Dun Laoghaire Regatta Crowns IRC Coastal Winner WOW 'Volvo Boat of the Week'

12th July 2015

George Sisk's Wow was named Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta's 'Boat of the Week' after an impressive offshore performance

#dlregatta – Dublin Yacht Club's shared the bulk of the overall prizes at Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta 2015 this afternoon, winning 22 of the 29 classes including the coveted 'Boat of the Week' Trophy.

Veteran big boat campaigner George Sisk's Farr 42 WOW from the Royal Irish Yacht Club was named top boat after winning three of four challenging IRC Coastal races in a buoyant turnout of 25 boats in the offshore class.

Regatta Chairman Tim Goodbody's reminder that 'Volvo Dun Laoghaire is a fun regatta, not a championship' did little to stem the fierce competition for the coveted Volvo prizes in 29 classes as the last race of the event concluded in the lightest winds of the series.

Three national championship titles were decided as part of the regatta programme for more than 3,000 sailors. Joker II (John Maybury) took the 11-boat J109 Irish title after a series long fight with Pat Kelly's Storm from Rush and a Clyde Cruising Club entry, Leaky Roof 2, (Alan Harper) won the Sigma 33 championships. The Beneteau 21 title went to Séamus Storan's Capilano of the Royal Irish Yacht Club in a 13-boat fleet.

The biennial regatta is being hailed an enormous success both afloat and ashore for a combined fleet of 415 boats, the biggest on the Irish Sea. Over 250 races on five different courses were staged in a range of light to very heavy conditions since racing began last Thursday.

Although 180 visiting boats, made up nearly half the fleet, yachts from outside the bay area took away only seven trophies. The bulk of the silverware – 17 titles – have stayed on Dun Laoghaire's waterfront.

Trophies were awarded in each of the 29 competing classes plus several premier awards at a special National Yacht Club ceremony this afternoon bringing the curtain down on one of the most successful stagings of Ireland's biggest sailing event.

The massive Volvo prizegiving at the National Yacht Club this afternoon

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The IRC Coastal fleet start race four this morning under race officer David Lovegrove from Howth

In a summer of achievements for George Sisk the boat of the week award follows his IRC National Championship victory in Kinsale last month.The premier award for top visiting boat went to Harper's Leaky Roof 2. The best IRC yacht award went to Paul Colton's quarter tonner Cri-Cri from the Royal Irish. The best one design keelboat award went to the Ruffian 23 Diane II skippered by Chris Helme of the Royal St. George YC.

Rush Sailing Club's Storm (the Kelly family) held the early lead in the J109 Irish National championships won by John Maybury's Joker II (below) this afternoon

Scotland's Clyde Cruising Club took a win in the Sigma 33 class and very nearly in the Beneteau 21 class. Howth Yacht Club took wins in IRC three, the Howth 17s, J24s (including the class Leinster Championship title) and the Water Wags but outside of that there was only single wins for Belfast Lough in the RS Elite. Cullaun Sailing Club in County Clare won the Wayfarers.

In Dun Laoghaire, The Royal Irish topped the leaderboard with eight wins across IRC and one design including: IRC One, IRC Four, J109, White Sails Two, Dragon, Beneteau 21 and Mermaid. Royal St. George YC yachts won in seven classes of one designs from Beneteau 31.7 keelboats to GP14 dinghies.The National Yacht Club had five victories; White Sails one, Flying Fifteen, SB20, Shipman and Moth.

In the IRC divisions although Royal Cork's Jump Juice, Howth's Dux and the Royal Irish's Cri–Cri held their leads in Divisions zero, three and four respectively today's final race brought changes to the leaderboard in both IRC one and two. South Caernarvonshire Yacht Club in Wales looked sure of IRC Two with a fine performance by The J97 Injenious (Mike and Graham Crompton & Hallworth) until a last race comeback by Howth's modified Half–Tonner Harmony.

The J97 Injenious (Mike and Graham Crompton & Hallworth) from South Caernarvonshire Yacht (above) led Class two for most of the regatta but not everything went to plan on the last day leaving Johnny Swan's modified Harmony (below) to top the leaderboard

The National Yacht Club's A35 Gringo lost its overall lead of class one to Paul O'Higgin's Corby 33 Rockabill. O'Higgins won by three clear points in a class that had a number of different leaders since Thursday.

