Reigning Irish Cruiser Racing Association (ICRA) Boat of the Year (IRC), David and James Dwyer's all-beating Swuzzlebubble looks on target to retain the cruiser-racer accolade after the latest update on the Boat of the Year Award scoreboard on September 3rd. 

ICRA has updated the 2024 leaderboard following a summer of regattas that includes WIORA at Foynes on the Shannon Estuary, Calves Week at Schull in West Cork and the just-finished ICRA National Championships at the Royal Irish Yacht Club on Dublin Bay.

Nieulargo competing in Royal Cork Yacht Club's 'At Home' Regatta in Cork Harbour Photo: Bob Bateman

The vintage Half Tonner from Royal Cork that retained its IRC Two Crown at Dun Laoghaire with five first places, tops the ICRA Boat of the Year IRC table on 17 points, two clear of clubmates Nieulargo, the Grand Soleil 40, Nieulargo that skipped the ICRA Nationals. On the same 15 points is the newly crowned IRC Zero champion Johnny Treanor on the J112 Valentina. 

ICRA IRC Zero champion Johnny Treanor's J112 Valentina Photo: Afloat

The annual award, says ICRA, is an 'exciting opportunity for Irish sailors to showcase their racing skills on a national level'. 

ICRA Boat of the Year IRC leaderboard (at September 3rd 2024)

The ICRA IRC Three National Championship winner, the Wicklow-based J24, Jupiter, shares the ICRA Boat of the Year ECHO leaderboard with the Corby 25 Impetuous Photo: Afloat

ICRA Boat of the Year ECHO (at September 3rd 2024)

As announced in March, ICRA is also running an ECHO boat of the year prize, and that leaderboard (below) shows the Corby 25 Impetuous sharing the same 10.5 points as last weekend's IRC Three National Championship winner, the Wicklow-based J24, Jupiter. The all-conquering non-spinnaker competitor, the Elan 333, Bite The Bullet is next on nine.

The Corby 25 Impetuous from Howth Photo: Afloat

The BOTY competition is based on a boat's performance in the events listed in ICRA's BOTY 2 EVENTS held that year. 

According to the rules, a boat's "Boat of the Year" score for a given year shall be the sum of the boat's Event Scores from the events listed in ICRA BOTY 2 EVENTS (downloadable here) held in that year.

A boat's Division Score shall be based on its overall series placing in an IRC or ECHO division at the event, with 3 points for 1st, 2 points for 2nd, and 1 point for 3rd, multiplied by the Division Weighting. The Division Weighting shall be the Event Weighting of the event the division is part of, adjusted according to certain criteria.

The events are divided into three categories: Championship events, National Regattas, and Regional events. The Championship events have the highest Event Weighting of x 2, followed by National Regattas with x 1.5 and Regional events with x 1. 

As racing was reduced to five races at the Unio ICRA Nationals 2024 on Dublin Bay with no racing possible on Sunday, Colm Bermingham's Elan 333 Bite the Bullet from Howth won by a point in both non-spinnaker IRC and ECHO divisions at the Royal Irish Yacht Club hosted event.

Clubmate Splashdance, a Dufour 40, (J Beckett & A George) took second on IRC with Grainne and Sean O'Shea's Superseal 26–footer Gung-Ho third in a three boat IRC turnout.

In an eight-boat ECHO division, Tim Costello's Bavaria 35 Just Jasmin is second, and Splashdance is third.

Johnnie Phillips and Noel Kidney's Elan 33 Playtime was the VPRS handicap winner at the Unio ICRA Nationals 2024 on Dublin Bay Photo: Afloat

In a third rating allocation for the non-spinnaker boats at the weekend, Johnnie Phillips and Noel Kidney's Elan 33 Playtime was the VPRS handicap winner (awarded by the Royal Irish Yacht Club) from Bermingham, with Splashdance third in an eight boat fleet.

IRC and ECHO results are below and VPRS are here

The Wicklow J24 crew of Conor Haughton, Jonny Flood, Charles Heather and Garrett Kinnane beat defending IRC champion Quarter Tonner Snoopy for overall honours in IRC Class Three on Sunday (September 1) at the Unio ICRA National Championships at the Royal Irish Yacht Club on Dublin Bay.

