Menu

Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

Displaying items by tag: UCD

#Rowing: Irish crews had a very successful second day at the Metropolitan Regatta at Dorney Lake. Monika Dukarska of Killorglin and the Skibbereen double of Denise Walsh and Aoife Casey won in the top single and double sculls races, but other crews also impressed. NUIG’s women’s eight finished third in the A Final in Tier One – the crew, which has a number of novice rowers, had also taken third in the morning time trial. Trinity, UCC, Shandon, Galway, Cork and UCD were amongst the crews which also came away with encouraging results over the weekend.

Metropolitan Regatta, Dorney Lake, Day Two (Selected Results; Irish interest)

Men

Eights – Tier One, Final B: 2 NUIG A, 3 UCD (A). Final C: 1 Trinity 6:07.65. Final D: 2 UCD. Final F: 1 NUIG (B) 6:25.61. Final I: 2 Trinity (D), 3 UCD (C).

Four – Tier Three Final: 1 UCC 6:36.53.

Four, coxed – Championship Final: 3 NUIG (B).

Pair – Tier Two Final: 2 UCC

Sculling, Double

Tier Two Final: 2 Shandon

Women

Eight – Tier One – Final A: 3 NUIG (A). Final B: 2 Commercial. Final C: 3 Galway. Final D: 2 NUIG.

Four, coxed – Tier Three: 3 Galway Rowing Club.

Pair - Tier One Final: 2 Cork (G Collins, L Dilleen)

Sculling, Double – Tier One Final: 1 Skibbereen 7:17.56.

Single – Tier One: 1 Killorglin (M Dukarska); 3 UCD (A Crowley).

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: The Afloat Rowers of the Month for April are the UCD men’s senior eight. The crew, stroked by David O’Malley, beat Commercial, the champions of Ireland, at Skibbereen Regatta. They went on to Trinity Regatta and beat the hosts with another fine performance.

The winning crew at Skibbereen Regatta was: Sam Bolger, Shane O’Connell, Tiarnan Doherty, Max Murphy, Shane Mulvaney, Andrew Griffin, Eoin Gleeson, David O’Malley, Orlagh Reid (cox). James O’Sullivan replaced Shane O’Connell in the crew for Trinity.

Rower of the Month awards: The judging panel is made up of Liam Gorman, rowing correspondent of The Irish Times, and David O'Brien, editor of Afloat magazine. Monthly awards for achievements during the year will appear on afloat.ie. Keep a monthly eye on progress and watch our 2017 champions list grow.

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: Cork Boat Club had a good day at Limerick Regatta at O’Brien’s Bridge today. They won the the men’s intermediate eight and senior pair and the women’s junior 18 eight. UCD won the women’s novice eight and Daire Lynch of Clonmel, who won the single sculls time trial in a very fast time (five minutes and nine seconds), went on to take the senior and intermediate singles titles.

Limerick Regatta, O’Brien’s Bridge (Selected Results)

Men

Eight – Intermediate: Cork. Club: Neptune. Jun 18: Neptune. Masters – Final One (b-c): St Michael’s A. Final Two (d-e): Athlone. Jun 16: Col Iognaid.

Four – Sen: St Michael’s. Inter, coxed: Cork. Jun 18A, coxed: St Michael’s.

Pair – Senior: Cork. Jun 18: Clonmel.

Sculling

Quad – Sen: Carlow. Nov, coxed: UCC. Jun 18A: Carlow. Jun 16, coxed: CRCC.

Double – Inter: Castleconnell B.

Single – Senior: Clonmel (D Lynch). Inter: Clonmel (D Lynch). Jun 18A: Clonmel (A Butler). Jun 16: Castleconnell (R O’Neill). Masters – Final One: Lady Elizabeth (B Smyth). Final Two: Cork (B Crean). Final Three: Galway (A McCallion).

Women

Eight – Nov: UCD. Jun 18: Cork. Jun 16: St Michael’s.

Four – Sen: Shannon. Inter, coxed: Shannon. Jun 18: Col Iognaid.

