A 2025 Nations Cup competition between six teams bordering the Irish Sea is just one of the positive outcomes of Wednesday's (December 2nd) high-level inaugural meeting of Irish Sea Regatta organisers at Dun Laoghaire Harbour.
In what is billed as a first for the Irish Sea sailing scene, organisers of the Scottish Series, Bangor Regatta, Welsh IRC Championships, Royal Dee and Liverpool Regattas, Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta (VDLR), and the Irish Sea Offshore Racing Association (ISORA) came together at the Royal Irish Yacht Club to found a new initiative to focus on areas of cooperation and future promotion. VDLR's Don O'Dowd chaired the meeting.
Teams from Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales, England and Ireland will formally announce the combined regatta initiative for the Irish Sea Area early in the new year. It is designed to add extra spice to the 2025 season and beyond by encouraging more boats to travel outside their home port areas.
2025 and 2026 Irish Sea regatta dates were also agreed upon as a practical measure to address the thorny issue of fixture clashes.
A Notice of Race is being prepared for the inaugural Irish Sea Nations Cup based on results from four partner events in 2025 Photo: Afloat
A Notice of Race for the annual 'Irish Sea Nations Cup' team competition is being drafted and will be based around competition in the following 2025 regattas: Welsh IRC Regatta in the first weekend of May, the Scottish Series from May 23-26th followed by Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta from July 10-13. The overall Nation's Cup trophy is expected to be presented at the Royal Ulster Yacht Club after the inaugural Northern Ireland IRC Championships from July 19-20th.
"We are aiming to promote the sport of sailing across the Irish Sea area, and it was very clear from today's positive first meeting there are great opportunities for cooperation and to create extra appeal for our existing regatta network in several new initiatives", O'Dowd told Afloat.
The inaugural meeting of Irish Sea Regatta organisers included O'Dowd, Brian Craig of Dun Laoghaire Regatta, Scottish Series Chairman Roddy Angus from the Clyde Cruising Club, Bangor Regatta's Rory Flannigan, ISORA's Peter Ryan and Paddy Boyd (VDLR Director). Stephen Tudor of the Welsh National Sailing Academy and Events Centre joined the meeting online with Clwb Hwylio Pwllheli Sailing Club Commodore Mark Thompson, Fiona Hicks, Sailing Secretary of Royal Ulster YC, Liverpool Yacht Club's Vice President Paul Hampson and Royal Dee YC's Catherine Hartley.
A further meeting is expected early in the new year, with the publication of the 2025 calendar and the Irish Sea's Nation's Cup Notice of Race document.
