Kinsale's Twomey, with crew Brian O'Mahony and Anthony Hegarty, were training in their Sonar keelboat in advance of the 2006 championships when they were involved in a port and starboard incident with an American
competitor.
The Irish boat was on a starboard tack and had right of way at the time of the collision, according to Twomey, an Irish Sonar and Dragon champion.
Twomey received stitches to his right arm, muscle damage and severe bruising.
Damage to the Irish boat was a foot from the stern, and just above the waterline leaving a 12 inch diameter hole in the hull that had been shipped from Cork to Australia especially for the event.
Emergency repairs were put in place to have the fibreglass boat fixed in time for the regatta.
The Irish trio are in Perth with the second Sonar team consisting of Paul McCarthy, Paul Ryan and Chris Thomas, all Kinsale Yacht Club members, to secure a place for Ireland at the 2008 Paralympics.
Fifteen teams are confirmed for tomorrow's (Saturday) Leinster Schools Championships at the Royal St. George Yacht Club in Dun Laoghaire.
Last year's hosts, Gorey Community College, is sending three teams to join a comprehensive line up of Dublin schools including Malahide, Skerries, Belvedere, Gonzaga, St. Andrews and Loreto colleges.
The top four teams will qualify to represent the region at the Irish Schools Sailing Championships, to be held in Schull Community College in April.
Staying on the East coast, the Royal Yachting Association (RYA) are in Irish waters next month to address a shortage of race judges and host a training course at Howth Yacht Club on February 11 and 12th.
The course is intended to improve standards of judging at all levels and to formalise the structure of a National Judge qualification programme.
Race Judge Trainer Chris Watts will present the course over the weekend, assisted by the Irish sailing Association's (ISA) Bill O’Hara.
Places are strictly limited and will be allocated on a ‘first-come first-served’ basis. Judges from any clubs around the country interested in attending this course are requested to contact the ISA.
As part of it's fifty year celebrations, Tralee Bay Sailing Club (TBSC) at Fenit on the Dingle peninsula are hosting a number of significant fixtures.
WIORA (West Ireland Offshore Racing Association) week returns to the club for four days of racing, hosted from June 21–24 2006.
In July the club hosts the Mirror Munster Championships and in August the Fireball National Championships are being staged in Kerry.
TBSC has over 500 members, with on average up to 50 dinghies and up to 25 keelboats or cruisers berthed in the nearby Fenit Harbour Marina.
The club is unique in having its own purpose-built sailing school on its grounds. Last year the school had a throughput of 300 people, children and adults, learning how to say in Tralee Bay.
