An ambitious plan to bring the Commodore's Cup to Ireland has been hatched by the Royal Cork Yacht Club (RCYC) this week. Following worldwide acclaim for this summer's staging of Ford Cork Week at the Royal Cork Yacht Club, the organisers have unveiled a plan to host the Rolex Commodore's Cup as part of the 2000 regatta at Crosshaven.
Known to many as the amateur version of the Admiral's cup, the plan is to breathe new life into a regatta that has drifted off course.
Cork's Clayton Love and Donal McClement travelled to London to make a formal presentation to the RORC in September. Along with discussion about taking one of the most prestigious prizes in British yachting out of Cowes and into Crosshaven, consideration was also given to reforming the regatta, in which Ireland has only once managed to field a team.
Acknowledging the potential for the event to grow McClement said: "It should be a world class event, clearly it is not. The whole event needs a rethink and that includes the venue".
This year the biennial event attracted only eight teams and the popularity of a Cork venue would be a shot in the arm for an event that, the RCYC says, has struggled at Cowes.
The RCYC concept, introduced to the RORC's Terry Robinson and general manager David Minords, focuses on staging the Commodore's Cup in the week preceding the main Crosshaven competition which could expand from this year's 600-boat fleet to 1,000 in two years' time.
The pair also called for the reinstatement of the Fastnet Race but it would, they say, have to start and finish off Cork not Cowes.
Though initial reaction gleaned from a Royal Cork straw poll confirms that the move would be well received internationally, the stumbling block may be sponsors who, it appears, feel that corporate hospitality facilities in Cowes are better than Crosshaven.
It is a point refuted by McClement, who points to the RCYC's proven track record and the fact that Henry Ford & Son have restated their commitment for 2000 and 2002.
Elsewhere, the core philosophy of the governing body of sailing comes under the spotlight tomorrow at a special emergency general meeting convened to change the operating structure of the Irish Sailing Association (ISA).
"Sailing - the Lifelong Sport" is a visionary 44-page document that lays down 39 targets for the association to achieve before 2002. Along with winning an Olympic medal, it calls for funding of the sport to be increased from £60,000 to £200,000.
In setting out sailing's stall for the new millennium, treasurer Paddy Maguire argues that it is far more than a "wish list" and points to the fact that country-wide working groups are already established to put in place the necessary developments which could double the size of the sport.
Broken down into practical sections with goals for each area, the ISA produced its proposals after consultation with 42 sailing clubs and 60 regional teaching establishments.
The e.g.m. takes place at noon tomorrow at the Green Isle hotel, Naas Road, Dublin.
An Irish sailor has been elected vice-president of the International Sailing Federation (ISAF) - one of a number of significant appointments that will boost the ISA on the eve of the implementation of their development plan.
Ken Ryan's election to the number two spot in the International Sailing Federation (ISAF) and the appointment of four more ISA officers to other high-level decision-making bodies has been a major boost for Irish sailing administrators.