Paul O'Higgins Corby 33 Rockabill V from the Royal Irish Yacht Club won the 16–boat class zero fleet.

In the one designs there were plaudits for many consistent performers including John Masterson's National Yacht Club based Shipman 28, Curraglas. Winners of the GP14 series, Gerard Owens and Melanie Morris were eight points clear at the top with six results from eight in the top three. Likewsie in the Squib keelboats, Vincent Delany took the overall prize with six race wins from nine starts.

John Masterson's Curraglas (left) from the National Yacht Club was in the running for the boat of the week trophy with five race wins from six in the Shipman class

A crowded pin end start for the last race of the GP14s

Femme Fatale (Vincent Delany and Joe O'Byrne) of the Royal St George Yacht Club look up the course prior to today's final start at South Bull. Femme Fatale went on to win the nine race event with six race wins and 12 points clear

True Belle (Gerard Owens and Melanie Morris) of the Royal St George YC and East Antrim BC were seven points clear in the 30–boat GP14 fleet

Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta Premier prizewinners 2015

Scroll down for 2023 Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta results class by class

Read all the Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta Race News in one handy link here
Click links to read more on VDLR IRC divisions Coastal, IRC Zero, IRC One, IRC Two and IRC Three
Listen to Lorna Siggins's interview with Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta Race Director Paddy Boyd here
Read more on the Coastival Festival here
See live Dublin Bay webcams covering here

Afloat will be posting regular race updates throughout the 2023 Regatta. Send your photos, tips and stories by email to [email protected]

Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta 2023 Race Results

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Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta

From the Baily lighthouse to Dalkey island, the bay accommodates six separate courses for 21 different classes racing every two years for the Dun Laoghaire Regatta.

In assembling its record-breaking armada, Volvo Dun Laoghaire regatta (VDLR) became, at its second staging, not only the country's biggest sailing event, with 3,500 sailors competing, but also one of Ireland's largest participant sporting events.

One of the reasons for this, ironically, is that competitors across Europe have become jaded by well-worn venue claims attempting to replicate Cowes and Cork Week.'Never mind the quality, feel the width' has been a criticism of modern-day regattas where organisers mistakenly focus on being the biggest to be the best. Dun Laoghaire, with its local fleet of 300 boats, never set out to be the biggest. Its priority focussed instead on quality racing even after it got off to a spectacularly wrong start when the event was becalmed for four days at its first attempt.

The idea to rekindle a combined Dublin bay event resurfaced after an absence of almost 40 years, mostly because of the persistence of a passionate race officer Brian Craig who believed that Dun Laoghaire could become the Cowes of the Irish Sea if the town and the local clubs worked together. Although fickle winds conspired against him in 2005, the support of all four Dun Laoghaire waterfront yacht clubs since then (made up of Dun Laoghaire Motor YC, National YC, Royal Irish YC and Royal St GYC), in association with the two racing clubs of Dublin Bay SC and Royal Alfred YC, gave him the momentum to carry on.

There is no doubt that sailors have also responded with their support from all four coasts. Running for four days, the regatta is (after the large mini-marathons) the single most significant participant sports event in the country, requiring the services of 280 volunteers on and off the water, as well as top international race officers and an international jury, to resolve racing disputes representing five countries. A flotilla of 25 boats regularly races from the Royal Dee near Liverpool to Dublin for the Lyver Trophy to coincide with the event. The race also doubles as a RORC qualifying race for the Fastnet.

Sailors from the Ribble, Mersey, the Menai Straits, Anglesey, Cardigan Bay and the Isle of Man have to travel three times the distance to the Solent as they do to Dublin Bay. This, claims Craig, is one of the major selling points of the Irish event and explains the range of entries from marinas as far away as Yorkshire's Whitby YC and the Isle of Wight.

No other regatta in the Irish Sea area can claim to have such a reach. Dublin Bay Weeks such as this petered out in the 1960s, and it has taken almost four decades for the waterfront clubs to come together to produce a spectacle on and off the water to rival Cowes."The fact that we are getting such numbers means it is inevitable that it is compared with Cowes," said Craig. However, there the comparison ends."We're doing our own thing here. Dun Laoghaire is unique, and we are making an extraordinary effort to welcome visitors from abroad," he added. The busiest shipping lane in the country – across the bay to Dublin port – closes temporarily to facilitate the regatta and the placing of six separate courses each day.

