no obligation to use a classification system but should they wish to do so the ISAF Code is available.
Since April 2003 the code will be the only system used for international events but that doesn't restrict national or even local events from utilising the system except that when the code is selected for an event it should be stated in the Notice of Race.
From a class- or event-organisation perspective, a simple decision declared in the Notice of Race document states which level under the code is eligible to compete in that event. Anyone can look up a sailor's name on the ISAF website and view a biography of the person if available. Full details are at: www.sailing. org/classification/classificationcode.asp 420 Juniors.
