#isora – ISORA sailors are in bullish form after a strong turnout last night for the 97th race from  Liverpool to Douglas in the Isle of Man. Organisers of the Offshore Racing Weekend are hoping hoping that the 25–boat fleet for the first race to Douglas will increase for the Douglas to Dún Laoghaire race tomorrow, Sunday.

The 75–mile race started last night at 18.30 and is sailed under the burgees of Tranmere Sailing Club and Liverpool Yacht Club.

The second offshore race starts on Sunday morning at 0900hrs from Douglas to Dun Lagohaire, a distance of approximately 80 miles. 

The offshore weekend is a new Irish Sea initiative bringing together boats from across Northern Ireland,  the Isle of Man, England, Wales and Ireland. The venture has  won the support of Hudson Wight who are providing prizes for the weekend offshore series.

This race is also a feeder race for the ICRA championships in Dun Lagohaire next weekend.

#cruiserracing – The three day ICRA Nationals begin next Friday (June 13th) at the Royal Irish YC in Dun Laoghaire. The entry of one hundred and eleven boats from all parts of Ireland will inevitably see the numbers emphasis on the large home fleet, but W M Nixon reckons this will make the visiting rock stars try even harder.

The Spirit 54 Soufriere would attract admiring attention in any fleet. And under Stephen O'Flaherty's enthusiastic ownership, she has frequently made the scene - often with racing success – in classic yacht events. Nevertheless, to take this long and shapely beauty into the cut and thrust of Ireland's top national cruiser-racer championship is a truly sporting gesture. But as a star in a James Bond movie, Soufriere is accustomed to mixing the rough with the smooth.

It was in Casino Royale (2006) that Soufriere made her debut on the Tinseltown stage, sailing serenely into Venice with Daniel Craig as 007 taking the helm from co-star Eva Green. But it's far from the sheltered waters of the Serenissima that Soufriere will be competing in six day's time, yet her crew and the hundreds of other sailors who are shaping up for the ICRA Nationals 2014 on Dublin Bay will be hoping for a happy mix of good weather and decent sailing breezes to put away some high quality sport.

With six days to go, forecasters are reluctant to firm up their opinions on the expected state of the fickle Irish weather, particularly as it operates in the peculiar climatic laboratory which is Dublin Bay. But the folk who put their faith in anticipated Polar Jetstream movements are encouraged by fairly clearcut suggestions that this indicator and activator of our meteorology may finally be moving northwards towards its proper summer position by next weekend. But whether or not it does so in time to significantly benefit the ICRA Nationals is currently a moot point.

Whatever, the most recent charts we've seen have been showing a marked tendency towards southwest to northwest winds six days hence. You might well think that would provide a steady breeze coming down the Liffey Valley and out across the bay for splendid sailing on relatively smooth water. But as dear old Dublin town heats up with the summer temperatures building towards Bloomsday on June 16th, all sorts of quirks can be introduced into the weather, with afternoon sea breezes with varying touches of east in them playing havoc across the underlying gradient.

As for the Jetstream, the least we can hope for is that it won't be lying across Ireland. Ideally, its underlying path will be swirling away northwards. But if it has settled down unseasonably far south to make life disagreeable in northwest Spain or even across France, then we might just get lucky, as Scotland was in 2012, when they'd superb weather while Ireland had an unpleasant summer with the Jetstream like a nasty girdle across Munster.

Either way, we can do nothing about it. But as last summer's late-forecast arrival of good weather in time for the four day Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta showed, "Here Comes Summer!" is sailing's greatest recruiting slogan. Fleet numbers soared in a last minute rush, and boats which had spent the early part of the season with a shortage of hands found themselves almost embarassed by the arrival on board of willing crewpersons seeking any escape from the heat of the city.

ICRA boats being an altogether more serious proposition than casual local classes, it's likely that the total is pretty well fixed at this stage. But for those who batter around the high seas in weather good and bad from season's start in April, they surely deserve a reward in good sailing after a mix of 2014 weather which, so far, could most kindly be described as "interesting".

The ICRA Nationals 2014 are being hosted by the Royal Irish YC from their wellnigh perfect location within Dun Laoghaire marina, where their fine neo-classical building of 1851 vintage (it's the world's oldest complete purpose-designed yacht club premises) is conveniently positioned beside totally sheltered modern waterfront facilities, yet within easy reach of the open sailing waters of Dublin Bay.

The Royal Irish YC's prime location and historic clubhouse within Dun Laoghaire Marina's sheltered water provides a perfect location for hosting major keelboat events. Photo: W M Nixon

The club in turn have brought in sponsorship for the ICRA Nats from Teng Tools, a company whose management have been long involved in offshore racing success, with Alan Crosbie of TT sailing in this event aboard the vintage Mills-designed Quarter Tonner Quest, a boat of contemporary relevance whose history includes association with such luminaries of Irish sailing as Marcus Hutchinson and Gordon Maguire.

Thanks to Dublin Bay's time-honoured tradition of enthusiastically racing boats which in most other sailing areas would be seen only as cruisers, the entry list includes the usual mix of modern performance craft from builders such as X Yachts of Denmark, J Boats of America, Elan of Slovenia, Beneteau and Jeanneau of France, and Hanse and Bavaria of Germany, and they'll be lining up with venerable cruisers such as the vintage Nich 31 Saki and others such as Soufriere for whom success is a bonus to be treasured in the simple pleasure of sailing a comfortable much-loved boat.

The Nich 31 Saki is regularly raced in Dublin Bay, and for the ICRA Nationals she'll be competing in Class 4 against the likes of First 211s and a Hunter Sonata. Photo: David O'Brien

For those who are looking for razor-sharp virtually boat-for-boat racing, Class 1 is surely the place to be, where the active fleet of Dublin Bay J/109s, rating around the 1.015 to 1.017 mark, find themselves head to head with last year's ICRA Nats star performer, Philip Byrne's XP 33 Bon Exemple from the host club, whose helming lineup includes current Irish Champion Ben Duncan.

However, inter-area rivalry is a great spur to success, and the pride of Fingal, Pat Kelly's J/109 Storm from Rush SC, has several years of ICRA success under her belt, including the Boat of the Year title. Another 'out of Bay' challenger in the J/109s is Ian Nagle's Jelly Baby from the Royal Cork, so it will be wall-to-wall J/109s in Division 1, a formidable prospect for one of the smallest boat in the class, Denis Hewitt and partners' Mills 30CR Raptor, whose personnel includes top ICRA mover and shaker Fintan Cairns.

The J/109 has proven an ideal size for Dublin Bay and Irish Sea racing. Photo: David O'Brien

Father and son team of Neil and George Kenefick from Crosshaven will be campaigning their Quarter Tonner Tiger as Nathan Kirwan Trust during the ICRA Nats. Photo: Bob Bateman

The Dun Laoghaire emphasis in the fleet is an added peformance incentive for any visitors, and great things are expected in Division 3 from the Kenefick family's hot Quarter Tonner Tiger from Cork, which races this series as Nathan Kirwan Trust with former champion helm George Kenefick on the helm. Another visitor which has been making waves in the Irish Sea this year is the Shannon Estuary-based Dehler 34 Big Deal (Derek Dillon, Foynes YC), which has been scoring success in ISORA racing as part of the buildup to participation in the Round Ireland Race in three weeks time. The Dehler 34 has been around since 1980 or so, but this well-engineered cruiser-racer has deservedly proven an enduring success in Irish waters.

