SAILING: With just three days before racing starts at Ford Cork Week in Crosshaven, the south coast venue has started receiving its visitors as excitement builds.
In addition to dozens of regular production boats, a squad of French mini-transat boats were due overnight to take up residency at East Ferry while the sleek IRM and Commodore's Cup yachts have also arrived.
In a clear lesson of the basics in "the power of positive thinking", race chairman John McWilliam yesterday predicted clear skies and sunshine plus steady south-easterly winds throughout the week. At this point, it is unclear who will be responsible for producing such a meteorological miracle but if true, McWilliam is certain to be popular with the Irish crews at the very least.
The line-up for the event, deliberately scaled back from two years ago to provide more comfort, is no less impressive. A total of 540 crews are listed, compared with almost 700 in 2000. "We told everyone that the entry list was closed (at 500 boats) but it was bloody hard to stop them!" said McWilliam.
And although Donal McClement and Clayton Love have stepped back from the front-line of the organisation, innovation and improvement continues.
Changes this year include some reduction to the multi-buoy courses that are difficult to change quickly and innovations in the results area - a contentious issue due to delays two years ago.
Aviation-type equipment has been provided to establish a duplex radio link from the committee vessels at sea to the Royal Cork YC race office in Crosshaven. Bob McPherson will supervise his own results programme that has sold more than 3,000 copies around the world.
Afloat, a new "High Performance IRM" class will have the latest designs to this rule obliged to compete in this fleet. Fifteen assorted boats will now ease the pressure on the bigger boats racing under IRC handicap that often suited some of these super-quick designs.
Of the Farr 52-footers in this class, Nick Hewson's Team Tonic that starred as line-honours winner in the Bord Fáilte Round Ireland Race has remained in the country and will be sailing in Cork. So too will Kit Hobday's famous Bear of Britain that won the recent IRC National Championships. Pete Newland's Chernikeef 2 has had a quiet season to date but its crew is bolstered by Dave Bedford at the helm.
Other IRM-class contenders include one of six Kerr 11.3s, Eye Site with Irish triple Olympian Mark Mansfield calling tactics on his home waters.
The class also includes Farr 40s and three IC45s including Welsh entry Babbalaas with Joe English on board. But the concentration of the elite end of the racing fleets doesn't end there; Class Zero retains its glamour entries too. Six Beneteau 47.7-footers are competing with Doug Flynn's Kirribilli tipped for glory. Swan Nautor accounts for most of the big boats as usual with Island Fling and Spirit of Jethou rivalling Desperado on her regular stint at Cork.
Indeed, Richard Loftus, owner of the latter 65-footer will be deprived of a chance to even the score from the Bell Lawrie Scottish Series as winner Azure from Dún Laogahire is not sailing.
Colm Barrington's Gloves Off, Roy Dickson's Cracklin' Rosie and Conor Fanning's IMX 45-footer are all top Irish boats providing plenty of local opposition to the visitors. So too will Maurice Mitton's young team on Exclaimation from the National Yacht Club, one of eight IMX 38s competing in Class 2 IRC. A reduced fleet of 1720 Sportsboats - only 33 - will be sailing with a strong British contingent proving the success story of this RCYC-originated project.
Across all 20 classes, there will be few if any sailors wishing McWilliam's weather predictions to be anything other than 100 per cent accurate for the five days of racing that is known to be as good as it gets anywhere in the world.
