The GUL World Topper Championships in Fenit was a huge success for the sailors and the local economy.
Photo shows Tralee Bay Sailing Club sailors at the opening cermony of the GUL Topper World Chapionships in Fenit last week ;
L to R Michell Moore, Austin Hynes, Jacquie Browne, Alico Daly , Mark Taylor , Ailling Cearney , Jenifer Stimfig and Michael Lynch
The GUL Ward Topper Championships was held in Tralee Bay Sailing Club in Fenit from 19th to 25th July 2008. “The enormity and truly international flavour of this event struck home to me on the 1st day when I saw 181 sailors from 5 countries gathered on local waters and supervised by a race management team from as far away as Canada and Norway and South Africa”, said Dr David Buckley, Commodore of Tralee Bay Sailing Club. “It was truly amazing to see all these people gathered together giving up their time voluntarily, all for the joy of sailing and the love for the sea”
A carnival atmosphere prevailed in Fenit trought the event with entertainment on the pier and in the club house for all age groups. The weather obliged and did its absolute best for sailors and their families for their introduction to Fenit in the sunshine.
Dick Spring declared the GUL World Topper Championships open on Sunday 20th July. George Clarke , from the International Topper Class Association, and Peter Crowley ,from the Irish Sailing Association ,both complimented the Tralee Bay Sailing Club Committee and members on the hard work involved in making this event a reality. Mayor Ted Fitzgerald said it was a great honour for Tralee Bay Sailing Club to be hosting this world event.
Following a practice race on Sunday , the launching took a little longer than anticipated on Monday morning and despite a postponed start the sailors had 2 good races.
Having the benefit of experience Tuesdays launching was a swift affair with toppers getting on the water for 4 races.
The ever-elusive summer with sun and heat arrived on Wednesday morning to Fenit. The visibility was wonderful with Brandon, Sliabh Mis and Kerry Head looking very close. Alas with the sunshine came no wind! So, the sailors had a sociable day on the water but no racing!
It was still sunny and summery on Thursday morning but the wind was back and a lively days racing was held with winds gusting up to 25 knots.
Alan Crosby, the principal race officer managed to squeeze 3 races in on the final day on Friday despite light winds.
Seamus Hand, who looked after registration and results, worked day and night to get the results out quickly every evening. David presented Seamus with a picture of Tralee Bay during the prize giving ceremony in recognition of the enormous effort he gave organizing this event .
The prize giving ceremony was held on Friday evening in the Clubhouse in Fenit .
The overall winner of the GUL World Topper Championships 2008 was Eliot Hanson from GPR. The best of the Irish sailors was Philip Doran from Waterford
Daniel Browne won the prize for the best Tralee Bay Sailing Club sailor. Local sailors Mark Taylor, Kate McGowan and Patrick Daly got a 1st, 2nd and 3rd place in the last race of the series in the Silver Fleet. Michelle Moore and Jackie Browne got prizes in the senior sailors category
Commodore David Buckley complemented the sailors, their coaches and their families for their good humour, seamanship and sportsmanship throughout the week long event .
Brendan Fitzgerald, Chairman of the events Organising Committee of Tralee Bay Sailing Club got a presentation of a picture of Tralee Bay in recognition of his outstanding contribution to organising this huge event. “Brendan dreamt of hosting this world class event in Tralee Bay Sailing Club. His exceptional organisation abilities, his persuasive personality and his total commitment and hard work for the last 9 months has paid off and made this a truly world class event which we can all be proud of” said Commodore David Buckley.
Not only was it a good week for the sailors but also the local economy. The event
brought almost 1,000 people into Fenit and Tralee for the week, giving a well needed boost to the local economy in what has been otherwise a fairly quiet tourist season.
Tralee Bay Sailing Club will host the Irish National Optimist Championships from the 20th to 23rd August 2008 and this event will attract approximately 240 young sailors to Fenit . Judging by the success of the Topper World Championships, should be another exciting event for Fenit and Tralee .
Commodore David thanked all the members of Tralee Bay Sailing Club who gave up their time to support all the sailors on the water during the World Topper Championships. While he could not thank everybody individually a special word of thanks went to Pat Kearney, Beach Master, and his team of recorders and helpers who managed to launch and retrieve all the boats everyday in record time.
He also complemented Shane McElligott, Principal Safety Officer and his team of 25 safety boats who ensured no major incidents happened throughout the events. David also thanked Pat McConkey , skipper of “Cloud 9” which acted as Committee Boat for the week. He also thanked Padraig and Brendan Kennelly who provided their boat as a ‘Finishing Boat’ for the week.
Liam and Liz Lynch did great work in helping to organize this event and gave us the use of there boat “ Powder Monkey “ as the pin end boat for the week .
Brian Hynes was complemented for his outstanding work at traffic management, rib launching and retrieval and just about anything else that needed to be done around the Clubhouse during the week.
Donal and Lorna Browne and their family did a great job at assisting Alan Crosby on the Committee Boat. Peter Moore worked hard looked after race management from the Clubhouse and Harry Freeman organised the Finishing Boat, ably assisted by his team of recorders.
Raphael Crowley was the principal mark layer from the club who ably assisted Alan Crosby’s team in laying out the courses everyday.
David thanked Marie Hand, Claire Hand and Alico Daly for their hard work looking after registration and the race office throughout the week.
Dr Pat Daly worked very hard on the organizing committee and also was the chief medical officer for the week . Thankfully he had no major accidents to deal with but , as ever , Pat was prepared for all eventualities .
He also complemented Teresa and Thomas in the bar for providing freshly brewed coffee, warm scones and cool beer to all the sailors and helpers throughout the week. David also thanked Steve Barter for looking after fuelling of the ribs every day and John Moriarty for bringing out guests onto the water.