Pair – Sen: Fermoy. Jun 18: Fermoy.

Sculling

Quadruple Novice, coxed: Cappoquin. Jun 18: Cork. Jun 16, coxed: Killorglin. Masters, coxed: Univ of Limerick

Double – Inter: Carlow.

Single – Inter: Garda (B Larsen). Jun 18A: Carlow (C Nolan). Jun 16: Cork (C O’Sullivan). Masters: Offaly (C Nolan).

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: UCD’s senior eight beat Trinity by two and a quarter lengths at Trinity Regatta today. The very strong crew, stroked by David O’Malley, fashioned a lead after the second bend and held off the hosts. This may be the last time this crew rows together competitively as O’Malley, Shane Mulvaney and Shane O’Connell (who did now row at Trinity) will be called up for international duty.

In a cracking junior 18 eight final, Commercial just pipped neighbours and rivals Neptune. Garda’s Damien Kelly and Piers Ryan won the senior doubles race. Commercial, who won the women’s senior eight, also took the women’s junior 18 eight.

Trinity Regatta, Islandbridge (Selected Results)

Men

Eight – Senior: UCD bt Trinity, 2 ¼ l. Club: Trinity bt UCD did not finish. Inter: UCD bt Cork BC row over. Novice: Queen’s bt Trinity easily. Junior: Commercial bt Neptune half canvas. Masters: Neptune bt Commercial ½ l.

Four – Inter, coxed: UCD bt Cork row over. Club, coxed: Neptune bt UCD A disq. Masters, coxed: Neptune bt Graiguenamanagh easily. Junior, coxed: Commercial bt Neptune row over.

Pair – Senior: UCD bt KSRV Nord easily

Sculling,

Quadruple – Nov, coxed: Commercial bt Sligo easily. Jun 18B, coxed: Commercial bt Blackrock easily. Jun 16: Commercial bt Three Castles 2l.

Double – Senior: Garda bt Tralee/Shandon 3/4l

Single – Inter: Sligo (Patterson) bt Commercial (Casey) easily. Club One: Portadown (N Hull) bt Shannon (C Carmody) 2 ½ l. Jun 18: Neptune (J Butler) bt Commercial (K Brown) 4l. Jun 16: Three Castles (Keogh) bt Three Castles (Flynn) easily. Masters: Athlone bt Commercial 3l.

Women

Eight – Senior: Commercial bt Trinity 3 ½ l Club, coxed: Commercial bt Trinity 2l. Nov: Trinity A bt KSRV Njord 2l. Jun 18: Commercial bt Graiguenamanagh easily. Jun 16: Graiguenamanagh bt Athlone easily.

Four – Inter, coxed: Trinity B bt Trinity A 1l. Club, coxed: Commercial B t Commercial A 3l.

Sculling – Quadruple – Novice, coxed: Commercial bt UCD easily.

Double - Senior: Neptune bt KSRV Njord easily.

Single – Inter: Neptune (Feerick) bt Athlone (Curley) easily. Club: Neptune (A Clark) bt Garda (J Ryan) 3l. Nov: Commercial (Ballot) bt Graiguenamanagh (B Hennessy) 3l. Jun 16: Neptune (Clarke) bt Neptune (Daymon) 2l.

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: Commercial beat Trinity in the women’s senior eights at Trinity Regatta today. Commercial were the more powerful crew and once they took the lead the held it to win by three and a half lengths. UCD’s senior men’s pair came out on top, while Jack Butler of Neptune was the top junior single sculler.

Trinity Regatta, Islandbridge (Selected Results)

Men

Eight – Club: Trinity bt UCD did not finish. Inter: UCD bt Cork BC row over. Masters: Neptune bt Commercial ½ l.

Four – Club, coxed: Neptune bt UCD A disq. Masters, coxed: Neptune bt Graiguenamanagh easily. Junior, coxed: Commercial bt Neptune row over.

Pair – Senior: UCD bt KSRV Nord easily

Sculling,

Quadruple – Nov, coxed: Commercial bt Sligo easily. Jun 18B, coxed: Commercial bt Blackrock easily. Jun 16: Commercial bt Three Castles 2l.