Further down the size scale, there's an impressive turnout of Corby 25s racing against Big Deal in Division 2 where winning will be an impressive notch in the bedpost as the lineup includes Anthony Gore-Grimes' regularly successful X 302 Dux from Howth, while Division 3 sees the continuing friendly (well, fairly friendly) war between vintage Quarter Tonners and J/24s such as Flor O'Driscoll's Hard on Port.

Anthony Gore-Grimes' X 302 Dux has been a regular and successful participant in ICRA events for many years. Photo: Bob Bateman

As for the Corinthians sailing non-spinnaker in Divisions 5 & 6, Eastsiders are pinning their hopes on the two extra-keen Howth boats. David Sargent's Elan 33 Indulgence, and the veteran Club Shamrock Demelza aboard which Windsor Laudan and Steffi Ennis have turned white-sail racing into an art, and a very successful one at that.

Transparency is all. George Sisk and his seasoned crew aboard the Farr 42 WOW will be racing with the second-highest rating in the fleet. Photo: W M Nixon

Up among the biggies in Division 0, Soufriere at 54ft is longest of all, and the highest rated at 1.135, but close astern is George Sisk's Farr 42 WOW, which rates 1.124. This provides a challenge for her senior crew, though we're assured that WOW doesn't stand for "We Ould Wans". Quite. There's a good outside challenge here with Denise Phelan's potent Mills 36 Jump Juice from Cork, the XP38i Roxstar (Findlay & Anderson) from the Clyde, the Corby 40 Converting Machine (Dave Cummaford) from Pwllheli, the pride of Arklow which is the Tyrell family's J/122 Aquelina, ICRA Commodore Nobby Reilly's Mills 36 Crazy Horse from Howth, and Lynx, Martin Breen's Reflex 38 which sails thousands of sea miles, many of them with racing success, for the honour of Galway Bay SC.

The Tyrrell family's J/122 Aquelina from Artklow is an active contender throughout the season. Photo: W M Nixon

The main man. Nobby Reilly of Howth, Commodore of ICRA, at the helm of his Mills 36 Crazy Horse. Photo: Bob Bateman

Martin Breen's Reflex 38 Lynx from Galway, seen here racing round Ireland, will be hoping to add ICRA success to her established offshore achievements.

Thus the lineup is what you'd expect of a sailing community emerging from several years of economic recession. There are few if any brand new boats, only a small group are travelling any significant distance to take part, and within the local fleet, as with the visitors, there's a marked emphasis on well-loved boats which have been with their owners for quite some time, but are continuing to give excellent value and great sport for the day that's in it.

And finally, if you don't believe a word about Soufriere being in a James Bond movie, here's the clip from Casino Royale. Soufriere was already being built when the request for her use in the film came through. But who could decline such a thing? It's even better than having a genuine Beken photograph of your boat.

Once upon a time, back in 1990, I sailed into Venice and motored right up the crowded Grand Canal as far as the Rialto Bridge with the late great Brian Hegarty on the Hallberg Rassy 42 ketch Safari of Howth. We'd a better time of it than poor old James Bond. We didn't have to waste time with the distraction of writing resignation letters on the laptop. For we were on our holliers, and believe me, arriving in Venice in the morning sunshine on a fine cruising yacht merits your full attention. It is one of life's great and magical experiences.

Meanwhile, back in Dublin Bay, first gun in ICRA Nats 2014 is at 1055hrs Friday June 13th, racing continues through Sunday May 15th, right hand side of the boat continues to be starboard, and the wind being on it usually confers right of way.

ICRA NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP 2014, 13th to 15th June 2014 ENTRIES (AS AT 6/6/14)

