#corkweek – With Volvo Cork Week taking place just two weeks before this summer's  Dolphin Commodores' Cup, competing teams are eyeing up Volvo Cork Week as an ideal training event for the inter–country competition.

Early entries for Volvo Cork Week are promising a wide variety of sailors and yachts coming to enjoy, Ireland's longest running  regatta. Interest has been received from several high performance yachts from overseas and

Half of the early entries for Volvo Cork Week are from Dublin Yacht Clubs, promising signs of a strong Irish presence, looking to take on well sailed overseas visitors.

Maurice 'Prof' O'Connell will be crew boss for the Grand Soleil 43, Quokka, at Volvo Cork Week. Quokka, co-skippered by Niall Dowling and Michael Boyd will be part of the Irish team at the Brewin Dolphin Commodores' Cup. " Cork Week will be our last event before the Commodores' Cup." confirmed Prof. "We will have the full team racing the boat and we will be flying the flag in Ireland for the last time before the big event based in Cowes. Cork Week provides the perfect preparation in terms of the different types of course and I believe their will be a number of races each day, so we will be leaving the dock before 9 a.m. and out on the water until after 4 p.m. Essentially we will be spending a full day on the water, taking part in races that are very similar to our main event, Cork Week will mimic the Commodores' Cup inshore races, there is no more an ideal preparation for us to bring the team to the boil."

Cork Week is famous for fantastic race courses set in the Atlantic Approaches and Cork Harbour, providing a variety of racing that is difficult to better. However, the X-Factor at any successful regatta comes from the people who take part and Volvo Cork Week has characters in abundance. Every team comes to Volvo Cork Week looking for success but the legendary 'Cork Craic' is just as appealing as the racing.
British sailor, Andrew Jones now lives with his young family in Dublin. Andrew will be the skipper of X-43, Fox in Sox for Volvo Cork Week.
"We've managed to scrape together a motley crew of elderly Dublin Bay racers, sleep-deprived Dads, anti-social short-handed offshore guys, Fastnet novices, oh and a former hot-shot Italian helm." commented Andrew. "We're looking forward to our first Cork week with Fox in Sox and hope to have some laughs...and we might just be one to watch if we can make our boat fly! I have put the crew together from contacts made during the 2011 Fastnet campaign and friends at the Royal Irish Yacht Club. I'm the only Brit, the rest are Irish and Italian. Some of the crew have done Cork week before on other boats but this will be my first time. It's the major Irish regatta this year, so it's a must do for us."
Tony Kingston's 33ft Dehler, Luv Is, from Kinsale was one of the first entries, Tony and his wife Alice, a former Commodore of Kinsale Yacht Club, and have competed many times at Cork Week.
Alice trims mainsheet upwind and spinnaker downwind. She has completed thousands of miles of cruising and racing and has the reflexes of a mongoose, having put up with my helming for longer than we care to remember!" laughed Tony. "Choryna handles the pit and helms her own Dragon when she is not sailing with us but the iffy clutches and wonky winches are no bother to her. Miah, a cattle rancher from West Cork, takes care of the bow. He prefers heavy weather and is never happier than when the wind is high. He has done at least five Round Ireland's and a few Fastnet races and prefers offshore racing but will tolerate the short races. He has no interest whatever in how we do in a race: Times, results, classes and handicaps do not interest him at all. Two Laser sailors in their twenties complete the line up, giving the team a big input into tactics, they can read the race and the race area better than the previous generation most of the time.
My tuppence worth of advice for first timers at Cork Week, is to sail conservatively and prudently on day one. Give way early and avoid damage at all costs. Whether right or wrong, damage will ruin your week. Better to give up half a boat length than spend the day at the protest room or boat yard. Everyone is more relaxed after the first day. Also, remain civil afloat, as you will meet ashore at some stage and you may well find that you spend the whole week afloat with the same small group of boats, as if tied by an invisible string. Much better to make friends day one and enjoy it. We still meet friends we made on the water twenty years ago."
Gavin Deane, General Manager of the Royal Cork Yacht Club commented on the affect that the title sponsorship from Volvo will have on the event.
"Having Volvo as partners for Cork Week is fantastic news for the competitors." commented Gavin. "The Royal Cork Yacht Club will be investing all of the funds towards Volvo Cork Week. The money will be used to support great race courses and the partnership has enabled us to vastly reduce the entry fees. The minimum saving for boats will be 40% and as much as 70% in some cases. The club will also be giving complimentary car parking to competitors, which has been an issue in the past, and providing more afternoon entertainment. When people are coming in off the water, soul bands and other live music will be playing, hopefully the weather gods will smile on us and after great racing, there will be a great Craic ashore. Those are the goals for Volvo Cork Week 2014."