Single – Inter: Sligo (Patterson) bt Commercial (Casey) easily. Jun 18: Neptune (J Butler) bt Commercial (K Brown) 4l.

Women

Eight – Senior: Commercial bt Trinity 3 ½ l Club, coxed: Commercial bt Trinity 2l. Nov: Trinity A bt KSRV Njord 2l. Jun 16: Graiguenamanagh bt Athlone easily.

Four – Inter, coxed: Trinity B bt Trinity A 1l. Junior, coxed:

Sculling – Double - Senior: Neptune bt KSRV Njord easily.

Single – Inter: Neptune (Feerick) bt Athlone (Curley) easily. Club: Neptune (A Clark) bt Garda (J Ryan) 3l. Jun 16: Neptune (Clarke) bt Neptune (Daymon) 2l.

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: UCD won the men’s senior eights at Skibbereen Regatta today. They led Commercial with 500 metres to go and the Irish champions could not head the men in blue and saffron. The senior women’s eight was won by a Skibbereen/UCC composite which drove away from their opponents impressively over the final 100 metres.

Skibbereen Grand League Regatta, National Rowing Centre (Selected Results; with Per Centage of Projected World Gold Medal Winning Time)

Sunday

Men

Eight – Div One – A Final: 1 UCD (sen) 5:44.4 (92.62), 2 Commercial (sen) 5:46.3 (92.13), 3 UCD (inter) 5:54.9 (89.9); 5 Enniskillen (jun 18A) 6:00.6 (88.46). B Final: 2 St Michael’s (club one) 6:04.3 (87.57).  Four - Div One – A Final: 1 Commercial (sen) 6:16.1 (90.40), 2 NUIG (sen) 6:25.1 (88.28), 3 Commercial B (sen) 6:26.9 (87.89). Div Two (coxed) – A Final: 1 Queen’s A (club two) 6:50.5; 5 Shandon (jun 16). B Final: 1 Commercial (jun 18B) 7:06.6. 

Sculling,

Quadruple – Div Two, coxed – A Final: 1 Carlow (jun 18B) 6:52.4, 2 Shandon A (jun 16) 6:54.4, 3 Lee (club two) 6:56.5; 6 Queen’s (nov) 7:11.6.

Double – Div One – A Final: 1 Skibbereen, UCD (G O’Donovan, P O’Donovan; sen) 6:27.8 (92.83), 2 Skibbereen (M O’Donovan, S O’Driscoll; sen) 6:29.4 (92.64), 3 Skibbereen B (sen) 6:31.4 (91.98). B Final: 1 Shandon (inter) 6:42.3 (89.48); 3 Shandon A (jun 18A) 6:53.0 (88.03). C Final: 5 Carlow (club one) 7:01.4 (85.42).  

Single - Div Two – A Final: 1 Shandon (J Dorney; jun 16) 7:34.6, 2 Cork (C O’Sullivan; jun 18B) 7:41.1, 3 UCC (J Larkin; club two) 7:48.2.

Women

Eight – Div One – A Final: 1 Skibbereen/UCC (sen) 6:32.3 (89.97), 2 NUIG (inter) 6:36.6 (89.01), 3 Commercial (sen) 6:41.3 (87.96); 5 Cork BC (club one) 6:50.9 (85.92); 6 Col Iognaid (jun 18A) 7:10.4 (82.01).

Four – Div One – A Final: 1 UCD (sen) 7:07.1 (88.04), 2 Skibbereen A (sen) 7:13.4 (86.75), 3 Commercial A (sen) 7:17.4 (85.96); 5 Enniskillen (jun 18A) 7:18.9 (85.67). Div Two, coxed – A Final: 1 Skibbereen (club two) 7:34.3; 6 Col Iognaid (jun 16) 8:06.6. B Final: 2 Shandon (jun 18B) 8:31.0.