Division	Sail No	Boat	Type of Boat	Club	IRC
0	IRL9852	Crazy Horse	Mills 36	HYC	1.084
0	IRL5718	Loose Change	IMX 40	RIYC	1.073
0	IRL1974	Soufriere	Spirit	RIYC	1.135
0	IRL4208	WOW	Farr 42	RIYC	1.124
0	IRL1644	Lively Lady	First 44.7	RIYC	1.107
0	IRL2007	Jump Juice	Ker 37	RCYC	1.103
0	GBR6940R	Converting Machine	Corby 40	Pwllheli SC	1.095
0	IRL1281	Aquelina	J-122	Arklow SC	1.083
0	GBR4041R	First Forty licks	First 40	East Down YC	1.080
0	GBR8038R	Roxstar	XP 38i	Clyde CC	1.077
0	IRL4007	Tsunami	First 40.7	NYC	1.055
0	IRL7386	Lynx	Reflex 38	GBSC	1.051
-
1	EI1906	ZURI	Hanse 37	Carlingford SC	#N/A
1	IRL3511	Adventure	A35	GSC	#N/A
1	IRL638	State O’ Chassis	Sigma 38	RIYC	#N/A
1	IRL3307	Rockabill V	Corby 33	RIYC	1.041
1	IRL3709	Axiom	X 37	RIYC	1.035
1	IRL3061	Fools Gold	A35	WHSC	1.028
1	IRL9609	Jelly Baby	J109	RCYC	1.027
1	IRL28898	Powder Monkey	J109	NYC	1.025
1	IRL7778	Gringo	A 35	NYC	1.024
1	IRL811	Raptor	Mills 30CR	RIYC	1.020
1	IRL1141	Storm	J109	HYC/Rush SC	1.017
1	IRL8088	Jedi	J109	RIYC	1.017
1	IRL1206	Joker II	J109	RIYC	1.017
1	GBR8933R	Bon Exemple	XP 33	RIYC	1.016
1	IRL1383	Ruth	J109	NYC	1.015
1	GBR9047R	Mojito	J109	Pwllheli SC	1.015
1	IRL1129	Jump The Gun	J109	RIYC	1.014
1	IRL9898	Indecision	J109	RIYC	1.013
1	IRL29213	Something Else	J109	NYC	1.013
1	IRL7991	Jigamaree	J109	RIYC	1.011
1	GBR8609R	Jetstream	J109	NYC	1.009
1	GBR2620L	Fox in Sox	X 34	RIYC	1.003
1	IRL3471	Black Velvet	First 34.7	RIYC	1.001
1	IRL1367	Boomerang	First 36.7	RStGYC	1.000
1	IRL3470	Flashback	First 34.7	HYC	0.989
-
2	IRL1310	After You Too	Beneteau 31.7	RStGYC	#N/A
2	IRL3438	Albireo	Swan 371	RIYC	#N/A
2	IRL7317	Attitude	First 31.7	RIYC	#N/A
2	GBR8747T	Movistar Bleu	Elan 333	Killyleagh YC	0.967
2	IRL7284	Red Rhum	Dehler DB1	RStGYC	0.967
2	IRL8750	Jester	J 80	NYC	0.957
2	IRL1188	Utopia	X 3/4 Ton	DL Marina	0.956
2	IRL8094	King One	Half Tonner	HYC	0.953
2	IRL6909	Extreme Reality	Beneteau 31.7	RIYC	0.952
2	FRA079	Graduate	J 80	RIYC	0.952
2	IRL993	Prima Nocte	Beneteau 31.7	RIYC	0.950
2	IRL4170	SLACK ALICE	GK Westerly 34	WHSC	0.949
2	GBR66R	Checkmate XV	Humphreys Half Tonner	RStGYC	0.943
2	IRL5522	The Big Picture	Mg30	HYC	0.942
2	IRL8223	Kamikaze	Sunfast 32	RStGYC	0.941
2	IRL2552	Fusion	Corby 25	HYC	0.935
2	IRL2506	Alpaca3	Corby 25	RCYC	0.931
2	IRL2507	Impetuous	Corby 25	HYC	0.930
2	IRL3492	Big Deal	Dehler 34	Foynes YC	0.929
2	IRL2525	Tribal	Corby 25	GBSC	0.929
2	IRL25007	Smile	Corby 25	GBSC	0.929
2	IRL988	DUX	X-302	HYC	0.929
2	IRL7495	Maximus	X-302	HYC/WHSC	0.925
2	IRL521	Bendemeer	Beneteau First 325	RStGYC	0.925
2	IRL1103	Solgari Viking	X-302	HYC	0.923
-
3	GBR8148	Squawk	Sigma 33 ood	BYC/RUYC	#N/A
3	I8709	Cri-Cri	Quarter Tonner	RIYC	#N/A
3	ITA10767	Don Giovanni	Ceccarelli	HYC	#N/A
3	IRL9311	Borraine	Aphrodite 101	RIYC	#N/A
3	IRL4384	Django	J24	Lough Ree YC	#N/A
3	IRL5795	Black Sheep	Mustang 30	NYC	0.919
3	GBR5507T	Peridot	Mustang 30	RIYC	0.916
3	IRL4464	Springer	Sigma 33 ood	RStGYC	0.912
3	IRL4536	Elandra	Sigma 33	DL Marina	0.912
3	IRL4633	White Mischief	Sigma 33 ood	RIYC	0.911
3	IRL34218	Lady Rowena	Sadler 34	RStGYC	0.911
3	IRL999999	Nathan Kirwan Trust	1/4 ton	RCYC	0.907
3	IRL508	Quest	1/4 ton	RIYC	0.905
3	FRA9186	Cartoon	Quarter Tonner	RIYC	0.902
3	IRL8188	Alliance II	Laser 28	HYC	0.896
3	IRL4533	Crazy Horse	J24	Sligo SC	0.887
3	IRL680	Euro Car Parks Kilcullen	J24	HYC	0.887
3	IRL4794	Hard on Port	J24	RStGYC	0.887
3	IRL9508	Huggy Bear	Impala 28ood	NYC	0.884
3	IRL728	Maximus	J24	Foynes YC	0.884
3	IRL851	Taiscealai	Club Shamrock	RIYC	0.876
3	IRL7500	Supernova	Quarter Tonner	RIYC	0.870
-
4	IRL1208	Capilano	Beneteau First 211	RIYC	#N/A
4	IRL2121	Chinook	Beneteau First 211	RIYC	#N/A
4	IRL2111	Syzrgy	Beneteau First 211	RStGYC	#N/A
4	307	Wynward	Beneteau First	RIYC	#N/A
4	IRL246	Saki	Nicholson 31	RIYC	#N/A
4	IRL6556	Challenger	Challenger Europe	HYC	#N/A
4	IRL1689	Chouskikou	First 28	DL Marina	0.870
4	8245N	Asterix	Hunter Sonata	DL Marina	0.823
-
Non-spinnaker Corinthian Cup
5	IRL37747	Windshift	Sunfast 37	RStGYC	#N/A
5	IRL607	Effex II	First 35	RIYC	#N/A
5	IRL532	Orna	Grand Soleil 40	NYC	1.021
5	IRL3506	Just Jasmin	Bavaria Match 35	RIYC/DMYC	0.995
5	IRL8478	Warrior	Beneteau 34.7	ISA-DBSC	0.984
5	IRL1357	Humdinger	Sunfast 37	Carlingford SC	0.972
5	IRL3339	Indulgence	Elan 333	HYC	0.958
5	IRL1333	White Lotus	Elan 333	DL Marina	0.957
5	IRL3400	Brazen Hussy	Dufour 34	HYC	0.950
5	IRL5687	To Infinity and Beyond	Dehler 37 CR	RStGYC	0.949
-
6	IRL1217	The Great Escape	Bavaria 33	RIYC	#N/A
6	IRL1309	Syledis in blue	Beneteau oceanis clipper 323 LK	Bray SC	#N/A
6	IRL5013	Sweet Martini	She 31	RStGYC	#N/A
6	IRL966	More Mischief	Beneteau First 310	DL Marina	#N/A
6	IRL2860	Pure Magic	Feeling 286 Special	Bray SC	#N/A
6	IRL1166	Edenpark	Jeanneau Sun Odyssey	RIYC	0.977
6	IRL5643	Calypso	Beneteau Oceanis 361	RStGYC	0.928
6	IRL1502	Vespucci	Dehler 31	RIYC	0.876
6	IRL100	Demelza	Club Shamrock	HYC	0.875

A PDF version of this entry list (with owners names) is available to download below

#cruiserracing – As we start to emerge from seven years of recession, we find the world of sailing has undergone changes which may have not been noticed in the struggle for economic survival. To prosper today, it seems that sailing must hope to be family friendly, and accessible to spectators and would-be participants alike. W M Nixon reflects on how this is working out in the macho world of cruiser racing.

The ICRA Nationals 2015 will be combined with next year's biennial Sovereigns Cup in Kinsale in order to make the event more user-friendly, and comfortably exceed the required critical mass in terms of numbers participating. It is an utterly logical development. And it's scarcely sensational breaking news, as the dogs in the street have been aware of it for a while now, even if an official announcement has yet been made.

But for those who were rather taken by the original notion of the Irish Cruiser-Racing Association staging an annual stand-alone national championship event, rotated around maybe as many as half a dozen centres, this may seem like a retrograde step from the high-flown idealism of the founders. And their vision certainly worked when the streets were awash with money, and people continued to subscribe to the notion that it was acceptable for offshore racing types to devote virtually all their free time to their rather expensive sport, regardless of how anti-social it seemed to family and friends (if they had any of either).

Now, however, the money's gone, and if anything its absence has accelerated the move towards shared recreation. Whatever rugged traditional amateur offshore racing may have been in its heyday, it scarcely qualified as shared recreation. Its austere joys were confined to the direct participants, while the outcome of each contest was an arcane matter to be teased out and analysed only by a very small number of aficionados.

Yet the boats it developed proved popular, with one of the by-products being the acceptance and development of cruisers which sailed well and could, if wished, be realistically raced. In fact, in Ireland in particular, many of these boats with lids are never cruised at all, and no-one ever even overnights aboard them. So after you've had yet another samey day sail round the same familiar old bay, the idea of a spot of racing has appeal.

A boat regularly raced with a modicum of enthusiasm and skill will attract regular crewmembers who want to be sure of getting their fix of sailing once or twice a week, but who also have other things to do – they've other sports, hobbies and interests to take up the rest of their time in addition to the increasing demands of family and social expectations.

Steady steering afloat, and flexible management ashore....Nobby Reilly of Howth, Commodore of ICRA, helming his Mills 36 Crazy Horse. Photo: Bob Bateman

Lord knows it's all a very long way from the hundred per cent totally rugged offshore racing dedication of international legends like John Illingworth, Dick Nye, Carleton Mitchell and Adlard Coles, but this is the way we sail today. As for really serious stuff, we now leave that to highly-sponsored professionals in sailing machines. And as to any temptation to take part in challenging events, we focus on major happenings like the Fastnet and the Round Ireland. But the rest of the time, we seem to prefer a semi-inshore programme, and home in time for tea.

The ICRA management are a savvy bunch, and they are keen to provide what the market demands. In fact one of their number is Richard Colwell of RedC Polls, the noted opinion poll and market research outfit. His company is a bit busy at the moment – something about European and Local Elections next week – but once that's tidied away, he's going to run an exercise on what cruiser-racer folk really want in their annual programme.

