SAILING CORK WEEKTWO IMPORTANT festivals, worth an estimated €10 million to the south coast, are under way this morning. The Clipper fleet says farewell to Cork city this afternoon on its final leg of a journey round the world, while Cork Week regatta starts today in Crosshaven.
When Cork Lord Mayor Michael O’Connell staged a civic reception on Wednesday, he did more than honour the skippers and crews of the Clipper Round the World Yacht race; the event in City Hall also gave an official nod to the sports’s economic contribution to the county.
It’s all a long way from the low point last January when the original Cork Clipper entry was lost in the Java Sea.
Six months later that accident is forgotten, and the emphasis this week instead is on celebrating the achievements of amateur crews, 180 of whom who have circled the world.
Both aimed at amateur sailors, the Clipper Round the World race stopover and Cork Week regatta are filling important roles in promoting Irish sailing to the non-sailor, a job many involved in the sport admit has been overlooked for too long.
First, on June 27th, “Cork”, one of 10 entries in the round-the-world race, led the Clipper fleet to a homecoming reception in front of 50,000 people, following a week’s celebrations in the harbour town of Kinsale.
The homecoming moved centre stage to Cork City on Wednesday to a new marina facility on the Lee, where celebrations will conclude tonight for the amateur crews who have circled the world.
The crews set sail again this weekend on their final destination of the 33,000-mile circumnavigation to the finish line in Hull.
Cork Week regatta continues the Munster sail fest at Crosshaven. Starting this morning, a fleet of over 200 are gathered for the Royal Cork YC biennial event, a fixture that has stuck rigidly to its amateur status since it was established 32 years ago.
But as well as its amateur divisions, the event has the knack of attracting the world’s big boats, too, and the organisers say this year will be no exception.
The Super Zero Class will be a competition between seven hi-tech machines.
The Irish Commodore’s Cup team will also be sailing, as Cork serves as a build-up regatta to next month’s team championships on the Solent.
The value of these events is being put at over €10 million to the local economy, but after all the yachts have sailed away next week the city will still benefit because the new marina will attract visiting boats from all over the world on a regular basis.
This week a team of Irish divers recovered the ship’s bell and wheel of the Asgard II from the wreck of the vessel that lies in 83 metres of water off the French coast. It is the intention of the team to bring the salvaged items back to Ireland for display in the maritime museum, mementoes of the national sail training vessel.
The owners of the vessel, Coiste an Asgard, have issued a statement to say no permission has been given to dive the ship.
On the west coast, the West of Ireland Championships, staged by the Royal Western Yacht Club in Kilrush, Co Clare, concluded last weekend.
Disaray (Ray McGibney) was awarded the overall title after a heavy-air series.
This weekend, on the Shannon Estuary, Foynes Yacht Club hosts is annual regatta.
Dublin Bay Sailing Club has announced 28 winners from its first summer series. George Sisk’s Wow won Class Zero on IRC handicap. A combined prize Cruisers Zero and One was awarded, and this went to John Maybury’s J109 Joker.
As Ireland’s ISAF Youth Worlds team prepare for their first race on Sunday in Turkey, Ireland’s top-ranked Optimist dinghy sailor, Peter McCann, is providing inspiration at the class European championships in Poland.
A light-air affair to date, McCann lies seventh in a fleet of 144 boats after seven races sailed.
