WIORA 2007!

By Pete Vine … prior to WIORA 2007

The first warning of imminent danger came as we heard three screeching calls for “Water”. I turned from admiring the line of yachts jockeying for their positions on the starting line to look behind me. Suddenly my whole field of vision was blocked by vibrating, flapping and tightly trimmed white sails. The careering yachts seemed close enough to touch! Two of them were blocking the third boat from escaping from what seemed like a certain collision. The only question in my mind was would he hit us or one of the other boats. Since our yacht formed one end of the starting line it represented an immovable object. At least there was a chance that the others could avoid him. “Starboard!” replaced the screams for “Water” as the careering vessel, surging within millimetres of our much loved ‘Suaimhneas’ (Irish for ‘tranquility’!), swung about onto the port tack, almost directly in the path of a new arrival that was pinching into the wind to pass under our stern literally seconds from the starting gun. Somehow or other a collision was avoided, and what had seemed like lethal weapons transposed themselves to magnificent graceful sailing yachts … miraculously arriving on the line as the starting gun fired. Twenty-five bow-waves sliced the normally tranquil waters of Clifden Bay, fanning out on their way to the first mark.

Those watching from the bird’s-eye vantage point at the top of the aptly named Sky Road were treated to a spectacle that had never before been seen in Clifden, even back in the days when sail was the preferred form of transport around this rugged shoreline. As the yachts rounded the windward mark brightly patterned spinnakers erupted with what seemed like military precision, painting the glittering waters with every colour of the rainbow, and then some. Spectators were mesmerized by the poetic elegance of the race and for all the competing sailors it marked the start of a weekend that is still being talked about. Perfect winds, hot competition, warm hospitality and event coordination that was praised for its professionalism. Both spectators and sailors agreed that Clifden had truly shown its mettle! Who could deny that these waters offer some of the finest sailing waters in Ireland? What’s more, the club knows how to put on a party!

That was Clifden Regatta 2006. The bay had never seen so many yachts racing in its waters and it was widely acknowledged as the best sailing event of the season along the western seaboard of Ireland. So why is it that Clifden decided to forgo a regatta in 2007?

The answer is that it is holding an even bigger event! At least twice the size of its stunningly successful 2006 regatta. This year it plays host to The West of Ireland Offshore Racing Association West Coast Championships, otherwise known as WIORA 2007. It will be an event to cap all others in the region and Clifden Boat Club is justifiably proud to be hosting the race meeting which takes place from the 4th to 7th of July. The championships are held each year in a different location along the west coast and they attract yachts from the whole of Ireland.

Clifden was for many years considered to be an outsider in terms of the national yachting calendar but the successful participation of its yachts and crews in many of the major races taking place in venues such as Westport, Galway, Kilrush and Cork raised the club’s profile and set it on course to become a key competitor and a popular attendee at many top races.

But for those Clifden sailors who have participated in previous WIORA events, the fact that it is now to be held in Clifden is met by a nervous mixture of awe and anxiety. Damian Ward is one such sailor who vividly recalls sailing with his father Jackie, a scion of west coast yacht racing, at a number of ‘away-races’ going back for over 25 years. Being on the start line of N.O.R.A. held at Westport, with Jackie’s diminutive ‘Paloma’ challenging the ‘big boys’ was both exciting and intimidating. The sight of forty yachts, in close formation, bearing down on you is something that Damian has etched on his memory. He knows that WIORA 2007 is going to bring more scary moments and mouths bone dry by copious bursts of adrenaline!

Yacht racing is moving from the peripheries of the sporting world to take a more central role. Events such as the Volvo Round the World Race, the Vendez Globe and the America’s Cup have all played a big part in bringing the excitement of sailing to the general public. The great beauty of WIORA is that it is an amateur event run with professional standards. Clifden’s planning and organization began as soon as the 2006 regatta was wrapped up. It was conceded then that the planning required for WIORA should not be dissipated by running a 2007 regatta. Plans are now being laid for an even bigger regatta in 2008 and for some new national and even international events to be run from Clifden.

All this has not escaped the notice of Clifden business people involved in tourism. WIORA 2007 has attracted main sponsorship by the Station House Hotel, owned by national hotelier John Sweeney. Around a thousand extra bed-nights are likely to be sold during the three day event which is being widely seen as a testing ground for more of the same in the coming years. Media coverage of WIORA 2007 will be enhanced by the special filming opportunities that the venue offers. Forty brilliantly coloured spinnakers gliding past Clifden Castle; eagle-eye views of close action around the buoys from the Sky Road vantage point, and a throbbing social scene on shore will all add up to an event worth participating in – either as a yachtsman or a spectator.

After last year’s close call with Suaimhneas almost being sliced in half I examined my conscience and decided to take the precautionary approach, withdrawing from start line duty! But one thing’s for sure, there will be plenty of high drama wherever we find ourselves!