It's not nearly as easy as it seems. If your organisation is going to benefit from successfully going with the flow, then you have to be able to outline a reasonably creative questionnaire structure to indicate where the flow might most usefully go in the first place. Chickens and eggs and all that sort of thing maybe, but good management has to manifest itself in many wonderful ways in a mixture of guidance and productive acceptance of the results of research.

However, before we look at how next month's ICRA Nationals in Dun Laoghaire are shaping up, the Kinsale link-up decision should be considered in the light of its effects on events beyond 2015. ICRA brings any co-operating club an unrivalled database and a hugely experienced race management and administration team. Thus, a neat linkup with an established regatta will confer enormous mutual advantages.

Yet surely it is essential for the good of Irish sailing overall - and particularly for the good of sailing at significant centres which are not holders of major biennial regattas – that from time to time the ICRA Nats continue to be staged as a stand-alone event?

Once the linkup has been made to the Sovereigns Cup at Kinsale, you can see the slippery slope with linkups to the Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta in Dun Laoghaire, and Cork Week itself. Carried to its logical conclusion, going with the flow to this extent would exclude other regatta-less centres on a permanent basis.

Crosshaven offers such a total package afloat and ashore, complete with a large ready-made home fleet, that smaller ports are at a disadvantage in competing to stage regattas. Photo: Bob Bateman

But that would be too totally at variance with ICRA's ethos of being a truly national body. And fortunately there is a let-out. Both the VLDR and Cork Week are held in July. The ICRA Nats have always been in either May or June. Thus although the Sovereigns Cup may be traditionally the last week of June, it's June nevertheless, and the basic integrity of the by-now traditional annual programme is maintained.

In the final analysis, it comes down the numbers game, and the Cork area and Dublin Bay start with an in-built advantage with their large fleets. In fact, Dun Laoghaire's enormous fleet puts it in a class of its own, and all sorts of special effects related to it being the harbour for a populous and burgeoning capital city come into play.

A brisk race, and back in time for tea – it's the way most cruiser-racers sail today. Photo: Bob Bateman

When everything falls into place, the numbers involved can be staggering. The increasing accuracy of weather forecasts plays a role in this. Last year, as the weather maps started looking a bit more healthy as the time for the four-day Volvo Dun Laoghaire approached, boats which had scarcely been racing at all were given a top and tail, they chatted their way through the late entry process, and crews were soon brought together for a sun-filled summer campaign in a record fleet.

It may sound a very hit and miss way to plan you sport, but that's the way we live now. Anyone in the hospitality industry in the West of Ireland can tell you that if there's a good forecast for the weekend, the Dubliners who can now reach them in a couple of hours on the motorway will be in contact, cutting last-minute deals. And if the weather's bad, those same Dubliners will either spend the weekend at home on indoor pursuits, or else they'll hightail to the airport to take up a late bargain on a day or two in the sun.

When volatility like that becomes the norm, management will have to be flexible or it will fail. Even in times past, "Surely you knew we'd be coming?" was a frequent greeting as some late un-entered would-be participant turned up at an Irish regatta. That said, if you're half serious about your racing, you'll have had it all – boats and crew alike - in place months in advance. But the latecomers will happily claim that such punctiliousness makes it even more galling when some bunch of hastily-assembled pierhead jumpers goes out and gets a good result.

Entries for the ICRA Nationals 2014 at the Royal Irish YC from June 13th to 15th went through the hundred mark this week when Darragh McCormack's Foynes-based J/24 Maximus became officially registered, and almost immediately afterwards Converting Machine from Pwllheli in North Wales came aboard, so progress towards the desired 120 is looking good.

That may seem optimistic with just four weeks to go, but Fintan Cairns of ICRA, who is monitoring the list and liaising with the RIYC, is a realist. Remembering what happened with the VLDR in the final days of countdown last year, he's keeping one eye on the met maps, and another on the current low entry in classes like the Sigma 33s and the First 211s. A bit nearer the time, and a cheerful weather prospect for mid-June will see those numbers coming to life.

That said, up at the sharp end, the serious entries have been in place for weeks, and it's already a cracker of a fleet. And even the most rugged traditionalist offshore racer who claims to enjoy nothing more than a 90 mile slug to windward will allow himself (or herself) to enjoy a bit of sunshine sailing in the bay.

This sort of cruiser-racing is just the ticket for most crews – and they'd prefer not to be in an event which involves racing at night. Photo: Bob Bateman

#cruiserracing – The current entry of 98 boats for the ICRA National Championships at the Royal Irish Yacht Club (RIYC) (sorted by club below) reveals a wide distribution of entries from all over the Irish coastline and beyond. Although some areas are weaker than others (none from Kinsale for example), there are very few ports with no representation.

As forecast, the championships, a highlight of the sailing season, looks set to break the record of 125 entries previously set in Howth. Encouragingly, the entry a month ago stood at 42 but by April 30th  it had increased to 72 IRC cruiser and 17 white sails. Today it has risen by another nine boats for the June 13 event.

In a show of strength from Royal Irish hosts 35 club boats are entered, a third of the total entry so far.

Next biggest is Howth Yacht Club with 18 entries, RIYC neighbours, RSt.GYC have 11 and the National Yacht Club has seven.

There are some long distance travellers from Sligo and Foynes on the west coast and also visitors from Clwb Hwylio Pwllheli Sailing Club in Wales and the Clyde in Scotland.

In a further update to the list issued by ICRA this morning, another Welsh entry Converting Machine from Pwllheli has just entered leaving the event one boat away from the magic 100 mark

Yesterday, the cruiser racer body dropped plans to create a new handicap division at the bottom end of class 1 and the top of class 2 for its IRC national championships. It has also introduced a new means of policing its pro rule.

See full entry list to date below:

