A perfect day for top-class sailing

WITH temperatures close to 30 degrees and wind speeds climbing to 15 knots, the 402 racing boats at Crosshaven spend yesterday asking was there a catch.

Forecasts that the heat wave would restrict Cork Week to paddling pool racing conditions were blown out of the water and, as race coordinator David Meagher explains, the competition was rife in all six classes.

“It was fantastic out there. There wasn’t supposed to be wind until later in the week so it was great to get it in today”, he said.

The conditions lent perfectly to the spectacle of the eight super boats that came to compete at Crosshaven.

In that class the 50-foot IIB Chieftan boat maintained its amazing winning streak that goes back to the Sydney to Hobart race in January. Its skipper, Limerick builder Ger O’Rourke, said they could not abandon their competitive edge against the likes of the New Zealand monster craft, Maximus.

“It was good sailing and it was a good course so it was an awful lot better than the floating exercise we had yesterday. We had thought of this as a bit of a chilled-out regatta, but unfortunately we had to keep the winning streak going and we did”.

Back on land, Welsh Enterprise Minister, Andrew Davies, recalled the last time he sailed into Crosshaven at the tail-end of a hurricane, but this time it was a more relaxed fact-finding mission.

He says: “we’ve come here to see how we can build something similar in North Wales.”

Likewise, Claire Burke travelled from the British Virgin Islands to pick up tips for their Spring regatta.

“I think there’s great camaraderie throughout the week between all the boats. (As for the weather) I could just as well be sitting at home in the Caribbean”.