#rorc – In another indication of the potency of this Summer's Irish Commodore's Cup team, the latest signing Quokka 8 skippered by Michael Boyd of the Royal Irish Yacht Club, has finished second overall in IRC2 at last week's RORC Caribbean 600 Trophy. Results here.

Last month, Irish team mates on the American Ker 40, Catapult, skippered by Peter O'Leary, achieved third overall in Key West regatta in Florida, leading Irish Commodore's Cup officials to conclude that Ireland has a winning combination for the Solent this Summer. 

In a month of building excitement for ICRA and its Cup plans, it was finally announced an American and a British yacht would join Royal Cork's Antix to form the 'Green Team' for Ireland. 

Although Afloat.ie accurately predicted the team line up some week's beforehand, refering to the team as 'Irish sailing's worst kept secret', such predictions were dismissed by ICRA Commodore Nobby Reilly as 'rumour'. Reilly took to Afloat.ie's popular comment section: 'Worst kept secret? The contracts have only just been signed so Afloat's original report was just a rumour. Fact is ICRA had 4 very competitive boats to choose from', he wrote.

The three boat team is Catapult, a Ker 40 owned by Mark Glimcher of the United States; Anthony O'Leary's Ker 39, Antix from Royal Cork; and the RORC Yacht Quokka, a Grand Soleil 43, being chartered by Royal Irish sailors Michael Boyd and Niall Dowling.

Although there will be a strong Irish crew involvement on all three boats comprising of sailors who first won the Cup for Ireland in 2010. Crew list announcements are awaited.

Meanwhile in Antiqua, Wwith all 60 yachts accounted for, the Royal Ocean Racing Club announced that the winner of the RORC Caribbean 600 Trophy for the best yacht, overall in IRC on corrected time, was George Sakellaris' RP72, Shockwave. The trophy was presented to the Shockwave crew at  a Prize Giving held at the Antigua Yacht Club.

"I have a great crew and it was an excellent race, lots of wind and the racing was very close," commented Shockwave's owner/driver George Sakellaris, shortly after finishing the race. "I have done many offshore races but this is the first time I have raced this one and it was against tough opposition. I think the winds were favourable to us and the Shockwave team used that to our advantage. At the end of the day, winning yacht races is all about the team performance more than anything else."

"That is what ocean racing should be all about," commented Shockwave tactician, Robbie Doyle. "Beautiful racing between three very tough competitors, all fighting it out the whole way. A heavy-weight battle without a doubt - no question. I have had great moments in sail boats, but that was as much fun as I can remember. For 600 miles we were always in touch with each other, either up a few minutes or down a few minutes, and it all came down to the last beat to finish. It was like an epic tennis match. Every sail change was race critical. Bella Mente is a magic bullet when power reaching; we knew that before the start, so we set about minimising the time lost."

Robbie Doyle continued, "Bella Mente did a nice job getting through the lee of Guadeloupe by going inshore and at that time she had her time on us. All we tried to do was to stay in touch with her because we knew the race wasn't over. The critical point in the race happened just after Barbuda when Bella Mente got under a cloud and literally stopped and we sailed right up to them. After that we knew that if we just stayed in touch, the win would go to Shockwave - that's yacht racing for you, but what a fantastic experience."

"With all of the yachts now accounted for, the racing team can join the competitors at tonight's Prize Giving for a memorable occasion," commented RORC Racing Manager, Nick Elliott. "There have been some retirements, but we are delighted that there has been only minor damage to yachts. Apart from the expected knocks and bruises for a 600 mile race, everyone is safely ashore and looking forward to a great party."