David also thanked all the members , both adults and children , who helped out during the week to make this a truly outstanding event .
AMAZING SAILING SPECTACLE IN TRALEE BAY
An amazing sailing spectacle is taking place throughout the week with 180 topper dinghies on the water in Tralee Bay, Fenit. The boats are competing in the Gul Topper World Championships, a major international event on the sailing calendar.
Dick Spring, former Tánaiste and Honorary member of Tralee Bay Sailing Club ( TBSC) declared the event open on Sunday 20th July. “Dick has been a great supporter of TBSC for many years” said Dr David Buckley, Commodore of TBSC. “He was instrumental in securing government funding for our marina here in Fenit, which is a terrific amenity of which we are very proud .”
Ted Fitzgerald, Mayor of Tralee welcomed the sailors and their families to Tralee. “We are delighted to be hosting such a prestigious event in Tralee”, he said.
Peter Crowley, President of the Irish Sailing Association ,said he was very impressed with the level of organisation put in place by TBSC and complimented the committee on the hard work involved.
“Tralee Bay Sailing Club is in a unique geographical position with Mount Brandon brooding and dictating weather conditions in the bay. It is a beautiful situation and I wish all the sailors happy and safe sailing during the week”, said Mr Crowley .
“The Irish Sailing Association were instrumental in securing sponsorship from the Irish Sports Council which was very important in running this major event” said David Buckley. “We are also very grateful to Gul, Kerry Group and Ahern BMW and our many other supporters for their sponsorship of this event”, he added.
George Clarke, President of the International Topper Class Association (ITCA) said he was delighted that the event was being hosted in Tralee. “I am very impressed by what I have seen and experienced here in Tralee Bay to date. I would encourage all your sailors to sail to win during the week and to do your best and display true sportsmanship” said Mr Clarke.
Alan Crosbie, from Cork is the Principal Race Officer for the week and David Buckley thanked him for his continued support of Tralee Bay Sailing Club.
The Harbour Board work hand in hand with TBSC all year round, and Johnny Wall, Chairperson of the Harbour Board, attended the opening ceremony on Sunday last.
Paddy O Sullivan was also present at the opening ceremony. “Paddy is held in high esteem by all of the members of Tralee Bay Sailing Club” said David Buckley.” He is a founding member of the club and the organiser of the last world event held in Fenit in 1970, The World Fireball Championships. We are delighted,as always, to have Paddy here with us today and very grateful to him and all his fellow founding members for all of their involvement in the club over the last 52 years” added David Buckley.
Contact: Dr David Buckley
Commodore, TBSC
087 254 1000
Dick Spring to open the GUL Topper World Championships in Fenit next Sunday
The prestigious Gul Topper World Championships will take place in Tralee Bay Sailing Club (TBSC) , Fenit, from Saturday 19th July to Friday 25th July 2008. This major international sailing event will attract in the region of 185 boats to Fenit.
The official opening ceremony will be held on the pier in Fenit at 6.30pm on Sunday 20th July and this should be a very colourful event. Dick Spring , former Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign affairs will officially open the event. There will also be representatives from the Irish Sailing Association , the International Topper Class Association and local public representatives at the opening ceremony . There will be lots of entertainment on the pier on that Sunday afternoon and all are welcome.
“Along with more than 185 topper dinghies we expect about 600 accompanying people to Tralee for the week, which should be worth over half a million euro in revenue for the town” said Dr David Buckley, Commodore TBSC.
It is a tremendous coup for TBSC to have secured this hugely significant event for Fenit. This World Topper event was held in Lake Garda, Italy last year.
This is the second time in the 52 years of TBSC that a World Championship event has been hosted in Fenit. The World Fireball Championships was hosted by TBSC in 1970 and was a huge success.
The topper is a single-handed dinghy usually sailed by teenagers and young adults. Of the 185 topper dinghies, there will be 12 local sailors and 5 different countries will be represented, including the UK, Germany, France, Italy and Ireland.
TBSC is expecting six days of exciting racing on the waters by some of the top dinghy sailors in the world. There will also be 30 support boats on the water to cater for safety, judges and committee.
Alan Crosbie from Cork, a Race Officer with internationally recognised qualifications is among the panel of international judges who will ensure the event runs safely and efficiently.
“We are also very proud and honoured to have Thomas Chaix as the Irish coach for the Topper Worlds in 2008. Thomas is an international champion sailor and we are delighted to have him as a member of TBSC. His expertise and experience at previous events have been invaluable to the local organising committee. Thomas is a terrific asset to the Club” said David Buckley.
A lively social calendar is planned around the event with entertainment in the Clubhouse in Fenit throughout the week.
“It is a wonderful boost for Irish sailors to have this world event held at home in Irish waters this year” said David Buckley. “We have terrific sailing facilities with our wonderfully located club house and purpose-built sailing school. We would like to attract new sailors to the club, making sailing as accessible as possible to those who would like to give it a try” he said.
Tralee Bay Sailing Club will also be hosting the Irish National Optimist Championships in Feint from the 20 th to 23 rd Aug 08 and we are expecting over 200 young sailors to this huge event .
Further details can be obtained on the Tralee Bay Sailing Club website www.traleebaysailingclub.com or www.traleebaysailingschool.com.
FOR THE PHOTO DESK
A MAJOR INTERNATIONAL SAILING EVENT
PHOTOCALL
TIME: 6.30 p.m.
DATE: Sunday 20th July 2008
VENUE: Tralee Bay Sailing Club, at the Beach car park
EVENT: Official launch of the Topper World Championships 2008 by Dick Spring
Please see attached Press Release
For further details, contact:
Dr David Buckley
Commodore
Tralee Bay Sailing Club
087 254 1000