1720 Europeans kick off

First races start tomorrow

The last of the 49 boats entered for the Crew Clothing 2002 Cork 1720 Sportsboat European Championships arrived in Hamble today to compete at the event hosted by the Royal Southern Yacht Club.

The 11 race series, which kicks off tomorrow and concludes on Saturday, 7 September, has pulled an entry list which features many previous champions from the 1720 Class as well as from other areas of the sport. Of the 1720 Class stalwarts, this years hopefuls for the European Championship title include boats from the English, Welsh, Scottish and Irish fleets, adding just a small amount of national rivalry to what is already an extremely hotly contested event.

2001 European Champions Tom and John Murphy sailing Peugeot Motorcycles are hoping to hold their fellow Irishman and Olympic Star sailor, Mark Mansfield at bay. Mark, himself a previous 1720 European Champion, is sailing John Rickards' Babbalaas Bach with a team from North Sails and John's 13 year old son, Owen.

Maurice 'Prof' O'Connell, sailing Des Faherty's Aquatack along with Hamble resident and fellow Irishman Tom McWilliams, has his own opinion as to which Irish eyes will be smiling at the end of the week. Prof's team are Irish National Champions and stand an excellent chance of taking the European title home with them. Prof's crew however were keen to point out the potential threat from the 'brilliant but inconsistent' Irish boat RedGreen, owned by Shaun Douglas.

From the Welsh fleet, Mike Budd steering Gul and Sian Evan's Regent Mercedes Benz have to be two of the favourites. Sian has Nigel Young and Jamie Lea of North Sails on board to add weight to her already impressive credentials. In the case of Mr Budd, the boat and crew are looking good, and, having been beaten at Pwllheli Keelboat Week on the last day of racing by Ruairidh Scott in King Quick, you just know that Mike is hungry for it!

When speaking with Ruairidh however, one cannot fail to be impressed by this talented 20 year old. Having come second in the English Nationals this year and second in the Scottish series, Ruairidh and family (he sails with his Dad and his sister) are keen to rack up some first places.

It's all wide open amongst the English boats too. Ian Atkins in Bluefin has a point to prove, having sailed consistently well throughout his first season in the 1720. Mark Rushall, a previous 1720 European title holder, makes a guest appearance in the fleet on Robert Bicket's Phoebe along with Mini Transat skipper and Maiden II crew Sam Davies. The crew of 'Key Yachting' including Kevin Sproul, Marie-Claude Heys and Jochem Visser will no doubt be a force to be reckoned with and Neal and Lisa MacDonald, recruited by Andy Smith and Andy Saunders to help out on board Twister are very welcome 'newcomers' to this exciting fleet.

Entries

1	GBR 1700	Barbarian	Callum Edge
2	GBR 1701	La Licorne	Mark Greenway
3	GBR 1702	O' Fiver	Colin Bishop & Harvey Hilary
4	GBR 1703	Roxy 8	Bob Davies
5	GBR 1706	Holo Graphic	Len Baker
6	GBR 1710	G&T	David Greenhalgh
7	GBR 1711	Jacob	John Stamp
8	GBR 1713	Optimum Risk	Charlie Curtis & Mark Wynne-Smith
9	GBR 1714	Team HME/MMC	Dermot Crean
10	GBR 1717	Phoebe	Robert Bicket
11	GBR 1720	Le Bouchon	M Riley, J Humberstone, P Cropper
12	GBR 1721	Babbalaas Bach	John Richards & David McLeand
13	GBR 1723	King Louie	Malcolm P.Thorpe
14	GBR 1725	Running Guns	John Evans
15	GBR 1726	Key Yachting	P & M Heys
16	GBR 1730	Finn McCouls	Tom Clay
17	GBR 1733	Road Ranger	J. K. A. Abrahams
18	GBR 1740	Team Polecat	Simon Cowood
19	IRL 1751	Lemon	Colin Galavan
20	IRL 1755	Donpack	Ray Donoghue & David Rose
21	IRL 1758	Musketeer	Duncan Syme
22	GBR 1769	Buddy	Ian & Hilary Paterson
23	GBR 1770	Luvly Jubbly	Andrew Brook & Peter Hawkins
24	GBR 1771	Cosmic	David Ashcroft
25	IRL 1772	RedGreen	Shaun Douglas
26	GBR 1773	Goacher Sails	Chris Ducker
27	GBR 1774	Regent Mercedes-Benz	Sian Evans
28	GBR 1776	Twister	A Smith & A Saunders
29	GBR 1776	Industrial Solutions	John Simms
30	GBR 1777	King Quick	Graeme & Ruairidh Scott
31	IRL 1777	Bob	Phil Thomas
32	GBR 1780	Delirious	James Gundy
33	IRL 1780	Discount Glass	Ian Williams
34	GBR 1785	Bluefin	Ian Atkins
35	IRL 1787	Vision	Paul O' Riain & Ken Green
36	GBR 1787	The Big L	Charlie Frize
37	IRL 1790	Hot Stuff	Colm Jones & Conor Murphy
38	GUL 1790	Gul	Mike Budd
39	IRL 1791	On All Fours	Max Mc Mullan
40	GBR 1793	Hoodless Brennan	Leo Knifton
41	GBR 1795	Fuji Film	Janus Van Helfteren
42	IRL 1797	Peugeot Motorcycles	Tom & John Murphy
43	GBR1798	Incognito	Colin MacDonald
44	IRL 1803	Martin Reilly Motors	David Maguire
45	IRL 1804	Aquatack	Des Faherty
46	IRL 1807	Ford Racing	Anthony O Leary
47	IRL 1812	Hibernian	Brian Lennon & Roger Cagney
48	GBR 1843	Wet N Blaclk	Paul Reilly
49	GBR 2853	Flamboyant	Chris Jago