#commdorescup – An American and a British yacht will join Royal Cork's Antix to form the 'Green Team' to win the Commodore's Cup for Ireland it has been officialy announced. The three boat team is Catapult, a Ker 40 owned by Mark Glimcher of the United States; Anthony O'Leary's Ker 39, Antix from Royal Cork; and the RORC Yacht Quokka, a Grand Soleil 43, being chartered by Royal Irish sailors Michael Boyd and Niall Dowling. There will be a strong Irish crew involvement on all three boats comprising of sailors who first won the Cup for Ireland in 2010. Crew list announcements are expected to follow.

In what was sailing's worst kept secret of the year so far the Irish Cruiser Racing Association (ICRA) finally announced this morning the Irish team line–up for this Summer's Cup. Details of the team were previously reported on Afloat.ie

ICRA has been working for some time to assemble a top level Irish Team for this year's event, taking place off Cowes, Isle of Wight between 19th and 26th July 2014.

Catapult has won the US IRC Nationals, Cork based Antix is a seasoned and successful campaigner and a winning Commodores' Cup team member in 2010. Quokka is an extremely competitive IRC boat with a strong track record. The Team's campaign will begin with the Warsash Spring Series in the Solent followed by various other regattas including the UK IRC Championship in mid-June.

ICRA Commodore, Norbert Reilly welcomed the development of such a high calibre team. ICRA also say they have serious interest from a fourth boat to form a second team and are inviting interest from another two boats to form Ireland Orange Team.

#commodorescup – An announcement of the three–boat Irish team to contest the Commodore's Cup this July is imminent, according to Afloat.ie sources this morning.

Since last October's news that Ireland is to enter the Cup there has been increased speculation about team composition. Cork Olympic helmsman Peter O'Leary's participation in last month's Key West regatta on the New York based Ker 40 Catapult was seen as the start of the campaign build up. In local Key west interviews both O'Leary and boat owner Mark Glimcher more than hint that the Ker 39 is to join his father Anthony's Ker 39 Antix on the 2014 team leaving Ireland just looking for one more boat to win back a Cup it first won in 2010. 

In the Irish Times on January 3, David O'Brien wrote that the third boat is likely to be a Solent based Grand Soleil yacht. One unconfirmed source this morning names this boat as Quokka under former RORC skipper Peter Rutter, a yacht that is currently being campaigned in RORC's Caribbean 600 series.

Quokka, a Grand Soleil 43, is one of the most successful race yachts in the UK. In 2011 she won the IRC Nationals outright. She also finished in the top 10 overall in the Fastnet 2011, won two RORC offshore races and represented Great Britain in the 2009 Commodores Cup.

Team officials from the Irish Cruiser Racing Association (ICRA) have remained tight-lipped on the matter however. "It's still a fluid situation but we're working really hard to make this happen," Barry Rose said in early January but hoped to make an annoucement within the month.

Anthony O'Leary, is expected to lead the Irish team on former winner Antix and following a pre-Christmas meeting of ICRA in Portlaoise, the Grand Soleil was identified as the boat to fill Ireland's third boat slot.

More on this story as we have it.

Hoping to bridge an almost 30 year gap in Canadian Offshore racing, Sail Canada has announced its intention to lodge a challenge for the 2014 Commodores' Cup by forming a three boat team of Canadian sailors, the former head of the Irish Sailing Association, now working for Sail Canada has confirmed.

"The likely make up of the team will draw on sailors from right across the country, with serious interest being expressed by Halifax, Toronto and Vancouver sailors," confirms Paddy Boyd, Executive Director/Directeur General, Sail Canada/Voile Canada.

"Canada's last foray into offshore team racing was at the 1985 Admiral's Cup, where the three boat team of Pachena, Amazing Grace and Impetus crossed the Atlantic to race against 17 other countries. Since then, offshore team racing and Canadian involvement in such events has waned, but recently, there has been an upsurge of interest. IRC, the rating system used in the Commodores' Cup has a strong following in Lake Ontario and there are plenty of competitive IRC rated boats available for charter on the South Coast of England, reducing the cost to compete quite considerably," continues Boyd.

The Commodores' Cup 2014, based in Cowes, Isle of Wight will start on Saturday 19th July 2014 and follow a similar format to previous years. A mixture of inshore races in the Solent, an offshore race in the English Channel and a race around the Isle of Wight will finish with a final race and prize-giving on Saturday 26th July 2014.

