Star Class battle comes to a close

THE epic of the very bitter and long drawn out battle for the Star Class place to represent Ireland at Athens 2004 finally came to a close yesterday at Gaetq, Italy with the final race of the World Championship.

Mark Mansfield and Killian Collins of the Royal Cork Yacht Club will represent Ireland having won all three qualifying events and finishing with a cumulative total on the positive points system used of 445 points. Their competitors for the right to sail at Athens, Maxwell Treacy and Anthony Shanks of Dun Laoghaire finished with 277 points.

The two Irish crews put in a week of excellent results and for the first four races remained in the top ten placings of a fleet of 118 boats.