The Puppeteer Class, under the new captaincy of Suzanne Carroll, is certainly well organised as the new season gets under way. Over the winter months, the Pupps wasted no time in putting in place all the actions that need to be taken to ensure that its one-design status is exactly that!
A Measuring Committee comprising David Clarke, Neil Murphy and Gerry Kennedy has been checking out everything from boat weights to sail measurements and all Pupps will have to conform to this precision regime if they expect to compete in the various series this year! It's not really a 'get tough' exercise, Suzanne points out, but just a way to make sure that all is fair across the board.
On the sailing front, no less than 23 boats made it to the starting line for the first race of the season and the Class is planning a singlehanded race, a crews' race, a ladies' race and, if they can encourage 12 entries, their own start in the Dun Laoghaire Regatta in July. Unfortunately, the building of the new Beckett Bridge across the Liffey means the annual Liffey Race is a non-runner this year.
The Pupps will also compete in the Windward-Leeward series over four days in a two month period along with the Etchells and SB3s while the two-day National Championships, despite rumours of moving elsewhere, will definitely be held on home waters in late July. It has also been decided that the Puppeteer representative in the J80 Inter-Club Championship will be the winner of Series 1 so there's all to race for there.
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