Key Yachting is pleased to announce that the inaugural J Cup Ireland will take place from 26th to 27th of August at the Royal Irish Yacht Club, Dun Laoghaire, on Dublin Bay.
The J/Cup Regatta is a highly successful event in the UK, with over 60 boats and 400 competitors. The J Cup in Ireland will give Irish J Boats a chance to get involved as a brand in their own regatta. The event will involve two days of racing, shoreside entertainment and a daily prizegiving.
Key Yachting is expecting a mix of classes and J/Boats to participate.
The J/109 class have confirmed they will have their Nationals at the J Cup Ireland. With the ICRA National Championships being staged in Howth the following week, travelling owners will be able to compete in both events. It is anticipated that extra numbers will come from J/109s based in Cork, Wales, Northern Ireland and maybe even Scotland and the Solent. The J/109 class has always been extremely competitive in Ireland.
J /109 start at past Irish Nationals Photo: Afloat
The J/24s will have a large presence at the J Cup Ireland for their East Coast Championships. A huge resurgence has happened in the Irish J/24 class brought on by the Under 25 Scheme in Ireland, where clubs finance J/24 keelboats for crews aged under 25. The East Coast Championships at J Cup Ireland will be a great warmup event for the J/24 Nationals, which will be held as part of the ICRA Nationals the following weekend.
The J/80 Class are expected to have a large fleet at the regatta for its Nationals. Already many clubs in Dun Laoghaire have been buying J/80s for their members' use. These, along with some very competitive privately owned J/80s, will likely lead to great sailing for the J/80 Nationals at J cup Ireland.
Mixed IRC Class — Outside of the Classes having their one design championships, J Cup Ireland will feature an IRC Handicap class with a bottom IRC limit of .960. This should include J models such as J/92s, J/97s, J/99s, J/112e’s, J/111s, J/122s and others to compete in a highly competitive IRC class. Again, many J boats will likely use the J cup as a warm-up for the ICRA Nationals the following week.
J/122 Jelly Baby from Cork, one of 3 x J122’s likely to compete in J Cup Ireland in 2023 Photo: Bob Bateman
Entries for the event are expected to open in early 2023 when a Notice of Race issues, so be sure to put the dates in your 2023 sailing calendar. Watch this space for the latest event information.
J Cup Regatta 2022, RORC, Cowes Photo: Paul Wyeth
Key Yachting is the UK and Ireland dealer for J Boats, Grand Soleil, Nautitech Catamarans and Tofinou.
For more information about Key Yachting or the J Cup Ireland, contact Irish agent Mark Mansfield at [email protected] or [email protected]
