Irelands' Sail Training Future

Sail Training International have shown a huge committment to Ireland in the recent past - and indeed for the foreseeable future. Their most high-profile event, the International Tallships Race, having been in Waterford in 2005, makes a welcome return in 2011. Further to that it will return to these shores again the following year in 2012 when Dublin will play host to the event.

All the more pity then, that Ireland currently has no sail training programme and if Mr McCarthy of An Bord Snip Nua fame gets his way, it will not have one into the future in order to save an immediate €3m (insurance payment claimed on Asgard II) and to further save €0.8m annually - the cost of running the sail training programme - which by the way, came entirely from Lottery funds.

The main reason that the Tallships Races are held at all, is to promote youth development through the fantastic medium of sailing. I can personally attest to its usefulness, as, with a husband who has for the greater part of our marriage been Captain of one or other Sail Training Ship, I hear regularly of the changes it has wrought in otherwise hard-to-reach youngsters; others who may have gone off the rails; some who need to gain maturity or even those who have suffered severe disadvantages in their lives. Sailing on a ship, in many cases seems to give so much more than the obvious to these young people. Much more benefit than can be measured by the mere cost of running a sail training programme.

Add to that the enormous value of Asgard II to Ireland in terms of International flagwaving duties and the goodwill engendered when she visited foreign ports. I know for a fact she was worth far more to the Country than the paltry €0.8m is cost to keep her and keep her sailing.

However there are some who measure everything in terms of 'cost' and know nothing of 'value'. For a very small (Lottery) investment, Asgard II delivered enormous value to this small Country and indeed would surely have no peer as both the prettiest and indeed one of the most loved and famous ships in the worldwide Tallships fleet. It is so sad then, to think of her sitting upright and not badly damaged (we hear) on the bottom of the ocean off the coast of France.

Sadder far though, is that the demise of Asgard II seems to have heralded the demise too of Irelands' entire Sail Training Programme. Such a pity, when the International Tallships Race, the premier sail-training proponents in the World have shown such faith in Ireland (and our comittment to sail training??) by awarding us the race in two of our Countries best cities and ports; Waterford in 2011 and Dublin in 2012.

I welcome sincerely the announcement of Des Whelan as the Chairman of the Tallships event for Waterford in 2011. Des has a unique experience and is well capable of delivering an even better event for Waterford than the wonderful festival in 2005 which is universally fondly remembered by all our citizens. He has a huge task in front of him but I know that he will pull the right people together to work their collective fingers to the bone to deliver for our ancient port city.

Hopefully by the time the Tallships visits Waterford, the Government and relevant Minister (Willie O'Dea) will have had a change of heart on the value of sail training and will have re-instated our national programme, although sadly, probably with a different vessel. Hopefully someday Asgard II can be rescued from her watery resting place where, thankfully, I am told that her wooden hull should not have deteriorated over what could turn out to be a long, long time.