Sail No	Boat	Type of Boat	Division	Owner	Club
IRL1281	Aquelina	J-122	0	Sheila Tyrrell/James Tyrrell	Arklow SC
IRL1309	Syledis in blue	Beneteau oceanis clipper 323 LK	6	John & Brenda Hayes	Bray SC
IRL2860	Pure Magic	Feeling 286 Special	6	Steve Hayes	Bray SC
GBR8148	Squawk	Sigma 33	3	Paul Prentice	BYC/RUYC
EI1906	ZURI	Hanse 37	1	Declan Murphy	Carlingford SC
IRL1357	Humdinger	Sunfast 37	5	Michael Mc Cabe	Carlingford SC
GBR9047R	Mojito	J109	1	Peter Dunlop	CHPSC
GBR8038R	Roxstar	XP 38i	0	Findlay and Anderson	Clyde CC
IRL3214	Sublime	Elan 320	2	Aine Stafford	Courtown SC
IRL1188	Utopia	X 3/4 Ton	2	John B Healy	DL Marina
IRL4536	Elandra	Sigma 33	3	Mick Flynn	DL Marina
8245N	Asterix	Hunter Sonata	4	Boushel,Coonihan,Meredith	DL Marina
IRL1333	White Lotus	Elan 333	5	Paul Tully	DL Marina
IRL966	More Mischief	Beneteau First 310	6	Eamonn Doyle & Peter O'Toole	DL Marina
GBR4041R	First Forty licks	First 40	0	Jay Colville	East Down YC
IRL3492	Big Deal	Dehler 34	2	Derek Dillon	Foynes YC
IRL7386	Lynx	Reflex 38	0	Martin Breen	GBSC
IRL2525	Tribal	Corby 25	2	liam Burke	GBSC
IRL25007	Smile	Corby 25	2	Rob Allen	GBSC
IRL9852	Crazy Horse	Mills 36	0	Norbert Reilly	HYC
IRL3470	Flashback	First 34.7	1	Breen/Hogg	HYC
IRL5522	The Big Picture	Mg30	2	Richard and Michael Evans	HYC
IRL8094	King One	Half Tonner	2	David Cullen	HYC
IRL2552	Fusion	Corby 25	2	Colwell & Cobbe	HYC
IRL2507	Impetuous	Corby 25	2	Noonan/Chambers	HYC
IRL988	DUX	X-302	2	Anthony Gore-Grimes	HYC
IRL1103	Solgari Viking	X-302	2	K.Darmody/ M.Patterson	HYC
IRL8188	Alliance II	Laser 28	3	Vincent Gaffney	HYC
ITA10767	Don Giovanni	Ceccarelli	3	Cillian Macken	HYC
IRL191	Jebus	J24	3	Emmet Dalton	HYC
IRL680	Euro Car Parks Kilcullen	J24	3	HYC U25 Team	HYC
IRL6556	Challenger	Challenger Europe	4	Paul Rossiter	HYC
IRL3339	Indulgence	Elan 333	5	David Sargent	HYC
IRL3400	Brazen Hussy	Dufour 34	5	J Barry/M Stirling	HYC
IRL100	Demelza	Club Shamrock	6	Windsor Laudan / Steffi Ennis	HYC
IRL1141	Storm	J109	1	Pat Kelly	HYC/Rush SC
IRL7495	Maximus	X-302	2	Paddy Kyne	HYC/WHSC
IRL8478	Warrior	Beneteau 34.7	5	Dave Shanahan	ISA-DBSC
GBR8747T	Movistar Bleu	Elan 333	2	Raymond Killops	Killyleagh YC
IRL4384	Django	J24	3	MacNamara/Carey/Whelan	Lough Ree YC
IRL4007	Tsunami	First 40.7	0	Vincent Farrell	NYC
IRL7778	Gringo	A 35	1	Tony Fox	NYC
IRL1383	Ruth	J109	1	Liam Shanahan	NYC
IRL29213	Something Else	J109	1	John Hall	NYC
GBR8609R	Jetstream	J109	1	John Collins	NYC
IRL8750	Jester	J 80	2	Declan Curtin	NYC
IRL5795	Black Sheep	Mustang 30	3	Eoin Healy	NYC
IRL9609	Jelly Baby	J109	1	Ian Nagle	RCYC
IRL2506	Alpaca3	Corby 25	2	Paul & Deirdre Tingle	RCYC
IRL999999	Nathan Kirwan Trust	1/4 ton	3	George Kenefick	RCYC
IRL1974	Soufriere	Spirit	0	Stephen O'Flaherty	RIYC
IRL4208	WOW	Farr 42	0	George Sisk	RIYC
IRL1644	Lively Lady	First 44.7	0	Derek Martin	RIYC
IRL5718	Loose Change	IMX 40	0	Maurice Mitton / Peter Redden	RIYC
IRL3307	Rockabill V	Corby 33	1	Paul O'Higgins	RIYC
IRL3709	Axiom	X 37	1	Michael O'Neill	RIYC
IRL811	Raptor	Mills 30CR	1	Denis Hewitt & Others	RIYC
IRL8088	Jedi	J109	1	Treanor/Sarratt/McGuiness	RIYC
IRL1206	Joker II	J109	1	John Maybury	RIYC
GBR8933R	Bon Exemple	XP 33	1	Philip Byrne	RIYC
IRL1129	Jump The Gun	J109	1	Michael Monaghan & John M Kelly	RIYC
IRL9898	Indecision	J109	1	Declan Hayes	RIYC
IRL7991	Jigamaree	J109	1	Ronan Harris	RIYC
GBR2620L	Fox in Sox	X 34	1	Andrew Jones	RIYC
IRL3471	Black Velvet	First 34.7	1	Parnell Family	RIYC
IRL3438	Albireo	Swan 371	2	David A Simpson	RIYC
IRL6909	Extreme Reality	Beneteau 31.7	2	P McSwiney E O Rafferty	RIYC
FRA079	Graduate	J 80	2	Dominic O Keeffe	RIYC
IRL993	Prima Nocte	Beneteau 31.7	2	Patrick Burke/Deirdre Kennedy	RIYC
GBR5507T	Peridot	Mustang 30	3	Jim McCann	RIYC
IRL508	Quest	1/4 ton	3	Cunningham & Skerritt	RIYC
IRL4633	White Mischief	Sigma 33	3	Timothy Goodbody	RIYC
I8709	Cri-Cri	Quarter Tonner	3	Paul Colton	RIYC
FRA9186	Cartoon	Quarter Tonner	3	Ken Lawless, Joe Brady, Sybil McCormack	RIYC
IRL851	Taiscealai	Club Shamrock	3	Brian Richardson	RIYC
IRL7500	Supernova	Quarter Tonner	3	Joe Timbs, Jacqueline McStay, Jim Monaghan, Joe Costello	RIYC
IRL1208	Capilano	Beneteau First 211	4	Seamus Storan	RIYC
307	Wynward	Beneteau First	4	Wyn McCormack	RIYC
IRL246	Saki	Nicholson 31	4	Paget McCormack, Ben and Michael Ryan	RIYC
IRL607	Effex II	First 35	5	Mr Frank Friel	RIYC
IRL1166	Edenpark	jeanneau sun odyssey	6	Liam farmer	RIYC
IRL1217	The Great Escape	Bavaria 33	6	Pat Rigney	RIYC
IRL1502	Vespucci	Dehler 31	6	Sean & Kristina O'Regan	RIYC
IRL3506	Just Jasmin	Bavaria Match 35	5	Philip Smith	RIYC/DMYC
IRL1367	Boomerang	First 36.7	1	Paul Kirwan	RStGYC
IRL1310	After You Too	Beneteau 31.7	2	Michael Blaney	RStGYC
IRL8223	Kamikaze	Sunfast 32	2	Peter Nash	RStGYC
IRL7284	Red Rhum	Dehler DB1	2	Jonathan and Chris Nicholson	RStGYC
GBR66R	Checkmate XV	Humphreys Half Tonner	2	Nigel Biggs	RStGYC
IRL521	Bendemeer	Beneteau First 325	2	Lindsay Casey and Denis Power	RStGYC
IRL34218	Lady Rowena	Sadler 34	3	David Bolger	RStGYC
IRL4794	Hard on Port	J24	3	Flor O'Driscoll	RStGYC
IRL37747	Windshift	Sunfast 37	5	Coghlan/Gillen/Keogh	RStGYC
IRL5687	To Infinity and Beyond	Dehler 37 CR	5	Kieran Crowley	RStGYC
IRL5643	Calypso	Beneteau Oceanis 361	6	Howard Knott	RStGYC
IRL3805	Tully Too	Bavaria 38	5	Declan Higgins	Skerries SC
IRL4533	Crazy Horse	J24	3	Martin O'Reilly	Sligo SC
IRL4170	SLACK ALICE	GK Westerly 34	2	Shane Statham & Trudi O'Leary	WHSC

#cruiserracing – With a month to go, the Irish Cruiser Racer Association (ICRA) is to implement an amendment to its professional sailor rule for its Teng Tools sponsored national championships on Dublin Bay. As David O'Brien in the Irish Times Sailing column noted last week it follows ambiguity over the regulation at its 2013 championships in Fenit, County Kerry.

With 92 entries and up to 750 crews already slated, the Royal Irish hosted three day regatta looks set to break all records for the biggest cruiser–racer event of the season.

ICRA is to maintain its position of only one professional per boat in divisions zero and one but will attempt to distinguish between those professionals taking part in racing as a 'pastime' rather than as part of their 'business'. The common sense move to deal with the 'pro–trap' rule takes the form of a written declaration from any sailor so affected before the regatta sets sail on June 13.

