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2019 ICRA Nationals Racing Programme Announced for Royal St. George Yacht Club Championships

15th February 2019
The ICRA Nationals returns to Dublin in 2019 The ICRA Nationals returns to Dublin in 2019 Credit: Afloat.ie

The three-day ICRA Championships being held in Dun Laoghaire from June 7 will comprise of four fleets accommodating offshore, traditional and white sail racing. Each fleet will get its own race areas with race management lead by International PRO David Lovegrove.

Back on shore, there will be a lively social programme, the renowned Royal St. George Yacht Club welcome and hospitality for all.

‘’The Royal St. George Yacht Club is delighted to be hosting the ICRA National Championships and Corinthian Cups and to welcome sailors from around the island of Ireland and internationally. Together with ICRA and a large team of Royal St. George Yacht Club volunteers, we look forward to creating an environment for enjoyable and competitive racing for these prestigious Championships, said event Chairman Ian Simmington.

"ICRA and RStGYC have worked hard to create a format of World Class racing that sailors want"

ICRA and the Royal St. George Yacht Club have worked hard to create a format of World Class racing that sailors want. We believe in particular, that the addition of the offshore/coastal series for class 0 and 1 and the creation of 2 non-spinnaker classes will provide suitable racing for all classes of boat and crew preference, he added.

There is an increased focus on U25 crews with an U25 prize category, as well as prizes for all female crews.

To achieve this, there may be four fleets and race courses as outlined below:

  • Cruiser Division 0 and Division 1 (offshore): Fleet 0
  • Cruiser Divisions 1 and 2: Fleet 1
  • Cruiser Divisions 3 and 4: Fleet 2
  • Cruiser Division 5, Non-Spinnaker 1 and 2: Fleet 3

The new Entry Fee structure as follows:

Entry Before 15 March: - Boats rating 0.895 and under: €165 - Boats rating between 0.896 and 0.985: €195 - Boats rating 0.986 and above: €225

- Under 25 Crews: Complementary. After 15 March: - All boats: €245

Notice of Race and online entry are now available on the event website here with early entry discount available for entries received online by March 15th.

With the Dun Laoghaire to Dingle race taking place the following week (12th June), there will be a limited number of complimentary visitor berths available from Sunday 9th of June for yachts competing in both events.

“It's been truly impressive to see the Royal St George event management team kick into action. The 2019 ICRA National Championships are certainly going to benefit from the Club’s experience running major international regattas over the last few years. It's great to see the level of co-operation there is between the Dublin clubs and in particular, we'd like to thank DBSC for making space in their traditional calendar for us. As well as top class racing, we're putting a lot of focus on the social side, making sure that everyone is well fed and watered as soon as they come ashore and have a chance to relive the day’s events into the evening. We have some great prizes lined up care of North Sails, UK Sails, Rope Dock, Racegeek, Dubarry of Ireland and Viking Marine. Everything is set for an event to remember, " said Ric Morris, ICRA Technical Delegate

Published in ICRA, RStGYC
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The Irish Cruiser Racing Association (ICRA) Information

The creation of the Irish Cruiser Racing Association (ICRA) began in a very low key way in the autumn of 2002 with an exploratory meeting between Denis Kiely, Jim Donegan and Fintan Cairns in the Granville Hotel in Waterford, and the first conference was held in February 2003 in Kilkenny.

While numbers of cruiser-racers were large, their specific locations were widespread, but there was simply no denying the numerical strength and majority power of the Cork-Dublin axis. To get what was then a very novel concept up and running, this strength of numbers had to be acknowledged, and the first National Championship in 2003 reflected this, as it was staged in Howth.

ICRA was run by a dedicated group of volunteers each of whom brought their special talents to the organisation. Jim Donegan, the elder statesman, was so much more interested in the wellbeing of the new organisation than in personal advancement that he insisted on Fintan Cairns being the first Commodore, while the distinguished Cork sailor was more than content to be Vice Commodore.

ICRA National Championships

Initially, the highlight of the ICRA season was the National Championship, which is essentially self-limiting, as it is restricted to boats which have or would be eligible for an IRC Rating. Boats not actually rated but eligible were catered for by ICRA’s ace number-cruncher Denis Kiely, who took Ireland’s long-established native rating system ECHO to new heights, thereby providing for extra entries which brought fleet numbers at most annual national championships to comfortably above the hundred mark, particularly at the height of the boom years. 

ICRA Boat of the Year (Winners 2004-2019)