Just one race of a maximum of two was possible on Course A on Sunday and while the Jupiter crew posted their worst result of the championship (a fifth) in a fitful southerly breeze rarely above five knots and Snoopy took the gun, the J24 crew took the win by a single point after six races sailed in the championships since Friday.

Defending champion quarter-tonner Snoopy on day two of the Unio ICRA National Championships on Dublin Bay Photo: Afloat

Paul Prentice's Sigma 33 Squawk was third on IRC in Class Three

Paul Prentice's Sigma 33 Squawk finished third on 16 points.

Under the ECHO handicap, Jupiter won again from Stephen Mullaney's Sigma Insider. The First Class 8 Allig8r (Twomey, Foley, Hennessy, Ryan, O’Buachalla, Levins). 

The First Class 8 Allig8r (Twomey, Foley, Hennessy, Ryan, O’Buachalla, Levins) from the Royal St. George Yacht Club Photo: Afloat

The success of the J/109 in Ireland has been underlined, with boats of this marque filling the first five places of Cruisers 1 IRC in the UNIO ICRA Nats 2024. Why so? Well, the reality is that apart from the fact that this versatile boat is relatively numerous in Ireland, it also might be argued that as the granny of them all, the J/24, emerged from a garage in Connecticut in 1975, the entire range thus have their ancestry in the racing of Long Island Sound, in which success in lighter winds is a priority.

An IRC One start packed with J109s at the Unio ICRA Nationals on Dublin Bay Photo: Afloat

Certainly there's no doubt that sailors on other craft will tell you that a well-sailed J/109 is winning every which way in lighter breezes. But in addition to that, the J/109 is hugely popular here because she is of a size that fits well with the Irish scene, and is a very worthy successor to the remarkable cruiser-racers of the Dublin Bay 24 Class.

EXCELLENT COMPETITION

So not only does racing in Cruisers 1 with a J/109 give you excellent competition against sister-ships several of whom will have visiting rock stars on board, but as well, if you win overall even just once in an annual series like this, you've done something very special.

Do it two years running, and you're among the Gods. Which is what John and Suzie Murphy's Outrajeous has done. So when the definitive "Who Does What" statement was issued around dawn this morning like a thunderclap from the Murphy stronghold in the heights of the Hills of the Naul, we heard what they were saying.

OUTRAJEOUS CREWING ARRANGEMENTS

"Neil Spain (my long time friend and crewmate) is the driver/helm of Outrajeous" writes John Murphy, "and has been our driver since Suzie took a step back with the arrival of our four children. Also worth noting that two of those children now form part of the crew Thomas (16) and Charlie (13), Mid Bow. (Suzie is meanwhile sailing on First 50 Checkmate XX in Class Zero in this series, as she has done on a regular basis since returning to competitive sailing in recent years).

The Outrajeous crew on their way to a successful defence of their ICRA IRC One title on Dublin Bay at the Unio Championships Photo: Afloat

"Ross McDonald does indeed sail with us as an invaluable part of our crew, but as Trim 1 on Jib, with Paddy Good trimming downwind. I allow myself the privilege of trimming the mainsail. Rory O'Sullivan is on Bow, Cuan Whelan on Mast, Aoife McDonald (nee English) on Nav, Killian Collins on Tactics, and Derek Moynan in the Pit.

"They're a brilliant team, and we are very lucky to have each and every one of them" concludes John. "In these "crew sparse" times, please give credit where it is due, before we lose any more good people to our sport..............."

RED HOT 420 DINGHY TALENT

Dear reader, you'll have to work some of this out for yourself. It seems to be not so long since Neil Spain was a very hot new talent emerging from the 420 Class. As for Mrs Murphy throwing in her lot with the Checkmate crowd, you can make of that what you will.

Second-placed Chimaera (Barry Cunningham) of the Royal Irish Yacht Club Photo: Afloat

Meawhile, the reality is that Outrajeous (please note the "J") has emerged from some of the best racing seen this season as overall Cruiser 1 IRC winner on (2), 2, 1, 1, 1, 1, which is stratospheric - it gives her just five points to the 10 of second-placed Chimaera (Barry Cunningham) of the host club, while John Maybury's Joker II is third on 11.