#cruiserracing – The Irish Cruiser Racing Association (ICRA) has dropped plans to create a new handicap division at the bottom end of class 1 and the top of class 2 for its IRC national championships at the Royal Irish Yacht Club (RIYC) next month, one of the biggest events of the Irish sailing calendar.

The ICRA event, that is aiming for a record entry of over 110 boats, is a handicap based regatta which means any decision affecting rating bands and in what class boats sail can be a contentious issue.

ICRA's handicapping chief Denis Kiely explained yesterday 'there wasn't enough interest/entries and while this is somewhat disappointing we have to work with what we have not what we would like to have'.

The turnaround means the championships will have a more traditional configuration of Divisions 0, 1, 2, 3, and 4 in spite of the class band shake–up that was hinted at November's annual conference.

The non-spinnaker boats [Corinthian Cup] will most likely be in 2 divisions and they will be numbered 5 and 6.

In an up date to skippers yesterday Kiely said arrangements are still provisional until remaining entries are in but it is very unlikely that the divisions configuration will change hereafter - individual boats at the margins may be a different matter.

#commdorescup – Although Ireland will be setting sail for Cowes as a potent Commodore's Cup force this July it will only be a single team as a second 'corinthian' team could not be mustered. At the Spring meeting of the ICRA executive, Commodore's Cup team manager Barry Rose made a detailed report on preparations. The meeting heard the team will sail without the support of sponsorship, in spite of major effort by the Irish Cruiser Racing Association (ICRA) to secure a team sponsor none had been found.

Anthony O'Leary has been confirmed as team captain, a position he also held in the 2010 Commodores' Cup winning Irish team.

As has been widely reported the three boat Irish team consists of Catapult, a US based Ker 40 which had been shipped to the Solent and was due to be enter the water to start her training programme on the 1st May.

Quokka, a Grand Soleil 43, had been chartered by Royal Irish sailors Michael Boyd and Niall Dowling. O'Leary's Antix, a Ker 39, completed the line-up.

The services of meteorologist Mike Broughton had again been secured on an exclusive basis to provide local tactical and Solent tidal support to the team. 

#roundireland – With under two months to the start of the Round Ireland yacht race in Wicklow, Wicklow Sailing Club member David Ryan has chartered the Monster Project, a Volvo 70 class yacht for the race.

Amongst his crew will be the three lucky winners from the national crew competition he organised with the Irish Cruiser Racing Association. Last Saturday at the ICRA Come Sailing Day in Howth, the finalists were chosen. His crew will also feature local Wicklow Sailing Club members and the club itself is delighted to support his venture as the official club entry in the race. David and his crew will set off from Wicklow Sailing Club on June 28th with the goal of winning line honours in the Round Ireland Yacht Race. With the right weather, this team could even challenge the race record.

The Round Ireland Yacht Race promises some of the most challenging conditions that offshore racing has to offer, from the tidal Irish Sea to the open Atlantic ocean.

Designed and built for these challenges in 2007, Monster Project is well-suited to the kind of conditions that competitors in the Round Ireland Race 2014 are likely to encounter. Having spent the last few months in the Caribbean, Monster Project will compete in the Round the Island race before heading off to challenge in the Round Ireland a few days later.

#cruiserracing – The ICRA National Championships at the Royal Irish Yacht Club is already boasting an entry of 72 IRC cruiser and 17 white sail entrants to date and looks set to break the record of 125 entries previously set in Howth. Here's a sneak peek of the entries so far: 

IRL1974 Soufriere Spirit RIYC

IRL4206 WOW Farr 42 RIYC
IRL1644 Lively Lady First 44.7 RYC
IRL9852 Crazy Horse Mills 36 HYC
IRL1281 Aquelina J-122 Arklow SC
GBR8038R Roxstar XP 38i Clyde CC
IRL5718 Loose Change IMX 40 RIYC
IRL7386 Lynx Reflex 38 GBSC
IRL4007 Tsunami First 4007 NYC
IRL3307 Rockabill V Corby 33 RIYC
IRL3709 Axiom X 37 RIYC
IRL811 Raptor Mills 30CR RIYC
IRL7778 Gringo A 35 NYC
IRL8088 Jedi J109 RIYC
IRL1141 Storm J109 HYC/Rush SC
GBR8933R Bon Exemple XP 33 RIYC
IRL1383 Ruth J109 NYC
GBR9047R Mojito J109 CHPSC
IRL9609 Jelly Baby J109 RCYC
IRL1206 Joker2 J109 RIYC
IRL9898 Indecision J109 RIYC
IRL1129 Jump The Gun J109 RIYC
IRL29213 Something Else J109 NYC
IRL3506 Just Jasmin Bavaria Match 35 RIYC/DMYC
IRL3470 Flashback First 34.7 HYC
GBR2620L Fox in Sox X 34 RIYC
IRL3471 Black Velvet First 34.7 RIYC
IRL1367 Boomerang First 36.7 RStGYC
GBR8747T Movistar Bleu Elan 333 Killyleagh YC
IRL6909 Extreme Reality Beneteau 31.7 RIYC
IRL993 Prima Nocte Beneteau 31.7 RIYC
IRL1310 After You Too Beneteau 31.7 RStGYC
IRL7284 Red Rhum Dehler DB1 RStGYC
IRL8750 Jester ??? NYC
IRL1188 Utopia X 3/4 Ton DL Marina
IRL8094 King One Half Tonner HYC
FRA079 Graduate J 80 RIYC
IRL8223 Kamikaze Sunfast 32 RStGYC
IRL4170 SLACK ALICE GK Westerly 34 WHSC
GBR66R Checkmate XV Humphreys Half Tonner RStGYC
IRL2552 Fusion Corby 25 HYC
IRL2506 Alpaca3 Corby 25 RCYC
IRL2507 Impetuous Corby 25 HYC
IRL2525 Tribal Corby 25 GBSC
IRL25007 Smile Corby 25 GBSC
IRL5522 The Big Picture Mg30 HYC
IRL7495 Maximus X-302 HYC/WHSC
IRL1103 Solgari Viking X-302 HYC
IRL521 Bendemeer Beneteau First 325 RStGYC
IRL5795 Black Sheep Mustang 30 NYC
IRL3438 Albireo Swan 371 RIYC
GBR8148 Squawk Sigma 33 BYC/RUYC
IRL4536 Elandra Sigma 33 DL Marina
IRL4633 White Mischief Sigma 33 RIYC
IRL34218 Lady Rowena Sadler 34 RStGYC
I8709 Cri-Cri Quarter Tonner RIYC
IRL999999 Nathan Kirwan Trust 1/4 ton RCYC
IRL8188 Alliance II Laser 28 HYC
ITA10767 Don Giovanni Ceccarelli HYC
FRA9186 Cartoon Quarter Tonner RIYC
IRL191 Jebus J24 HYC
IRL680 Euro Car Parks Kilcullen J24 HYC
IRL4794 Hard on Port J24 RStGYC
IRL4533 Crazy Horse J24 Sligo SC
IRL851 Taiscealai Club Shamrock RIYC
IRL7500 Supernova Quarter Tonner RIYC
IRL1208 Capilano Beneteau First 211 RIYC
307 Wynward Beneteau First RIYC
IRL246 Saki Nicholson 31 RIYC
IRL6556 Challenger Challenger Europe HYC
8245 Asterix Hunter Sonata DL Marina
Non-spinnaker Corinthian Cup
IRL1357 Humdinger Sunfast 37 Carlingford SC
IRL37747 Windshift Sunfast 37 RStGYC
IRL8478 Warrior Beneteau 34.7 ISA-DBSC
EI1906 Zuri Hanse 37 Carlingford SC
IRL3805 Tully Too Bavaria 38 Skerries SC
IRL1333 White Lotus Elan 333 DL Marina
IRL607 Effex II First 35 RIYC
IRL3339 Indulgence Elan 333 HYC
IRL5687 To Infinity and Beyond Dehler 37 CR RStGYC
IRL1166 Edenpark Jeanneau Sun Odyssey RIYC
IRL1217 The Great Escape Bavaria 33 RIYC
IRL5643 Calypso Beneteau Oceanis 361 RStGYC
IRL1502 Vespucci Dehler 31 RIYC
GBR5507T Peridot Mustang mark 1 RIYC
IRL1309 Syledis in blue Beneteau oceanis clipper 323 LK Bray SC
IRL966 More Mischief Beneteau First 310 DL Marina
IRL2860 Pure Magic Feeling 286 Special Bray SC

