Tonight at their South Quay clubhouse, Wicklow Sailing Club will announce details of next year's Round Ireland Race, the biennial 704 mile circumnavigation that has experienced mixed fortunes in recent times.. The next event will start from Wicklow at 14.00 hours on Saturday June 22nd in keeping with its well-established fixture.
The course, as always, takes the fleet southwards towards the Tuskar Rock before turning for the Fastnet Rock waypoint and the gateway to the rugged Atlantic coast stage. Reaching this point will have been an separate achievement - ports from Kilmore Quay to Baltimore have been traditional bolt-holes for the weather-ravaged or victims of gear failure - and a separate race from Dun Laoghaire to Dingle held in the intervening years has now grown to similar proportions.
The passage along the Atlantic seaboard is almost always a sleigh-ride thanks to the prevailing weather patterns and having survived this far, it is almost unheard of for crews to drop out from here. Whether or not the developments of modern marinas along the west coast acts as a lure to crews remains to be seen but most will be tougher than this and will be conscious of passing the halfway point.
The race's appeal changes once again with the first of the major tidal 'gates' along the north coast at Rathlin Island. This is make or break.
Missing the tide here usually means anchoring rather than lose ground if the wind is light as it frequently is. This can allow the back-markers to catch up in a concertina effect, restarting the race especially for the handicap honours.
The final stage down the east coast is another tactical nightmare, again mixing tidal strategy with weather, often deciding huge final placings within sight of the Wicklow finishing line. The main trophy is decided on IRC handicap, the most popular system in current use in Western Europe while bigger boats will also be focused on winning 'line honours' for first boat home.
The event proprietors at Wicklow SC face the challenges of a changing sporting environment. Having had the support of Irish Distillers for many years, this ended before the 2000 event and speculation mounted about the future of the race. Having attracted a reduced but high-quality fleet, the last event was a morale booster to the organisers and they have since brought a mainstream sponsorship expert on board in the form of Drury Sports Management.
Entry interest is reported to be as strong as ever though nothing will be confirmed until after entry forms have been issued and returned. Sadly, Denis Doyle will not be returning and an era in the history of this race will end next June. Tonight, a new trophy in the 80-year-old yachtsman's memory will be announced for the best new skipper in 2002, a fitting tribute to a sailor who introduced hundreds to the sport over 40 years.