John Maybury's Joker II (right) finished third Photo: Afloat

CRUISERS 1 ECHO

For all those J/109s in Cruisers 1, ECHO acquired extra meaning in what was effectively a One-Design class, with ultra-close margins. To add to the sense of occasion, two of the most distinguished names in Irish sailing past and present battled for the title, with the Goodbody family of Dun Laoghaire racing White Mischief (not all J/109s have a J in their name), and squaring off against the Donegan family of Cork and Kinsale in Jalapeno.

Richard and Tim Goodbody's J109 White Mischief Photo: Afloat

It went right to the wire, with both concluding on 9 points after discard. But as Jalapeno was DSQ in Race 4, White Mischief wins on countback. As to third place overall on ECHO in Cruisers 1, the performance handicap system couldn't quite keep up with the stellar performance of Outrajeous, and she is third.

It says much for the sparkling quality of the sailing on Friday and Saturday that the final day's (Sunday) cancellation of all racing in the Cruisers 0/Cruisers 1 area in the early afternoon was accepted with equanimity by most boats and a comfortably philosophic attitude by those leaders whose placing on Saturday night held good.

Despite going afloat on Sunday morning, no racing was possible on a windless Course B at the Unio ICRA National Championships on Dublin Bay Photo: Afloat

There had been hope that, as the ebb started to make against the fitful easterly airs, things might sharpen up a bit. But those in the fleet of "cruisers" who have actually cruised recalled the number of times - on remote and rugged coasts - when their hopes that the wind would ease with the ebb had been fulfilled, and thus their pessimism for racing purposes today proved accurate.

So another great regatta of the 2024 season concludes for Johnny Treanor's J/112e ValenTina (National Yacht Club), one of the newest boats in the fleet and now the overall IRC winner in Cruisers 0, with many wins ahead of her if they keep refreshing her successful techniques.

HEALTHY INTERACTION

The winning helming by Nicole Hemeryck (24) was a classic case of the healthy interaction which is a result of sailors from all sectors being cheek by jowl on Dun Laoghaire's crowded multi-club waterfront, for she last figured prominently in Afloat.ie as an ace junior Laser sailor in the National YC, becoming our Junior Sailor of the Month in December 2016

In fact, it could reasonably be argued that any campaigning cruiser-racer owner-skipper in the Dun Laoghaire who isn't keeping a predatory eye on the rising talent in the junior dinghy classes is missing an opportunity to strengthen his or her crewing base.

Johnny Treanor's J/112e ValenTina (National Yacht Club), one of the newest boats in the ICRA fleet and now the overall IRC winner in Cruisers 0 Photo: Afloat

ValenTina's full lineup speaks for itself: Nicole Hemeryck – Helm, Arran Holman - tactician, John Treanor – Skipper, Adam Winkelmann – Main, Dan Thompson – Trim, Alan Roche – Trim, Julie Caulfield - Nav / Pit, Ciaran Campbell – Mast, Ollie O'Carroll – Bow, Andrew Conan - Mid Bow. Boat Prep by Evan O'Connor.

With her final total of 5pts to the 11 of the second-placed Impetuous, ValenTina was in something of a series of her own, but the organisers will be well-pleased with the fact that second on IRC went to the Welsh-based Corby-designed Impetuous, while Third OA on 12 points was lifted by the Jones family from Royal Cork YC Crosshaven with their J/122 Jellybaby.

The Jones family from Royal Cork YC Crosshaven with their J/122 Jellybaby Photo: Afloat

Impetuous is campaigned by the Miller, Crompton & Hodges partnership, which sounds like a much-respected law firm in Shrewsbury, but we're happy to be persuaded otherwise.

Welsh IRC Champion for 2024 Impetuous is campaigned by the Miller, Crompton & Hodges partnership Photo: Afloat

CRUISERS 0 ECHO

There are those who would argue that the top three under the ECHO performance handicap should be completely different from the trio leading IRC, but as it happens Impetuous gets into this as well, coming in at third. We hope they have plenty of spare jerseys to keep their numerous trophies safely wrapped while sailing back to Abersoch and Pwllheli.

Tim Kane's Extreme 37 Wow approaches a windward mark in a tightly packed ICRA Class Zero fleet Photo: Afloat

The winner is the Farr 42 WOW, closely associated with the Sisk family. But as they were also campaigning the immaculate classic Marian Maid – built by their father in Dun Laoghaire in 1954 – it was Tim Kane's name on the scoresheet for WOW's victory.