The Commodores' Cup started in 1992 and is an international three-boat team event using the IRC Rating system and is open to boats rated between 1.020 and 1.230, with only one boat rated above 1.150.

#commodorescup – The Brewin Dolphin Commodores' Cup fleet received an inadvertent visit from HM Queen Elizabeth II this morning, her Diamond Jubilee Tour taking in Cowes Yacht Haven where the 21 boats are based in this premier three boat team event for international amateur crews.

This afternoon only one race was held, again along the Lee-on-Solent shoreline as it was on the first day with the 6 - 9 knot southeasterly, enough for the boats to race. The boats then had to head out into the tide to round the first mark and spreader mark before heading back downwind. The course was shortened, when a southwesterly sea breeze filled in after a brief transition just short of the finish line.

Winner of the day was the young British Keelboat Academy crew on former RORC Commodore David Aisher's J/109 Yeoman of Wight competing in RYA Team GBR Black, whose time corrected out to more than two minutes ahead of John van der Starre's J/111 Xcentric Ripper in the Benelux team. However it was RYA Team GBR Red which put in the best performance of the day slipping into first place on 151.5 points, although they are just three points ahead of yesterday's leaders, France.

The British Keelboat Academy's Racing Manager and Head Coach, Luke McCarthy praised their helmsman Stevie Beckett and said he was pleased that their win today wasn't a big boat/small boat issue, it had been one of tactics.

While the majority of the fleet went inshore two winners defied the majority and headed out into the Solent. "We initially thought that on the right the tide wouldn't have started to ebb quite so much," said McCarthy. "We also felt that if there was going to be any sort of a shift it was going to go right and that is what made us the gain upwind for sure, so we were well in among the 40ft middle of the fleet boats."

They had also anticipated the southwesterly sea breeze filling in, the GBR teams having discussed it this morning at their weather briefing. "During the boat briefing on the way we said that we just wanted to have eyes up the Solent for boats coming down from the western Solent with spinnakers. Half way down the run one of the guys at the front of the boat saw a boat popping out past Cowes with a spinnaker- after that we looked to push and be the first boat to make that transition and that was another big gain at the end."

In addition to winning today, after four races Yeoman of Wight and her young crew is the leading boat across all seven teams at the Brewin Dolphin Commodores' Cup, having taken over from RYA Team GBR Red's small boat, CNBC, that had her worse day of the regatta today.

"GBR Black was put together as a bit of a development team," observed McCarthy. "We have got some young sailors from the British Keelboat Academy on board, very much looking at this as being about getting experience of sailing at this level. Other people on the Black team maybe haven't done the event before and are looking at it with a longer term perspective." An additional benefit is that all three of their boats have ended up being optimised for the light conditions. However the Black team still has some ground to make up although in fourth place they are less than 20 points from first.

Leading the boats around the course today was Andrew Pearce's Ker 40 Magnum III, which also made early gains over her three international sisterships by heading away from the coast more. One of Magnum III's two professional sailors is Andy Beadsworth, former America's Cup helmsman and Olympian who is also the sole person competing at this year's Brewin Dolphin Commodores' Cup from the winning Irish team of 2010.

"We've led every race this regatta and haven't managed to end up at the finish leading, but today we did," said a relieved Beadsworth. "Our strategies have been generally good all week, our speed is generally okay, our preparation is generally okay and you should never expect, but there was no reason why we shouldn't be doing as well as we've been doing."

Maintaining their lead on the water ahead of the other well sailed Ker 40s was made no easier by them having to negotiate the transition, although the Magnum III crew was anticipating it. "We were worrying about it because we could see this area of light air and there were other boats in the vicinity which were on jibs at funny angles, so there were hallmarks that it would change," said Beadsworth.

"And we could see the flags on the committee boat and they stayed southerly right until we were 200-300m from the finish and then we hit the wall and the jib was just going up when we hit it, so we transitioned very well."

Magnum III did well to finish third overall on corrected time, helping to ease GBR White up the leaderboard to third place. "It is very difficult to expect a Ker 40 to do well overall in these lighter conditions against some of the boats that are obviously stronger in these conditions," concluded Beadsworth.