#cruiserracing – For the ordinary participant, sailing events just seem to happen. All they have to do personally is simply turn up, and get involved each year in a programme which somehow fits together both locally and nationally. But a lot of effort goes on behind the scenes to make events run smoothly, and innovative thinking has re-shaped the annual fixtures list. W M Nixon takes a look at the Irish Cruiser Racing Association, which in twelve short years has changed the face of our sport.

On Tuesday of this week, in an anonymous hotel room just about as far from sailing waters as it is possible to get in Ireland, the Executive Committee of one of the most effective national sailing bodies met for their key pre-season meeting to monitor the provision and development of the waterborne sport of hundreds of boats, and thousands of sailors.

As they're all busy folk giving of their time on a voluntary basis, the people who run the Irish Cruiser Racing Association approach their tasks with a minimum of fuss. Convenience and efficiency is all. And those who think that some of the most important decisions in Irish sailing are taken in sedate national headquarters, or in elegant committee rooms in stylish and historic yacht club premises, would find pause for thought in this hotel boardroom in Portlaoise.

There isn't so much as a picture on the wall to distract them from their deliberations as they progress down the agenda in businesslike manner. And as for taking a breather and maybe a refreshing walk along the waterfront at the nearest sailing location - as they'd say in New York, fuggedaboudid. Portlaoise is equidistant timewise from all the main sailing centres – hence its selection for meetings of a national committee - yet in our watery island, it almost uniquely manages to be more than an hour from the nearest sailing location.

That of course may change when the big new Dublin & Leinster Reservoir is constructed a few miles north, up by Mountmellick, for we're assured that it will include a recreational boating facility. But as it's a reservoir, the boats on it won't be those catered for by ICRA, which are boats with lids and loos. And as for the sport the Association provides, hotshot young dinghy sailors used to sniffily dismiss it as "truck-racing". But in the recessional years, you didn't hear that very often, for in the thin times ICRA's racing was sometimes the only show in town, and at its best it has been a very good show indeed.

The Association has been in being for a dozen years now, introduced at a ground-breaking meeting in 2002 in Kilkenny by the late Jim Donegan from Cork, Commodore of the South Coast Offshore Racing Association, and Fintan Cairns of Dun Laoghaire. To describe Fintan merely as a former Commodore of Dublin Bay Sailing Club scarcely gets the outline of the man. In his quiet way of much voluntary work in sailing, and in his continuing enthusiasm for personally going sailing whenever and wherever it's possible, and in whatever boat is available, he's inspirational.

The ICRA Executive Committee meeting on Tuesday in Portlaoise includes (front row left to right); Denis Kiely (secretary ICRA), Cxema Pico (web and social media), Fintan Cairns (treasurer) Nobby Reilly (Commodore), Simon McGibney (WIORA), Barry Rose (Commodore's Cup Team Manager), and Brian Forde. Back row: Jack Roy (ISA Director), Ed Alcock (ISA Racing Manager), Ronan Enright (SCORA) and Peter Ryan (ISORA). Missing from photo is Technical Adviser Mark Mills, who'd been in attendance earlier but had to return to his Wicklow design office to complete the plans of another race winner.

Naturally there were those who wondered – this writer included – about the wisdom of trying to inaugurate a cruiser racing association based around a landmass, even when it's the Emerald Isle. Surely such racing is all about specific identification with sea areas such as the Irish Sea? But the Irish Sea Offshore Racing Association – at its height in the 1970s with its best annual entry in the season-long championship being 107 boats – was in rapid decline as lifestyles changed.

Those who in times past would have trundled off on a Thursday evening to sail maybe across channel to the start of an ISORA weekend event, and perhaps not return home until Sunday or even Monday, now found that modern expectations of inclusive family life precluded much of that. The contemporary mantra of "fun for all the family" simply cannot be applied to time-consuming offshore racing in the old-fashioned sense.

This sort of thing is all very well, but its popularity has signalled the death knell for traditional time-consuming family-unfriendly offshore racing. Photo: W M Nixon

Certainly you'll find family members who sail together on a cruiser-racer, but it's seldom as a complete family unit. So seldom, in fact, that when it occurs, it's a news item. And though quite often you will get a father and one or two sons sailing together, equally often you'll find the sons enjoy racing against the father if the old codger has managed to keep up with his sport, with no holds barred.

But in this age of conspicuous family togetherness, if cruiser-racing in anything other than in a club context in a few very local centres was going to prosper, it had to be in a format which was ultimately family-friendly, at the very least allowing whoever was the involved one – be it father, mother, son or daughter – to show the face with reasonable regularity when the rest of the family gathered.

Whether or not they do take the opportunity to be enthusiastic family members is something else altogether. What matters is that the new look to Irish offshore racing introduced the annual ICRA Nationals, held each year at a different venue, and rotating around the main centres in order to encourage those from other centres to make the voyage to the year's championship in anticipation that they would in turn be rewarded by having their club invited to host the Nationals the following year, or perhaps the year after that.

As for getting the boats to the selected venue, there might be a useful passage race – last year's Dun Laoghaire to Dingle conveniently brought boats to Tralee for the ICRA Nats 2013 – but delivery races aren't essential. The boat can be sailed to the venue by a small delivery crew, and then our marvellous new motorway system, which might have been developed with the needs of ICRA in mind, delivers the FVRO (Formerly Very Rich Owner), plus those crewmen in fulltime shore-based gainful employment, for a hectic extended weekend of racing which hopefully includes one extended coastal event in order to justify the moniker of Cruiser Racing.

ICRA Nationals 2013 in Tralee Bay. When the sun shone, it was great. Photo: Robert Bateman

Not for the faint-hearted....the racing in Tralee Bay last year served up challenging sailing. Photo: Robert Bateman

It's not offshore racing as we used to know it, but it's what the people want, and it suits modern life. Although it may at times seem like no more than a glorified version of what any One Design keelboat class provides at its annual championship, the fact that each boat is racing to her own rating is not a drawback – it's part of the attraction. It means that in theory at least, any cruiser-racer sailed with reasonable competence is in with a chance. In fact, she and her crew are in with a double chance. Thanks to the number-crunching skills of ICRA's Denis Kiely, the backroom-boy par excellence, ICRA Championships are run with all boats under the the straight IRC rating, but also under the individual performance-related ECHO system.

It's the equivalent of having a two-strand golf major, with the usual open division, but also with people playing off handicap. Sporting purists might disdain it, but ICRA in their innate and growing wisdom know it's very important, and their double prize system reflects this.

