SAILING ROUND-UP:WITH JUST under two months remaining before the start of the biennial Round Ireland Race, organisers at Wicklow Sailing Club are preparing for a wave of entries to the 704-mile event. Up to 50 teams could take part based on interest to date, though actual entries have been slow to arrive.
High profile teams relying on sponsorship are likely to be the notable exception but despite the recession, funding is available for attractive campaigns such as Mick Liddy and Mark Pollock’s two-handed entry that has been backed by the property website daft.com.
This team that twins a former solo record holder and a blind adventurer (Pollock) yesterday agreed a charter deal on a competitive Open 40 class boat for their campaign and will take delivery next month to begin final preparations for the round Ireland.
The pair will train on a J109 from Dún Laoghaire in the meantime.
Other entries are promised, including an Open 60-footer and a TP52 that has been modified for offshore racing. The Sailing West school are expected to enter two boats, including their newly-acquired Reflex 38, with both crews fully-subscribed and training.
Strong interest has been shown from British owners and although Cork teams have traditionally been good supporters and dominant as race winners, no enquiries or responses to entry-forms sent out have been received, according to the race organiser.
“I’ve never ever known it to be as quiet, though we’ve had a lot of enquiries who all say they’re coming,” race director Denis Noonan said yesterday. He reckons the delay is partly due to the recession but will pick up.
“Most of the boats are all owner-drivers – lots of good club boats.”
Based on previous trends, the level of interest would suggest a good turnout of up to 50 boats but the lack of actual entries aside from the eight received to date could be an effect of the economic climate, according to Noonan.
He also attributes the lower level of contact to the availability of information on the internet, but he refuses to put the entry-form online in order to encourage people to make contact directly with the organisers for assistance.
Meanwhile, Wicklow town has upped the ante on the opportunity provided by the race by organising a festival based around the event. Free music on the quays and in the town, a Sailors Party, Gala “Mardi Gras” Ball, Taste of Wicklow food event and fashion showcases, period pageants, fireworks, classic cars and funfair plus sailing and boating activities will all be included.
The organisers are following the example set by Galway during the stop-over a year ago and hope to achieve a scaled version of the successful format for Wicklow over a four-day period leading up to the race start on Sunday, June 20th.
The festival format is also being adopted by the newly-formed Youghal Bay Boat Club which is holding an Open Day to attract newcomers to the sport on May Bank Holiday Monday.
The Open Day will feature a Parade of Sail at around 2pm followed immediately by a Parade of Power. All the boats will then raft up just off the Youghal Quay for the blessing of the boats.
The day also features a nautical version of the Wacky Races, where teams will attempt to navigate a fun course in a combination of sailing dinghies, kayaks and thundercat powerboats.