After trailing the other Ker 40s up the beat, Jonathan Goring's Keronimo in GBR Red, pulled back to second on the water behind Magnum III, finishing fourth on corrected. Despite CNBC's lacklustre result today, and Dignity's 'best left forgotten' offshore race yesterday when it took two tides to get them around one mark, it was Keronimo's performance today that elevated the Red team into first place today.

Today there are two more inshore races are scheduled, due to start at 10:30.

Ireland will not defend the Commodore's Cup title it won in 2010 it has been announced this afternoon after weeks of doubt about Ireland's ability to put a competitive three boat team together.

There will be little surprise with the Irish Cruiser Racing Association confirmation that despite exhaustive efforts over a long period it has not been possible in the current environment to mount a defence team for the upcoming Brewin Dolphin Commodores Cup.

ICRA Commodore Barry Rose  thanked all those who worked hard in striving to achieve a team especially 2010 winning team Captain Anthony O'Leary and looks forward with confidence to returning with a credible team for the 2014 event.

The ICRA announcement continued: "ICRA wishes the RORC and Brewin Dolphin Commodores Cup organisation every success with the event. The event is held in the highest regard in Ireland and the Irish team were thrilled to win it for the first time in 2010. We look forward to being back strongly in 2014".

#COMMODORE'S CUP – As doubt continues over Ireland's ability to field a team to defend the Commodore's Cup won in 2010, it appears Hong Kong is gearing up for a serious assault on the 2012  Royal Ocean Racing Club event in two months time.

Having finished fifth on their first attempt in 2008 and second to the run-away Irish two years ago, the Hong Kong team is set to be one of the strongest entries in this year's Brewin Dolphin Commodores' Cup, to be held on the Solent over 22-28th July.

Competing in an event like this when you are based on the opposite side of the world has its logistical challenges so for this year's event the Hong Kong team has chartered two well known British boats for their three boat line-up.

Erivale, the familiar Ker 39 of the RORC's Commodore Mike Greville, has been chartered to Nick Burns, who campaigned his own Mills 40 EFG Bank Mandrake in 2010. Former RORC Commodore Peter Rutter has chartered his 2011 IRC Nationals-winning Grand Soleil 43, Quokka 8, to leading Hong Kong-based Etchells sailor Ante Razmilovic, who will be both skipper and helmsman for the Brewin Dolphin Commodores' Cup.

"We managed to get two good boats, so we feel pretty comfortable," says Team Co-ordinator Laurence Mead, who will be helming Erivale in what will be his fifth Commodores' Cup. "The Hong Kong guys really love the Brewin Dolphin Commodores' Cup. It is good fun, it is easy to do, it is not that time consuming and the balance between the Corinthian element and the competiveness is just right. It's a very competitive event which is both hard to win and well worth it!"

With two chartered boats the Hong Kong team is also shipping one from their home base, the hot new Ker 40 Peninsula Signal 8, acquired last year by a syndicate of five owners. Among them are Jamie McWilliam, of the Irish sail making dynasty, who sailed on board Blondie IV two years ago and is Peninsula Signal 8's skipper. Another co-owner is Australian Keith Jacobs, who is familiar with the Solent having campaigned Bimblegumbie in numerous Admiral's Cups for both Australia and Hong Kong over the 1980s and 90s. A third is former pro-sailor and sailmaker Patrick Pender, who will be Signal 8's helmsman for the Brewin Dolphin Commodores' Cup.

The two pros on board are Hamble-based McWilliam brother, Tom, and Sam Haines from the UK Halsey loft in Melbourne, while Chris Frost returns as navigator having competed on Blondie two years ago.

The new Ker 40's unusual name is a reference to the typhoon warnings in Hong Kong, Signal 8 being 'gale or storm force winds'.

"Our big advantage this time is that we are supported and sponsored by The Peninsula Hotels," says Jamie McWilliam. "We are delighted to be associated with such a Hong Kong icon and I hope that they enjoy it as much as we will. They have helped us do it and it has helped us complete the Hong Kong team."

Signal 8 could be one of four Ker 40s competing at the Brewin Dolphin Commodores' Cup if Magnum III and Keronimo are selected for the British team with a fourth believed to be part of the Dutch team.