However, the Association also aims at the clearest heights, and their work as organisers of the national team for the Commodore's Cup was crowned with the success of the outright win for Ireland in 2010, with ICRA Commodore Barry Rose of Cork in the driving seat of an outstanding campaign. That the Association's ethos is based on steady work without fuss was underlined by their reaction to becoming the Mitsubishi Motors "Club of the Year" for 2011 as a direct result. Sometimes when a club gets this award, it's received with a sense of entitlement. But in the case of ICRA, their delighted surprise was genuine, and they showed it by the entire management team turning up for the award ceremony.

Yet while the heights of the international offshore scene are within ICRA's remit, equally the Association's officers are involved with making the sport seem more accessible. I've long since given up being concerned by being told that there is a public perception of sailing as being exclusive and elitist. So what if it is? After all, any sport is competitive. And where you get competition, you eventually have winners. To get winners, you need selection. And one person's selection is another person's exclusion. Thus anyone selected seems part of an elite to those who aren't.

Classic ICRA racing at the Nationals in the Irish Sea, with seasoned campaigner Anthony Gore-Grimes' X 310 Dux on the way to another success. Photo: Robert Bateman

In sailing, it's something which is emphasised by the demands of campaigning a cruiser-racer. Running a successful boat-with-a-lid is like running a very intense small business. In addition to the management of the boat and equipment, you have the continuous personnel administrative demands of selecting and recruiting an effective crew, people who'll work as a team yet have individual talents which can be harnessed for the greater good. And they'll also need to contribute to the inter-personal harmony on board, often in conditions of acute physical discomfort.

To be a useful element in this, it's every bit as important to think about what you might bring to the party. Anyone who needs to be mollycoddled into a crew and is hyper-sensitive about exclusivity or elitism or whatever, is unlikely to make the grade. And it certainly won't be a gentle democracy on board, but equally an insensitive dictatorship won't work either. It's a group with a consultative leader in a continuous state of dynamic development in continually changing situations.

At the end of the race or the series, it may well be that you and your shipmates will be only too glad to see the back of each other. But then again, the shared experience, and the delight of sailing the sea when the going is good and the right judgements have been made, can be so rewarding that naturally a huge camaraderie will develop. And that of course will seem exclusive and elitist to those who haven't been part of it.

But believe me, offshore racing skippers are cunning devils, and they're always on the lookout for new crew material in all sorts of unusual ways. It is indeed like the innovative management of a successful business. A case in point was the great Denis Doyle of Cork with his remarkable partnership with the 51ft Moonduster for 20 years from 1981 onwards. In his earlier offshore racing days, Denis had been of the generation which expected the owner to be the helmsman. But by the time Moonduster came along, he'd learned to delegate - he knew that others could be better on the wheel. And in his first years with the boat, he was successfully crewed by all the top young offshore sailors and dinghy helmsmen of Crosshaven.

But gradually they moved on to boats of their own, and by the 1990s there were more boats than crews to go round. So Denis thought afresh, and made Moonduster berths available to cadets from the Naval Base up Cork Harbour at Haulbowline. But it was a case of a little learning being a dangerous thing. What the naval cadets already knew about ship handling from their professional training as sailors actually got in the way of crewing a sailing racer. So the bould Denis linked up with Commandant Barney Goulding of the Irish Army, and invited him to bring army trainees along. They were enthusiastic, but they didn't have any pre-conceived notion of what sailing involved, yet were mustard keen to learn. It worked a treat.

Moonduster in her element with owner Denis Doyle (unusually) at the helm. Photo: Robert Bateman

But things have moved on, and recruiting for cruiser-racer crews now has to operate in the open market. Knowing this, ICRA Commodore Nobby Reilly of Howth is organising a Come Sailing Day at his home club on Saturday May 3rd using the flotilla of SailFleet J/80s. This attracted more than 80 interested newcomers last year, they've honed the programme to make it even more user-friendly this year, and as a bonus, three selected (that word again) talents emerging from the day's activities will be invited to join the crew of a Volvo 70 which David Ryan has chartered for this year's Round Ireland Race on June 28th.

Nobby Reilly himself knows a thing or two about the wily ways of crew recruiters from his own long offshore racing career. These days he campaigns the Mills 36 Crazy Horse in partnership with Alan Chambers, and as the Gareth Craig photo shows in all its untrimmed glory here, they really do get stuck in. It may not be quite as spectacular as the mining operation mounted in a fierce squall by Gordon Maguire while running up the Solent some years ago in Cowes Week at the helm of the BH 41 Silk owned by Jocelyn Waller of Lough Derg YC - the word is that Silk's stem hit the seabed before she lifted her head again. But it was quite exciting at the time for Crazy Horse's crew, some of whom are very senior sailors whose association with Nobby goes back to the days when he and his brother Paddy were campaigning the big Humphreys 43 Comanche Raider, a boat which definitely needed a large ship's complement of all the talents, recruited just wherever they could be found.

In all her glory. A little bit of sport for Crazy Horse and her crew, some of whom have been sailing with current ICRA Commodore Nobby Reilly for very many years. Photo: Gareth Craig

Next up on the programme after the Come Sailing Day is the ICRA Nationals on Dublin Bay, run from June 13th to 15th in conjunction with the Royal Irish YC. Fleet numbers are already pushing towards a satisfactory level at the hundred-plus mark, but inevitably there will be an East Coast emphasis as there's a biennial Cork Week this year in July.

Time was when the keenest boats and crews would happily take in the Scottish Series, the ICRA Nationals, the Round Ireland Race, Cork Week and the West Cork Regattas, all in one season. But times are changing. We're still recovering from an economic recession which clipped all wings. But there are signs in any case that amateur sailors increasingly prefer to put all their campaigning effort into one big chosen event, and make do with a selection of smaller local series for the rest of the season.

The Kenefick family's front rank Quarter Tonner Tiger from Cork will be racing ICRA Week 2014 in Dun Laoghaire as Nathan Kirwan Trust in a fund-raising campaign. Photo: Robert Bateman

It's those family demands again, something which is now so dominant that anyone of the webbed-foot tendency who expects to sail flat out from one end of the season to the other is regarded as a bit odd. So a viewpoint put forward by Afloat.ie's Water Rat about the need to rationalise the events programme even further is worthy of consideration. But for now the 2014 programme is under way, and it will be instructive to see how it develops, and how the ICRA Executive reacts.

For in addition to many members being involved in the Round Ireland at the end of June, three weeks later the 2014 Commodore's Cup is being staged at Cowes from July 19th to 26th, and Ireland is very much back in the fray after deferring to economic force majeur in 2012, when they didn't mount a defence of their 2010 victory.

It's Kerry – big mountains, big winds, and all the sport of the ICRA Nationals 2013 at Tralee Bay SC. Photo: Robert Bateman

But at the same time the WIORA Championship is being staged on Clew Bay by Mayo YC. Clew Bay is just about as far as you can get if sailing there from the main sailing centres – once you've passed it, you're heading for home. So there was a plan to take the J/80s there and have clubs send representative crews to race them within the WIORA format. But there's just too much going on, time was against getting it all together for this formidable logistical challenge, so ICRA's man in the west Simon McGibney is concentrating on having the J/80s as a featured part of WIORA Week 2015 in Galway.

Meanwhile, the cruiser-racer and offshore season for 2014 is upon us. ICRA is once again balancing up on the tight-rope, laying on the welcome for newcomers while keeping seasoned campaigners on side. There's no other organisation in Irish sailing life which can think on its feet with the same speed and agility. And the contribution to our sport by the small voluntary staff running this big-hearted operation is a wonder to behold.