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Displaying items by tag: Veere

#ANGLING - Ireland's shore angling team have taken the bronze medal at the 2012 World Shore Angling Championship held at Veere in the Netherlands.

Brian Cooke of the Irish Federation of Sea Anglers (IFSA) reports that the fishing was very tough over the week, with anglers casting into a shipping channel that contained tackle grabbing ledges.

The predominant species were dabs to 30cm, whiting, pouting and some lovely soles, he says, noting that the weather was very changeable, and gales combined with big tides to test the resolve of the competitors. Most fish were taken at distance and zones were won with 15-25 fish.

The Irish team improved their position each day, finishing seventh on day 1 and moving up to fifth and fourth on succeeding days.

Coming into the final session, the Irish needed to close a four-point gap on the Italian team in third, which Cooke describes as "a massive gap to overturn in this event given the quality of the opposition".

But the Irish team pulled it off, says Cooke, "using all their experience and skills to leapfrog the Italians and claim another World Championship medal for an Irish Shore team.

"The qualification pool system has certainly proved a success, this medal adding to the gold won by Ireland in South Africa in 2010," he adds.

Cooke congratulated team manager Tom Lillis and the six-man squad: Martin Howlin, Joe Duggan, John O’ Brien, Derek Kenrick, Eugene Farrelly and Kieran Begadon.

Published in Angling

Irish Sailing Classes and Association – There’s no shortage of one-design classes from which to choose and each gives its enthusiasts great competition, fun and camaraderie, writes Graham Smith in this review of the classes. 

One-design racing is where it all starts. It is, after all, where all the top sailors earned their stripes, battling away for line honours without a thought for a handicapper’s calculator wiping away a hard-fought victory!

Indeed, you could count on less than one hand the number of top Irish sailors who didn’t cut their teeth in a one-design dinghy! Just think of Cudmore, Barrington, Watson, Wilkins, Hennessy and Dix to name a few and you realise that they honed their skills in everything from Enterprises to Lasers and a lot in between.

At present count, there are a little over 30 one-design classes in Ireland, split almost evenly between dinghies and keelboats, a statistic which might raise a few eyebrows. They range from the long-established Mermaids, IDRA14s and Dragons to the newer additions like Fevas, Topaz and RS Elite. They all fill a particular need and give their owners and crews considerable enjoyment.

Many have attracted their World or European Championships to Irish waters over the years and while 2009 is notable for a lack of such events here, the following year will see the Etchells Worlds at Howth and perhaps a few other international regattas too.

In addition to the review, we asked each class to complete a questionnaire giving details of their fleet numbers, whether they were on a growth pattern or holding their own, so we could highlight those ‘on the up’ and those remaining static in terms of numbers. The older traditional designs, as you might imagine, fall into the latter category, although that’s not a negative!

CLASS REVIEW  The State of the Classes – League Table (as at February 2009)

S = Static; U = Up/growing

275     Optimist   U

200+   Laser   S

189     Mermaid   S

160     Flying Fifteen   S

130     RS Feva   U

115     Shannon One Design    U

100+   Mirror   S

100+   Topper   U

99       Topaz   U

94       Laser SB3   U

87       GP14   U

85       Squib   S

70       Fireball   S

70       Ruffian   S

60       J24   S

60       Shipman   S

52       Dragon   S

50       RS400/200   S

50       420    U

43       Multihulls    U

42       Dragon    S

40       Water Wags    U

40       Wayfarer    S

34       IDRA14    U

33       Puppeteer    U

28       Etchells    S

27       E-Boat    U

26       Glen    S

25       Enterprise    S

18       Sigma 33    S

18       Howth 17    U

13       RS Elite    U