Pete Smyth's Ker 46 Searcher Photo: Afloat

Second overall on ECHO in Cruisers 0 with a scoreline of (3), 2, 2, 3, 3 was Pete Smyth's Ker 46 Searcher, looking black and beautiful and barely recognisable as the former emerald blue Tonnere de Breskens that won the 2010 Round Ireland Race for the great Piet Vroon. It all now seems a very long time ago, yet Searcher is one of those very special classics that always looks as modern as tomorrow, even if calling her a "Cruiser" in Dublin Bay style is a nonsense. But there you go – it's better than "Sundry Lidded Boats"

Royal Cork's James Dwyer looks completed a successful defence of his ICRA IRC Two crown after scoring five wins from six races at the Unio ICRA National Championships at the Royal Irish Yacht Club on Dublin Bay on Sunday. 

Just one race was possible on Course A and Dwyer made no mistake by wrapping up the championships with a win in a fitful southerly breeze rarely above five knots. 

The vintage Half Tonner – the ICRA Boat of the Year for 2023 – beat the nine-boat fleet by a margin of nine points. 

Dwyer's winning crew are Oisin McSweeney, Connor Horgan, Tom Flannery, Milly Haylett, Brian Henneghan, John McCann and David Dwyer

Ronan Downing's Half-Tonner Miss Whiplash is lying second overall at the Unio ICRA National Championships at the Royal Irish Yacht Club on Dublin Bay with two races left to sail Photo: Afloat

Another Half-Tonner, Miss Whiplash, skippered by Dwyer's Munster clubmate Ronan Downing took second overall on 14 points with the Howth Yacht Club J97, Lambay Rules, skippered by Stephen Quinn third on 17.

Stephen Quinn's  Lambay Rules rounds a 'robotic' race mark on a windward-leeward course in Class Two of the Unio ICRA National Championships at the Royal Irish Yacht Club on Dublin Bay Photo: Afloat

Fergal Noonan's Corby 25 Impetuous won the ECHO handicap division from Miss Whiplash with Frank Whelan's A31 Crazy Diamond from Greystones third.

Fergal Noonan's Corby 25 Impetuous from Howth Yacht Club Photo: Afloat

Frank Whelan's A31 Crazy Diamond from Greystones was third in ECHO at the Unio ICRA National Championships at the Royal Irish Yacht Club on Dublin Bay Photo: Afloat

After five races sailed at the Unio ICRA Nationals 2024 on Dublin Bay, Colm Bermingham's Elan 333 Bite the Bullet from Howth continues to lead by a point in both non-spinnaker IRC and ECHO divisions at the Royal Irish Yacht Club hosted event.

Clubmate Splashdance, a Dufour 40, (J Beckett & A George) lies second on IRC with Grainne and Sean O'Shea's Superseal 26–footer Gung-Ho third in a three boat IRC turnout.

In an eight-boat ECHO division, Tim Costello's Bavaria 35 Just Jasmin is second, and Splashdance is third.

For a second day, light but stable easterly winds allowed a full programme of races to be staged on Dublin Bay, with two Sunday's final two races – again in forecast light winds – to bring the championships to a conclusion.

The Wicklow J24 crew of Conor Haughton, Jonny Flood, Charles Heather and Garrett Kinnane have a four-point lead over defending IRC champion Quarter Tonner Snoopy in IRC Class Three after five races sailed on Saturday at the Unio ICRA National Championships at the Royal Irish Yacht Club on Dublin Bay.

For a second day, light but stable easterly winds allowed a full programme of races to be staged on Dublin Bay, with two Sunday's final two races – again in forecast light winds – to bring the championships to a conclusion.

Defending champion quarter-tonner Snoopy on day two of the Unio ICRA National Championships on Dublin Bay ahead of overall leader Jupiter, a J24 from Wicklow skippered by Conor Haughton

Paul Prentice's Sigma 33 Squawk is lying third on IRC in Class Three

Paul Prentice's Sigma 33 Squawk lies third on 11 points.

Under the ECHO handicap, Jupiter leads from Squawk with another Sigma, Flyover (David Marchant and John McDonald), lying third.