Peninsula Signal 8 - Credit: Guy Nowell Photography www.guynowell.com

Coming all the way from Hong Kong to take part in the event, training time on board their two charter boats will be limited, but Peninsula Signal 8 has been sailing in Hong Kong since they acquired their boat in the autumn, although Jamie McWilliam says that training companions have been few in Hong Kong over the winter thanks to the increasing success of the Asian circuit. They also plan to use Cork Week as a warm-up.

Although they have charter boats and the team will be largely flying in from Hong Kong for the event, Laurence Mead says that this won't necessarily be a handicap. "We have got quite solid teams, crews who sail together in Hong Kong and who will stick together when they come and do the Commodore's Cup. I think that improves our chances quite a bit." On board Quokka 8 for example will be Joachim Isler and Andrew Taylor, co-owners of the Hong Kong-based Mills 41 Ambush and who competed last time aboard Rockall III.

Also the boats they have chartered are well sorted and they aim to have some Solent experts for the regatta such as career tactician David Bedford who sailed with the Hong Kong team in the last event.

In terms of choosing their boats, the Hong Kong team has erred towards the faster end of the permitted rating band due to the introduction for this year's Brewin Dolphin Commodores' Cup of the single mass starts in all races, whereas previously each of the three classes started separately.

While this should prevent them being gassed in the starts, Jamie McWilliam says that going for larger boats doesn't make it a 'slam dunk' for the Hong Kong team. "Theoretically I think the rule for any regatta that involves offshore sailing is that a good big one beats a good little'un. Certainly in 2008 and 2010, big boats were good, but in 2006 that was very much not the case, when the French team won with boats that were pretty much at the bottom of the three bands. But that was the last time it was held earlier in the season."

As to the competition Laurence Mead reckons the English teams will be the hardest to beat, benefitting from local knowledge of the Solent's complex geography, its tides and winds. "The level will be at least as good as it was last time and last time around it was a very competitive regatta. I think it will be a difficult event to win."

Jamie McWilliam concludes: "We have less visibility on the potential outcome this year than previously. Last time we had three boats that we knew very well, but we ran into a colossal campaign from the Irish. In 2008 it was our first time as Hong Kong and to be honest it was a big thing for us to be there, so we weren't that focussed on the result. This time we know a little more about it, although we lack the experience people get regularly racing in the Solent and in seriously competitive IRC fleets in breeze, but at least we are a little more experienced than before."

While the Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC) are reporting a near record turn-out for the British trials for July's Commodores' Cup there is still no update on an Irish team to defend the title it won in 2010.

The RORC more open rating bands for the 2012 Brewin Dolphin Commodores' Cup are having the desired effect: As the deadline closed for teams wishing to enter the British trials for this July's Cowes-based event, so 17 boats had registered - a near record compared to past trials.

Although Ireland is officially slated by the Royal Ocean Racing Club to be defending its 2010 title won on the Solent there is still no details of the compostion of an Irish team for July's Commdore's Cup.

Ireland face an uphill struggle to mount a credible defence, though Antony O'Leary's Antix is most likely to be a key part of any team, which is a major asset, there is still the job of completing the three boat line-up. A call to interested parties was made late last year by the Irish Cruiser Racing Association (ICRA).

ICRA Commodore Barry Rose says that despite the current difficult environment ICRA remains hopeful of mounting a serious defence and have waited until last October to allow the maximum time to those who may consider supporting the challenge but since then there has been no further news of the team.

In addition to his important role as Chairman of the Royal Yachting Association, Stacey Clark is also Chairman of the Selectors for the British Brewin Dolphin Commodores' Cup team, a panel he sits on with professional sailor, Chris Mason, now Yachting Secretary of the Royal Yacht Squadron, and Cowes Week CEO, Stuart Quarrie.

Clark himself has been helmsman on the various Cutting Edge campaigns, including most recently a Farr 45 and a TP52. "I think given the world the way it is at the moment, we are pretty pleased," he says of the turn-out. "We have a healthy number of trialists and we are optimistic about being able to put forward very strong teams."