Sculling

Double – Div One – A Final: 1 Old Collegians, Cambridge (S Puspure, C Lambe; sen) 7:09.7 (92.40), 2 Lee, Skibbereen (sen) 7:26.6 (88.90) 3 Neptune (inter) 7:42.2 (85.9), 4 Workmans B (jun 18A) 7:42.5 (85.84). B Final: 3 St Michael’s (club one) 7:56.1 (83.39).

Single – Div Two – A Final: 1 Lee Valley (E O’Mahony; club two) 8:22.3, 2 Lee Valley (E Buckley; jun 18B) 8:28.6; 5 Neptune (N Clarke; jun 16) 8:46.1

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: Trinity came out on top at the Irish University Rowing Championships at the National Rowing Centre in Cork today. The combined points tally of Dublin University Boat Club and Dublin University Ladies Boat Club was 68 points. UCD’s total was 51 and NUIG’s 43.

 The Wylie Cup, calculated on results in the men’s eights, went to UCD, who won the senior eight convincingly from Trinity. NUIG are the Bank of Ireland champions, though UCD won the senior eights.

 Stephen O’Connor of UCC beat Patrick Moreau of Trinity in the senior single sculls final, though Andrew Goff of UCD was faster in winning the intermediate title.

Irish University Championships, National Rowing Centre, Friday (Selected Results)

Overall: 1 Trinity (DUBC and DULBC) 68 points, 2 UCD 51, 3 NUIG 43. Wylie Cup (Senior Men, based on results in eights): UCD. Bank of Ireland Cup (Senior Women, eights): NUIG.

Men

Eight – Senior: 1 UCD 6:12.06, 2 Trinity 6:17.82, 3 NUIG 6:26.67. Club: NUIG 6:28.85. Intermediate: UCD 6:17.73. Novice: Queen’s 6:29.09.

Four – Sen: Trinity 7:12.30. Inter, coxed: Dublin IT 7:04.65. Club, coxed: NUIG 7:10.88.

Pair – Sen: Trinity 7:22.44.

Sculling, Quadruple – Nov, coxed: Queen’s A 7:37.40.  

Double – Inter: UCC 7:28.18.

Single – Sen: UCC (S O’Connor) 7:58.23. Inter: UCD (A Goff) 7:47.90.

Women

Eight – Senior: 1 UCD 7:06.78, 2 NUIG 7:14.70, 3 Trinity A 7:20.66. Inter: NUIG 7:11.87.

Club: NUIG 7:12.84. Novice: NUIG 7:26.53.

Four – Sen: UCD 7:36.88. Inter, coxed: UCC 8:13.49. Club, coxed: Queen’s 8:12.59.

Pair – Sen: UCD 8:20.97.

Sculling, Quadruple – Nov, coxed: Queen’s 9:08.74.

Double – Inter: Trinity 8:35.31.

Single – Inter: UUC (K Shirlow) 8:46.18.

Published in Rowing

 

#Rowing: Trinity’s senior eight won at Neptune Regatta – but only just. UCD, with less than a full-strength crew, stormed back at their rivals coming up to the finish and lost by just half a canvas. Commercial beat the hosts in the men's junior eight and also won the women’s club one eight. An Islandbridge eight beat a crew from Dutch club Nereus in an invitational eights event.

Neptune Regatta, Islandbridge, Saturday (selected results)

Men

Eight – Senior: Trinity bt UCD ½ canvas 3:24. Club One: Trinity bt Neptune A 2l, 3:30. Novice: UCD A bt Trinity A disqualified. Jun 18: Commercial bt Neptune ½ l 3:30. Jun 16: Blackrock bt Methody 1l, 4:10. Masters: Commercial bt Neptune 1 1/2 l

Four - Sen, coxed: Trinity A bt Trinity B 3/4l 3:45. Inter, coxed: UCD B Bt UCD A 1l 3:37, Jun 18, coxed: Commercial bt Clonmel 1 1/2 l 3:50

Sculling, Quadruple – Club Two, coxed: New Ross bt Graiguenamanagh.  Jun 18: Enniskillen bt Methody 4:12. Jun 16, coxed: Enniskillen bt Blackrock A 1 ½ l 4:08. Double – Jun 16: Three Castles bt Bann A 3 ½ l, 4:16.

