LOCAL PAPER GETS BEHIND 2005 EUROPEANS

By Katina Read (Splash Publicity) - Herald Express Torbay - This year the Bay is hosting the Ocean BMW Melges 24 European Championship. In 1998 the Bay held the first ever Melges 24 World Championship. This is set to be an even bigger event, with 12 local boats likely to make the start line this time.

Leading the organisation of the event, which will be hosted by the Royal Torbay Yacht Club, is Melges fleet captain, Adrian Peach who is delighted with the way preparations are going and the amount of interest already being shown.

The championship will take place from September 19 to 23 with around 70 boats expected to race.

Adrian said: "Buddy Melges described the first ever world championships as 'awesome'. The Europeans should be even better as the fleet has increased in numbers since then.

"It promises to provide some of the closest racing the Melges 24 has ever seen.

"There's been a lot of interest in the event and we've even had a crew from Monaco enter.

"It's fantastic. I'm really chuffed. All the hard work is starting to pay off."

RTYC is home to many international racers, including the 2004 North American champion John Pollard and Joe Woods, both of whom are sponsoring the championships.

Adrian said: "We've got Musto on board as sponsors along with WKD, Devoti Sailing, North Sails and Westaway Sails.

"The international jury has been confirmed. All we need now is some good winds."

The race will add thousands to Torquay's economy with more than 300 competitors and their families coming down to the Bay for the week.

Adrian said: "The largest fleet will be the Italians. It's the fastest growing fleet with 40 boats.

"Torquay has 12 boats now in our fleet with two more just started this season with crews from London bringing their boats down here and coming down for weekends.

"They think it's the best place to sail.

"We've all worked extremely hard to build the fleet up and make Torquay a centre of excellence for Melges sailing and now all the work is paying off.

"It's the fastest growing fleet in Torbay. We want event more boats to come on board now.

"We've been holding several events a year for the last four years and it's proving popular. This year we've had one open meeting already and have two more in May.

"We've also got a Gold Cup event over August Bank Holiday."