SAILING/Weekly column: Although preparations are almost complete for Dublin Bay Sailing Club's (DBSC's) first race of the 2003 series next Tuesday, with a record number of 357 boats and 1,600 members, there will be some notable absentees for the 121st season.
What's more, club officials, who have posted sailing instructions very similar to 2003, also admit to tweaking the keelboat courses in an effort to minimise inter-class congestion at turning marks.
Tim Goodbody and a race management team have also been reviewing Saturday courses for the Dublin Port-sponsored series, dropping the long and short windward/leeward courses, reducing distances of the longer courses and tidying up some anomalies that came to light last season.
Michael D'Alton, who first raced with DBSC before the second World War, has finally decided to hang up his sailing boots - his Ruffian Siamsa is up for sale.
After 50 years racing, former National Yacht club commodore Willie Maguire, who sails the DBSC 24 Fenestra, will also be retiring.
Missing from the starting line too will be Fred Ridgway, who in his Ruffian Scruffian has won almost every prize going in that class.
Among the Glens, Horner Beckett, is also hauling down his flag, but Glenfern will continue to race locally, having been acquired by another Dublin Bay sailor.
On the south coast, the entry list for June's Class Two national cruiser championships feature a lot of French-built yachts, including the popular Beneteau First 31.7, and models of the Jeanneau Sunfast 32 and Dufour 32s.
The championship will be held as part of the 100-boat Sovereign's Cup Regatta - which has already attracted a class zero following - and will be run by Pat Pyne of the host club, Kinsale.
The winner, says Pyne, will have the double honour of becoming national champion and first cruiser national champion. Entry details are on www.kyc.ie.
Meanwhile, the Irish Flying Fifteen team for this August's World Championship in Dun Laoghaire has been announced.
Fourteen boats have qualified from seven Irish clubs for the biennial title that will boast up to 100 of the 20-foot keelboats for the week-long regatta.
The Irish squad is: Darren Martin and Simon Murray (SLYC); Sean Craig and Stephen Boyle (RStGYC); Justin Burke and Alan Green (NYC); John Lavery and David O'Brien (NYC); Gerry Donleavy and Ciaran Crummy (NYC); Donal Harding and Gary Curran (WHSC); Ian Mathews and Ben Mulligan (NYC); Morgan Sheehy and Jan Van de Puil (KYC); Brian Willis and John McPeake (AYC); Oliver Curran and Marcus Creighton (SFSC); Fintan and Amanda Stanley (WHSC); Niall Coleman and Chris Doorly (NYC); Ian Smyth and David McIveen (SLYC) and Shane Statham and Ken Wigham (WHSC).
In Howth Yacht Club's (HYC) latest issue of its newsletter Tidal Chat, photographs are reproduced of a number of rocks off the club house that were revealed by an unusually low tide last March 19th.
The bulletin notes that although Half-tide, Puck and Round rocks are still unknown by most of the membership, others have had intimate contact, including one member who has been known to have hit all three. The positions are posted on the club website www.hyc.ie.
Also in Howth, Danish yacht manufacturer X-Yachts has announced that its Irish agent, HYC's Conor Fanning, has also been awarded the Britain agency for the yacht marque with immediate effect.
Aiming to increase its share of the market for yachts of 40 feet and above, the appointment is a feather in the cap for the north Dublin dealer who will now also have a base on the Hamble.
Staying on the east coast, a record 20 boats, almost 100 sailors, raced on Carlingford Lough at the eight-race J/24 Eastern Championship last weekend.
This first event of the J/24 season, with the best six results counting, was won by Bray sailing club's Flor O'Driscoll, who was able to count four first and two second places.
In just under three weeks the J24 fleet races for national championship honours, with 10 races on Lower Lough Erne scheduled over three days at the May Day Bank Holiday weekend.