Women 

Eight, Club One: Commercial bt Belfast RC A 2l 4:15. Nov: UCD bt Trinity B easily 4:15. Jun 18: Commercial bt Galway 1l 4:09. Jun 16: Enniskillen A bt Athlone easily

Four - Sen, coxed: Commercial A bt Commercial C 1 1/2 l 4:20. Inter, coxed: Commercial bt Galway 2 ¾ l, 4:22. Club One, coxed: Cork BC bt Belfast A r/o.

Sculling, Quadruple – Club Two, coxed: Clonmel bt Neptune D 4l 4:28. Jun 18: New Ross bt Kings Hos 2l 4:20

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: The Eights Head of the River in London, which was set to take place tomorrow (Saturday) has been cancelled. In the a statement, the organisers said: “The Committee have been monitoring the weather forecast over the last few days and due to the strength and direction of the wind and in light of the difficulties encountered at yesterday’s Schools Head, we have reluctantly taken the decision to cancel this year’s race on the safety grounds.

 “We recognise and understand the disappointment that this will cause for all competitors and others due to be involved in the race, however safety simply must come first.”

 Ireland would have been strongly represented at the event, with Commercial, UCD, Trinity and Neptune all entered. A big number of rowers were already in London or travelling when the announcement was made.

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: Trinity won the toss for both the Corcoran Cup women’s race and Gannon Cup men’s contest at the Colours Races this weekend on the Liffey. Trinity opted to take the North Station in both cases. The toss was performed by Josh Van Der Flier, the international rugby player.  The races are set for Saturday, March 18th, on the Liffey from O’Connell Bridge to St James’s Gate.

Novice women (Sally Moorhead Trophy) 1.30pm
Novice men (Dan Quinn Shield) - 2pm
Senior women (Corcoran Cup) - 2.30pm
Senior men (Gannon Cup) - 3pm

UCD Senior Women's Crew:
Cox - Síne Ní Fhinn
Stroke Eimear Lambe
7 Ruth Gilligan
6 Jane Coleman
5 Daisy Callanan
4 Gersende Youl
3 Rachel Ryan
2 Vanessa Connolly
Bow Sarah Matthews

UCD Senior Men's Crew:
Cox - Orlagh Reid
8 David O'Malley
7 Eoin Gleeson
6 Andrew Griffin
5 Shane Mulvaney
4 Max Murphy
3 Tiarnan Doherty
2 Shane O'Connell
1 Sam Bolger

DULBC
Sally Moorhead (novices)
1.      Bow: Kathryn Yeow
2.      Ellen Murphy
3.      Molly Brennan
4.      Pheobe Warren
5.      Aideen Fay
6.      Gabrielle Giuscitte
7.      Anna Mangan
Stroke: Jane Hogg
 
Corcoran Cup (seniors)
1.      Bow: Susie O‘Neill
2.      Nora Fisher
3.      Gemma Foley
4.      Aoife Corcoran
5.      Caoimhe Dempsey
6.      Hannah McCarthy
7.      Sarah Higgins
8.      Laura Walsh
 
DUBC
Gannon Cup (Senior)
Cox Conor Keogh
Stroke Mark Quigley
7 Adam Browne
6 Patrick Moreau
5 Liam Hawkes
4 Matthew Mitchell
3 Josh Norton
2 Andrej Liadov
Bow William Doyle
 
Dan Quinn (Novice/Junior)
Cox Hannah Colgan
Stroke Ross Layden
7 Andrew Burgess
6 Paul Peters
5 Constantine Knauer
4 Brian Egan
3 John Taaffe
2 Gavin Moore
Bow Paulus Heemskerk

Published in Rowing
Page 6 of 15

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

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

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

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.

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.

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

Up to 500 boats regularly compete.

Up to 70 different yacht clubs are represented.

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

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.

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.

 

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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).

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.

©Afloat 2020