Chernobyl kids get a taste of Costa Del Cork

IT might not have been quite Mediterranean weather but, once again, the doomsayers got the prediction wrong as Cork Week entered its second day of full racing yesterday in Crosshaven, which is rapidly living up to its name as the Costa Del Cork.

Foul weather with high winds was the forecast but the sun shone intermittently and the winds were, if anything, a little on the light side. “We could do with a bit more puff,” complained one seasoned sailor.!

It was just as well there wasn’t too much ‘puff’ as this was the day when the Royal Cork Yacht Club played host not just to 1,000 sailors but also to a group of children from an orphanage in Chernobyl. Entertaining the children was the brainchild of RCYC’s John Crotty who approached the ‘two Micks’ who run the Chernobyl Orphans’ Fund. Michael Noonan, chairman of the fund, and Michael Croghan, its secretary, could hardly believe the generosity of club members and others who gave not only their time but the use of their boats to ensure that the 15 children from Chernobyl, who are on a three-week holiday in Ireland, would enjoy a day they would never forget.