A fleet total of this size represents something of an unknown quantity on the bay as it is more than double the size of any other regatta ever held there.

Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta FAQs

What is Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

Dun Laoghaire Regatta is Ireland's biggest sailing event. It is held every second Summer at Dun Laoghaire Harbour on Dublin Bay.

When is Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

Dun Laoghaire Regatta is held every two years, typically in the first weekend of July.

Where is Dun Laoghaire Regatta held?

As its name suggests, the event is based at Dun Laoghaire Harbour. Racing is held on Dublin Bay over as many as six different courses with a coastal route that extends out into the Irish Sea. Ashore, the festivities are held across the town but mostly in the four organising yacht clubs.

How big is Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

Dun Laoghaire Regatta is the largest sailing regatta in Ireland and on the Irish Sea and the second largest in the British Isles. It has a fleet of 500 competing boats and up to 3,000 sailors. Scotland's biggest regatta on the Clyde is less than half the size of the Dun Laoghaire event. After the Dublin city marathon, the regatta is one of the most significant single participant sporting events in the country in terms of Irish sporting events.

How old is Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

The modern Dublin Bay Regatta began in 2005, but it owes its roots to earlier combined Dublin Bay Regattas of the 1960s.

How many boats compete at Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

Up to 500 boats regularly compete.

How many yacht clubs are represented at Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

Up to 70 different yacht clubs are represented.

Where do the yachts come from to compete at Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

The Channel Islands, Isle of Man, England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, Ireland countrywide, and Dublin clubs.

How many boats are visiting boats at Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

Nearly half the sailors, over 1,000, travel to participate from outside of Dun Laoghaire and from overseas to race and socialise in Dun Laoghaire.

What type of yachts race in Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

21 different classes are competing at Dun Laoghaire Regatta. As well as four IRC Divisions from 50-footers down to 20-foot day boats and White Sails, there are also extensive one-design keelboat and dinghy fleets to include all the fleets that regularly race on the Bay such as Beneteau 31.7s, Ruffian 23s, Sigma 33s as well as Flying Fifteens, Laser SB20s plus some visiting fleets such as the RS Elites from Belfast Lough to name by one.

What famous sailors race in Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

Some sailing household names are regular competitors at the biennial Dun Laoghaire event including Dun Laoghaire Olympic silver medalist, Annalise Murphy. International sailing stars are competing too such as Mike McIntyre, a British Olympic Gold medalist and a raft of World and European class champions.

How much does it cost to enter Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

There are different entry fees for different size boats. A 40-foot yacht will pay up to €550, but a 14-foot dinghy such as Laser will pay €95. Full entry fee details are contained in the Regatta Notice of Race document.

Where can spectators view Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

Spectators can see the boats racing on six courses from any vantage point on the southern shore of Dublin Bay. As well as from the Harbour walls itself, it is also possible to see the boats from Sandycove, Dalkey and Killiney, especially when the boats compete over inshore coastal courses or have in-harbour finishes.

How does Dun Laoghaire regatta compare to international regattas?

Very favourably. It is often compared to Cowes, Britain's biggest regatta on the Isle of Wight that has 1,000 entries. However, sailors based in the north of England have to travel three times the distance to get to Cowes as they do to Dun Laoghaire.

Why is Dun Laoghaire Regatta so unique?

Dun Laoghaire Regatta is unique because of its compact site offering four different yacht clubs within the harbour and the race tracks' proximity, just a five-minute sail from shore. International sailors also speak of its international travel connections and being so close to Dublin city. The regatta also prides itself on balancing excellent competition with good fun ashore.

Who organises Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

The Organising Authority (OA) of Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta is Dublin Bay Regattas Ltd, a not-for-profit company, beneficially owned by Dun Laoghaire Motor Yacht Club (DMYC), National Yacht Club (NYC), Royal Irish Yacht Club (RIYC) and Royal St George Yacht Club (RSGYC).

What does Dun Laoghaire Regatta contribute to the local economy?

The Irish Marine Federation launched a case study on the 2009 Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta's socio-economic significance. Over four days, the study (carried out by Irish Sea Marine Leisure Knowledge Network) found the event was worth nearly €3million to the local economy over the four days of the event. Typically the Royal Marine Hotel and Haddington Hotel and other local providers are fully booked for the event.