Dublin Bay sparkled again for the second day of the UNIO ICRA Nats 2024 from the Royal Irish Yacht Club in Dun Laoghaire, with today (Saturday's) only change from Friday being that the wind has been more directly from the southeast to east, recorded at 120 degrees.

There was enough of it for the Race Teams to put through the scheduled three races, even if some of the more conservatively rigged boats like the JPK 10.80 might have preferred a stronger breeze. 

A tightly bunched IRC Zero fleet reaches the weather mark in one of the three round-the-can courses sailed on Saturday at the UNIO ICRA Nats 2024 from the Royal Irish Yacht Club in Dun Laoghaire Photo: Afloat

The first race of the day produced a healthy mix under IRC, with scratch boat Searcher going round just under the hour at 57:36. But Valentina came across eleven minutes later and her rating of 1.046 to Searcher's 1.278 put the big black boat back eventually to third, as David Maguire's Cape 31 Valkyrie had finished in between, sufficiently well placed to take second.

Cruisers 0 leader, Johnny Treanor's J/112e ValenTina from the National with Nicole Hemeryck doing the driving to log a history of 1, (2), 1, 2, 1. It's of interest that ValenTina has not been recorded as an ECHO participant (there's posh for you), but under the performance handicap system, Cruisers O is currently led by the Sisk family's WOW raced by Tim Kane to a 1, (4) 1, 2, 2 with Pete Smyth's Ker 46 Seacher Photo: Afloat

Searcher rated 1.376 under ECHO for this race, and managed to stay in second, but first went to WOW on a race rating of 1.137, while Paul O'Higgins JPK 10.80 Rockabill VI, on ECHO 1.145, took third.

FRESH LOOK

Saturday's second race opened a fresh look under IRC, as the Jones family's J/122 Jellybaby from Cork took the win in an hour long race by 38 seconds from ValenTina, with the Corby 33 Impetuous from Abersoch, campaigned by the Miller, Crompton & Hodges team, logging third one minute and 34 seconds later.

The Jones family's J/122 Jellybaby from Cork have missed the 304th Royal Cork 'At Home' Regatta to contest the UNIO ICRA Nats 2024 from the Royal Irish Yacht Club in Dun Laoghaire Photo: Afloat

Under ECHO, the second race of the day went to Jellybaby, with WOW second and Searcher third. This sharpened up the ECHO interest for the day's final joust, when the big First 50 Checkmate XX (Nigel Biggs & Dave Cullen) got herself back in the picture with the win on a rating of 1.237, with WOW second on 1.161 and Searcher third on 1.400.

The First 50 Checkmate XX chases the smaller J122 Jellybaby downwind at the UNIO ICRA Nats 2024 from the Royal Irish Yacht Club in Dun Laoghaire Photo: Afloat

That third race under IRC in Cruisers 0 showed that Checkmate XX was very much on form, as she managed second behind Valentina, a minute and 20 seconds in front of Jellybaby, thereby keeping ahead of the Joneses, as you might say.

Royal Cork's James Dwyer looks likely to complete a successful defence of his ICRA IRC Two crown after scoring three wins from three races on Saturday's second day of competition at the Unio ICRA National Championships at the Royal Irish Yacht Club on Dublin Bay.

The vintage Half Tonner, the ICRA Boat of the Year for 2023, leads the nine-boat fleet by a margin of seven points with two races left to sail in the seven-race championships on Sunday. 

Ronan Downing's Half-Tonner Miss Whiplash is lying second overall at the Unio ICRA National Championships at the Royal Irish Yacht Club on Dublin Bay with two races left to sail Photo: Afloat

Another Half-Tonner, Miss Whiplash, skippered by Dwyer's Munster clubmate Ronan Downing is lying second on 11 points with the Howth Yacht Club J97, Lambay Rules, skippered by Stephen Quinn is third on 13.

Stephen Quinn's  Lambay Rules rounds a 'robotic' race mark on a windward-leeward course in Class Two of the Unio ICRA National Championships at the Royal Irish Yacht Club on Dublin Bay Photo: Afloat

Fergal Noonan's Impetuous leads in the ECHO handicap division from Frank Whelan's Crazy Diamond, with Miss Whiplash third.

For a second day, light but stable easterly winds allowed a full programme of races to be staged on Dublin Bay, with two Sunday's final two races – again in forecast light winds – to bring the championships to a conclusion.