While 17 boats are entered in the trials, still unresolved is the number that will make it through, as the GBR selectors have yet to decide whether they will enter three or four teams (each comprising three boats). Clark says that originally the fourth had been allocated to go to a team from the north of England/Scotland, but this hasn't materialised. "We have the option to go to four teams, but we have decided that we'd like to see the trials before deciding whether to enter three or four. We want to enter teams that will do credit to the GBR name in this regatta, as well as look to build for the future."

This year the selection is focussing on the performance of the 17 boats at two events: the RORC's Morgan Cup offshore starting on 5th May and the Royal Corinthian YC's Vice-Admiral's Cup inshore series over 18-20th May. The latter will feature a 'Commodores' Cup class'. "With the wide rating band, these boats don't usually race each other on the same start line, on the same course, at the same time," explains Clark.

As to why so many boats have entered the trials in these austere times, one reason is certainly the RORC's amendment to the rating bands. For this year's Brewin Dolphin Commodores' Cup there is effectively one large rating band, with eligible boats required to have an IRC time correction co-efficient (TCC) of 1.020-1.230. Among each three boat team only one can be a 'big boat' (ie with a TCC of 1.150-1.230), so a team could field a team with no 'big boat'.

Clark believes this has opened up the competition, making it more even across all of the trialists. "Last time around there was strong competition for some of the smaller boat slots, but it was hard to find the right big boat," he says.

As present the British contenders include three Brewin Dolphin Commodores' Cup 'big boats' - the two Ker 40s, Jonathan Goring's Keronimo and Andrew Pearce's Magnum III, and Ian Blair's King 40, Cobra.

Several others are repeat customers from the 2010 British team. Former Commodore of the RORC, Andrew McIrvine is back with his First 40, La Réponse, while his co-2010 co-skipper Peter Morton has entered his own recently acquired Corby 33, Salvo. Steven and Jane Anderson are back, but on a different boat having bought the well known Corby 40, Cracklin Rosie, which Brian Wilkinson campaigned two years ago.

For Andrew Pearce this will be his third Commodores' Cup having previously competed in 2004 and 2008. This year he is greatly looking forward to campaigning his new Ker 40, one of three likely to be taking part, including Keronimo and another in the Hong Kong team.

"These boats are so unbelievably well matched," says Pearce, whose new Magnum III was delivered just before Christmas, replacing his previous IMX40. "We've been racing against Keronimo and they are just so even out on the water - it's very exciting racing. And the boat is awesome. Even in 10 knots, you get the kite up and get the boat well heeled, and you are doing 8-9 knots. Already we've had the boat doing 18 knots in flat water and we are going to get over 20 knots."

As to the trials this year, Pearce says it will be interesting because with the new rating band, the selectors have a more open hand. "When we have done it in previous times, generally we have been in what has been colloquially called 'the heavy weather team'. The IMX 40 I took down the non-overlapping route, so we were set up for stronger winds - 15 knots and above we were unbeatable, a real bandit, but below that it was a bit tricky. Now they can't end up with three Ker 40s, because there is a limit to the boats above 1.150, but they could end up with a team of three J/109s, if they felt that type of boat might have a niche in the weather patterns where they are going to excel. So it is a very different set-up this time around."

Like the selectors in previous years, Stacey Clark won't elaborate on how they will divide up the teams this time.

As to the competition in this year's Brewin Dolphin Commodores' Cup, Pearce concludes: "They have got the right level. I think it is going to be a brilliant Commodores' Cup. There has been a good level of interest from abroad, so I think it will be a very successful regatta.

Ireland's 2010 Commodore's Cup winning captain showed his relief at the news that Hong Kong have been tipped as favourites for next July's event, The Irish Times reports.

The announcement was made this week at the Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC) in London, and should lift a burden off an Irish squad which has long suffered under the weight of being pre-event favourites.

Ireland's concerns instead have turned to whether a team can even be assembled for next summer's event in light of the difficult economic environment - and despite the RORC opening the rating bands to allow for more flexible combinations of boat sizes.

As previously reported on Afloat.ie, the Irish Cruiser Racing Association (ICRA) is seeking expressions of interest to form an Irish team and remains hopeful of mounting a serious defence of the title won by last year's Anthony O’Leary-captained squad.

The next Commodore's Cup - which also has a new title sponsor in Brewin Dolphin - takes place from 21 to 28 July 2012 in Cowes.