Irish Melges 24 Team are the New Kids On the European Block

The International Melges 24 Class community welcomed another country into the fold in 2008 with the launch of the first Irish Melges 24 campaign. Conor Clarke’s IRL 607 Embarr made its debut at the Swiss Open Championships in June and went on to compete at the German Nationals, the final Volvo Cup event in Italy and the rescheduled French Championship in Hyeres. I caught up with Conor along with helmsman Prof O’Connell to find out how they were feeling about their first season in the Melges 24.

I started by checking with Conor whether this really was the first ever Irish Melges 24 to campaign on the European circuit? ‘There was another Melges 24 in Ireland a good while ago’ he explained. ‘I remember seeing it sitting on a mooring in Dun Laoghaire in the mid nineties. However it wasn’t brought to any class events and I’m not even sure it had IRL registration.’ Conor is well known in Irish and UK yachting circles as a stalwart of the Cork 1720 Class so I wanted to find out what had precipitated his move into the Melges 24 fleet? ‘Back in the day I did a few events, including the Worlds in Travemuende, on Quentin Strauss’s boat Gill. I loved the boat and the fleet but was committed to my beloved 1720 at that time. The main attraction for me to buy a Melges last year was the consistently high standard of racing, as well as the opportunity to race at nice venues in well organised events. Over and above that, the fact that the Melges 24 is just fantastic fun and a true thoroughbred makes the whole proposition very compelling. It was a no brainer really as, after the fantastic fun I had in the 1720’s, I couldn’t really see myself in an SB3 or J80, or heaven forbid, joining a handicap class.

Conor bought his boat from Campione in Lake Garda in April 2008. It is a lightly used 2005 built boat and had only been to one regatta away from the lake. However when Conor drove down to collect it, he did get a bit of a shock. ‘Time was very tight so I was hoping to be able to arrive, hitch up and disappear straight way. However when I got there and located the boat, it was still sitting with the mast up and could not have been less ready for the road other than actually being afloat! I managed to get some help dropping the rig, but then had to pack up on my own – in the dark. I eventually made it back to the UK the following day, a slightly grumpier but much wiser man.’

After a test sail locally Conor headed straight off to the Swiss Open, which turned out to be a light and shifty event. On the plus side he says it gave them some time but to get to grips with the boat. ‘By day two we seemed to be pretty well on the pace and at the end of the event we finished 6th.’ However a sixth place wasn’t all the Irish boys picked up that weekend as they also managed to acquire an on the spot fine from the Swiss water police - during a race! Conor laughs ‘We never worked out what that was for. However Embarr seems to attract official attention a lot. We’re constantly being stopped by police and customs when we travel around Europe’.

I wondered how Conor had rated the quality of the European fleet after his first season in the class? ‘I knew the standard was very high and that was always a major attraction for me joining the class. I think that outside Olympic sailing, the Melges 24 Euro fleet a major step up in standard from anything available in the UK. Being honest it is a struggle to figure out how we’re going to get up with the best boats.

For fellow Irishman Prof O’Connell the Embarr campaign also marks a return to the Melges 24 fleet after an absence of several years. He was aboard Quentin Strauss’s Gil when they won the UK Nationals and also raced in the Melges fleet at Key West. He describes his sailing background as ‘varied’. ‘I raced all sorts of dinghies as a kid, represented Ireland at Youth and International level in the Laser. When I was in my twenties I discovered one-design keelboats, offshore racing and IRC and have been heavily involved in that sort of racing for a long time.’ Prof has spent the last four years campaigning a Star on the Olympic circuit which he describes as ‘a brilliant and often painful training ground.’ He now works for North Sails Ireland looking after the operation’s Dublin based clients. ‘It’s great to get the chance to do some top flight one design racing to keep me honest and the chance to race in Europe is wonderful.’

Prof is clearly relishing the chance to steer a ‘helmsman’s boat’ like the Melges 24. I asked how he found the challenge of dealing with the tiller, mainsheet, traveller and backstay. ‘You’re right. In a bit of breeze, the 24 is a real work out upwind for the helm. I think this boat probably suits sailors with a single handed background. If I’m honest I would have to admit that I love it when it’s windy, because that’s when good technique can get you a long way. In the lighter stuff, it’s actually more tricky and really we’re not very good at it yet. You can see that from our regatta results. We just set the rig up to the North tuning guide and went from there. Our speed was good in the breeze but we struggled in the light. We were fast downwind all the time I think. Now all we have to do is learn how to put a regatta together.’

With that in mind I wanted to find out about their plans for the coming season and asked what they saw as the biggest challenge for them? Conor answered first ‘I want to do four ranking events in 2009 and maybe some practice weekends. Budget and holiday limits prevent me doing more. The final programme isn’t finalised yet but I’m thinking about SNIM in Marseilles at Easter, Volvo Cup in Torbole, UK Nationals in Lymington and of course the Europeans in Hyeres. The UK Championship should be good and I’m really looking forward to meeting more of the UK fleet. The big one for us will be the Europeans in Hyeres and the plans are focussed around that. I’m excited just talking about it.

Prof was also looking forward to the coming season but is clear on what the biggest challenge will be. ‘The standard in this fleet is very high and our biggest issue will be whether we can get enough time in the boat to be able to improve our technique to a point where we can consistently execute the manoeuvres. This would enable us to get our heads out of the boat and do some racing. I am also very keen to get someone on board who would be able to focus on providing tactical input. My only other comment is that it was very obvious that the top teams really know how to hike. Far be it from me to comment but it is possible that I we have room for improvement there too!

Conor summed up his feelings about joining the International Melges 24 Class. ‘I know we are in the right place. The welcome and help we received last season at all the events was absolutely wonderful. People like Denis Infant in Hyeres are great ambassadors for the class and that sort of thing makes the difference when you are the new kids. I would encourage more boats to travel to events and I’d really love to see more GBR boats (or maybe even IRL, who knows?) at the events in Europe. We are looking forward to a fantastic year of racing which we are sure will culminate at a fantastic Euro Championship in Hyeres. See you all there.