#vor – 40 catamarans will be raced by two handed teams in front of the promenade in Salthill, Galway on Saturday, June 30th and Sunday July 1st as they compete in the Irish Multihull Association (IMA) National regatta sponsored by local taxi company Pro-Cabs.
Only once every 5 years is this competition hosted in the West of Ireland and for 2012, in association with the Volvo Ocean Race Grand Finale Festival, Galway Bay Sailing Club is the genial host.
The catamaran, a multihulled sailing craft - typically two hulls linked together by a taught trampoline, has its roots in cultures and traditions as old as the early Polynesian settlers who used them to reach far-flung islands.
Today these cats have evolved to become specialist speed machines on the water, ranging from the popular "everyday" 16 and 18 foot length boats to the 45 and future 72 foot competitors of the Americas Cup. Trading under names like Wildcat, Tiger, Hurricane and Tornado, you can just imagine all that these sensational boats can do. Flying their colourful, billowing spinnakers (balloon-like sail) off 30 foot high masts, they are sleek and graceful, most manoeuvrable and lend the ability to be sailed close to the edge at terrific speeds.
The edge being that point before everything can come tumbling down in a spectacular capsize. Of all the various cat types sailing on June 30th, the largest fleet will be the Dart 16s. All locally owned boats, they are famed for their yellow hulls and while not as fast, they are much more robust and can take on stronger winds than their delicate fibreglass constructed 18 foot cousins.
Right now, besides the 40 or so local cat sailors, there are another 40 all over the country, from Cork to Antrim, and even as far as England, fine tuning their skills and rigs to put on a display not seen so close to the shore in Galway before.
Expect to see the 25 knot thrills and maybe even some spectacular spills of catamaran racing up-close. The first of four races blasts off at 12.00 on Saturday, starting with 3 windward-leewards, The Cardpoint, The Coffey Construction and The Nevins Pharmacy, finishing with The Coach House Coastal. Sunday features The Avon Ri Hobie Centre and The Bow Waves windward-leeward races followed by The McSwiggans Coastal.
If you like what you see from Salthill promenade Sat 30th – Sun 1st and you think you might like to try it out, then contact GBSC (www.gbsc.ie / 091-794527) or your own local sailing club for more information, or contact the IMA (www.multihull.ie / [email protected] ) who will try to put you in touch with the nearest club to you.
Fair or formidable weather, these cats and their sailors will put on a fast and colourful display of skill and speed at the Pro-Cabs IMA Nationals 2012 on the wet and wonderful Galway Bay!
