Frank Whelan’s Sydney 43 El Syd topped Class One and also won under the separate ORC scoring as the BJ Marine Taste of Greystones Regatta got underway with its opening race on Saturday.
The Wicklow Harbour-based El Syd headed an 11-boat Class One result from Greystones Sailing Club’s Graeme Noonan in the 1720 Flash, with Barry Cunningham’s J/109 Chimera third.
Saturday’s race was the first of three scheduled over the weekend, with two further races due to decide the regatta on Sunday.
El Syd Heads Class One
El Syd was also first boat home in Class One, completing Saturday afternoon’s race in 52 minutes and 31 seconds.
Noonan’s Flash took second place, ahead of Cunningham’s Chimera, with Declan Hayes’ J/109 Indecision fourth and Ian Fegan’s Elan 37 Madness fifth.
The result represented a strong opening for Whelan and El Syd, which was a late addition compared with the 44-boat entry list published by Afloat earlier this month.
Jupiter Wins Large Class Two
Jupiter Rising: Garret Kinnane’s J/24 Jupiter took the opening-race win at the Taste of Greystones Regatta on Saturday. Photo: Afloat
Garret Kinnane’s J/24 Jupiter headed the largest racing division of Saturday’s opening contest.
Michael Blaney’s Royal St George YC First 31.7 After U2 finished second, with Nick Holman’s Royal Irish YC sistership Extreme Reality third.
Paul Weafer’s Attitude was fourth and John Conlon’s Arklow Sailing Club Sun Fast 37 Humdinger fifth.
The division featured a particularly strong First 31.7 turnout, as anticipated before the regatta, with the type filling several places throughout the fleet.
Greystones U25s Take Class Three One-Two
There was a home-club success in Class Three, where the two Greystones U25 Formula 1 crews occupied the top two places.
Tom Kearney’s Gybe 2 Survive took the opening win ahead of fellow U25 entry Jibberish.
Alan Jones’ Greystones First 28 Chouskikou was third, followed by Brenda McGuire’s Dún Laoghaire Motor Yacht Club Ruffian 23 Scéal Eile and Helen Bradley’s Ruffian Ripples.
The U25 result gives the host club a particularly encouraging start after the two young crews were highlighted among the Class Three entries before racing.
Splashdance Takes White Sails Opener
Splash Hit: Howth Yacht Club’s Dufour 40 Splashdance, sailed by Andy George and John Beckett, won the opening White Sails race and also topped the separate ORC White Sails results at the Taste of Greystones Regatta. Photo: Afloat
Howth Yacht Club visitors Andy George and John Beckett scored the opening victory in the 17-boat Class Four White Sails division aboard their Dufour 40 Splashdance.
David McNiven’s Jeronimo was second, with Johnnie Phillips’ Dún Laoghaire-based Elan 333 Playtime third.
Kieron O’Byrne’s Huntress took fourth and Mark Hanley’s Greystones-based Bavaria 33 Woodleys was fifth.
The result justified Splashdance’s billing as one of the notable visiting entries in a White Sails fleet that has drawn boats to Greystones from several east coast clubs.
El Syd Also Wins ORC
Saturday also produced the first results from the ORC scoring being run alongside the main regatta results, an addition to the Taste of Greystones format for 2026.
El Syd completed its opening-day double by winning ORC 1, correcting to 47 minutes 26 seconds.
Barry Cunningham’s Chimaera was second on 48:29, 1 minute 3 seconds behind, while Declan Hayes’ Indecision took third on 50:07.
In ORC White Sails, Splashdance also completed a double victory, winning in 40:02.
Playtime was second on 42:56, with Setanta third on 58:43.
Two Sunday Races to Decide Regatta
The Taste of Greystones attracted a 44-boat entry when Afloat previewed the event earlier this month, bringing together boats from Greystones and visiting clubs along the east coast.
Saturday represented only the opening round of the three-race programme.
Two races are scheduled for Sunday from 10.55am, with organisers targeting completion of racing by 2.30pm and the prizegiving at 3.30pm.
Click here for results
