In the late 1970s he wanted to develop a "relatively affordable" solo offshore race in contrast to the trend towards bigger and more expensive boats in other trans-ocean races, such as the OSTAR.
With its strong maritime tradition it was appropriate that Plymouth should be at the forefront of the initiative. It was from there in 1620 that the Pilgrim Fathers sailed for the New World and established settlements in what became the USA. And it was on Plymouth Hoe that Sir Francis Drake is said to have played a game of bowls before setting off to engage the Spanish Armada in battle in 1588.
From Bob Salmon's initiative the Mini Transat was developed, the yachts limited to 21-feet maximum.
It is the smallest Open Class trans-ocean race and has been a breeding ground for professional ocean racers. There is now a move to get Ireland involved. This reflects the growing interest in short-handed sailing here despite the attitude of the Government which has rules in place that are regarded as discouraging this type of racing.
The Irish Double and Solo Racing Group was launched last year to develop a vibrant community of Irish solo and double-handed sailors as well as establishing a regular sailing calendar here.
In the past two years Irish sailors achieved remarkable success in short-handed ocean racing. Damian Foxall won the double handed Barcelona World Race with French co-skipper Jean Pierre-Dick on their Open 60 PAPREC-VIRBAC. Cobh man Barry Hurley won his class and finished 4th overall in the OSTAR (Original Single-handed Transatlantic Race) in his JOD 35 DINAH. Besides these victories there has been a large increase in the number of Irish sailors participating in solo and double-handed sailing. Several are travelling to events in the UK and France where this type of sailing is firmly established.
Now Michael McKeon a member of the Double and Solo Group is the man spearheading interest in the Transat here.
He has 30 years' sailing experience and, following the success of a series of "Mini open days" which he ran in Dublin aboard his own boat, HYPOMENE, Michael wants to rally "interested parties" to help campaign it as the 'Irish Mini' during the 2011 season and create the Mini Transat Class in Ireland.
"The sailing level is from pure amateur up to professional," he says. "The Mini gathers an average of 500 subscribers, most of them competitors coming from all kind of professions, from the carpenter to the engineer, the nurse to the steward, the journalist to the professional skipper. Anyone interested in the Mini 6.50 class and in sampling short-handed racing the 'French way' is welcome."
More information is available from Michael at: Email: [email protected] or Mobile 086-8494924
• This article is reprinted by permission of the EVENING ECHO newspaper, Cork, where Tom MacSweeney writes maritime columns twice weekly. Evening Echo website: www.eecho.ie
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