#isora – Of the 20 boats entered 13 came to the start line at 08.00 on Saturday 24th August to be set off for Pwllheli by Vice Commodore of the NYC, Larry Power writes Peter Ryan.

Some of the entrants had only recently completed the Fastnet Race and one, "Mojito", not only completed the Fastnet Race but also took part in Abersoch Week immediately prior to this race, arriving at the NYC pontoons at 06.00 for the 08.00 start!

As with this summer we were plagued with good weather but unfortunately little wind was forecast. The forecast was for north-west 15-18k, backing to south west 10-12k and decreasing, wind disappearing in the late afternoon before appearing again in the evening in the north- west. This is exactly what happened. The problem of the light winds was compounded by the exceptionally strong tides on the day and the fact that as the fleet started south the tide had just turned north!!

Because of the uncertainty of the wind and the certainty of the strong tides and particularly the problems it could cause at Bardsey, the Sailing Committee decided to set the course direct to the Finish at Pwllheli.

The fleet left Dublin Bay in the NW wind, most taking the west run tack while some sailed very deep and east. The seas were surprisingly choppy for such tame wind conditions. "Lula Belle" took that charge off the start line and led the fleet down the coast towards Wicklow. The strong wind against tide stirred up the seas producing some spectacular overfalls inshore of the
Codling Bank. Tide against the fleet of up to 4k were recorded. As has become normal in the ISORA races, the J Boats, "Ruth", "Sgrech" and "Mojito" took to the front with "Adelie" and "Lula Belle" close behind.

Most boats chose to gybe east just north of Wicklow. All of a sudden, out of the east appeared "Yahtzee"!!!!! who crossed in front of most of the fleet but continued her march south. There was good separation of boats along a north-south line heading towards Bardsey Island. It was essential to have passed through Bardsey Sound before 19.00 after which time the tidal gate would slam closed.

The impending light airs appeared to spook some of the fleet with "Satisfaction", "Sarnia" and "Windshift" retiring by late afternoon. "Obsession" only retired after banging on the closed tidal gate at Bardsey for several hours.

First to reach Bardsey Sound just after 18.30 was "Ruth" followed closely behind by "Mojito" and "Sgrech". Not far behind them was "Lulla Belle" and "Adelie". The first three boats managed to get through in slack tide that started to catch the following boats. What happened after this is not clear!!! "Ruth" who was a mere half mile ahead accelerated towards Pwllheli while the progress of all the other boats behind started to falter with the decreasing winds.

"Ruth" steamed across the finish line manned by ISORA Vice Chairman, Gerry Williams of Pwllheli Sailing Club just after 22.00 hours. "Sgrech" managed to haul itself over the finish at 24.00 while "Mojito" took another
frustrating hour to cross the finish. At this stage the usually timid tides in Tremadog Bay had been roused and was holding the remainder of the fleet at St Tudwal's. The fleet were not released until the tide and turned again and the remaining fleet started to limp over the finish line from 05.00 hours.

"Ruth" took line honours and winner overall and Class 1. Sigma 33 "Elandra" sailed a great race in difficult conditions to snap up Class 2 and Silver Class Overall. Full race results are attached. I also attach the Series results after 9 races.

The Overall Series is hotting up with "Ruth" out in front but not home safe yet!! There is much to play for in the last two races over the next two weekends. A large fleet is expected for the M2 Day Race and success in this could have a significant effect on overall placings despite the 0.9 points factor. The last race on the 7th September, the James Eadie Race from Pwllheli to Dun Laoghaire, is always well supported. It is hoped that the Overall series will not be decided until the results of the last race are known.

On the PredictWind Tracker issue we had limited success in its use in this race. It would appear that only three boats activated their trackers. Winner "Ruth" used the tracker very successfully and it is clearly displayed on the app or by following this link using Google Chrome or Firefox browser, NOT Internet Explorer:

http://forecast.predictwind.com/tracking/race/ISORA

I will investigate why other trackers did not appear either partially or fully. I would appreciate feedback on this as I see this as a great tool to analyse races afterwards. It is hoped that most boats taking part in the M2 day Race will use and activate the tracker.

#isora – On Friday (26th July) 16 boats from an entry list of 22 boats came to the ISORA start line at Pier mark in Dun Laoghaire writes ISORA Chairman Peter Ryan.

On Friday 26th July 16 boats from an entry list of 22 boats came to the start line at Pier mark in Dun Laoghaire. Seletion of the course for the race was difficult due to the light winds that had been plaguing the area for the previous evenings. However, when the Met Eireann forecast was issued at 18.00 before the briefing, it indicated that the good winds that had been blowing all day would not decrease, and may even increase.

On this basis the Sailing Committee elected to race the course as per the sailing instructions: Start – Muglins – North India – Muglins – Finish (34 miles). Another factor affecting the choice of course was the strong tides that were due to turn north as the fleet headed south from the start. Again it was felt that this would encourage close shore tacking in the good winds. Well one out of two is not bad!!!

The ISORA Chairman had asked those boats taking part to also take part in a trial use of the Predict Wind trackers – an iPhone & smartphone app. Nine boats obliged and the race can be viewed by downloading the app. More on this later.

NYC Vice Commodore, Larry Power sent the fleet towards the Muglins at 20.05 in fresh southerly winds 15-18k. From the start it was obvious that the race was going to become an "inside" / "outside" race depending the line boats took against the strong tide. From the start most of the boats chose the "outside" line to Muglins but a few including "Ruth" and "Jedi" selected to take the "inside" line. For this short leg any advantage was not clear.

"Tsunami" led the fleet around the Muglins . It was not until immediately after the Muglins that the benefits of the initial tracks took affect. "Tsunami" and most of the fleet got hammered in the overfalls behind Dalkey Island. Those boats that tok the inside track and tacked south immediately behind the island avoided the "slap bang wallop".

While the fleet were in Killiney Bay, the first signs of an inaccurate forecast became apparent as the wind started to drop and back south westerly. The making tack of the beat to North India was the "outside" track. Those going "inside" risked the possible wind shadow under Bray Head. The two J boats with "Adelie" and "Lula Belle" too this risk. Again, when they came out from under Bray Head to rejoin the fleet, any advantages of the decision was again not obvious.

But then came Greystones!!!! The winds became even lighter and at times there was no progress against the strong tide. This can be seen on the tracker – it looks like a bomb went off in the middle of the fleet and sent boats scattering in all directions!!! By the time the first boats reached North India just after 02.00 in the morning the lead bunch consisted of "Adelie", "Jedi", "Lula Belle", "Ruth", "Tsunami" and "First of September" Many of these boats round within seconds of each other – a spectacular sight (fright) of many boats rounding a navigation mark at night in close proximity in strong tides.

Despite the battle with the winds and tide those boats taking part in the race were treated with a night of beautiful clear and warm weather conditions and a relatively flat sea. There is no more spectacular sailing course for a night race than that well lit stretch from Dun Laoghaire to Wicklow. Also the stunning views of the Muglins, Dalkey Island and that stretch in the strong early morning sun – this is paradise racing!!!

As it was to be, the tide now turned south so the fleet had a run back to Muglins again against a strong tide!!!. Again the "inside" / "outside" divide was critical. Going inside towards Greystones and under Bray Head was not attractive. However, "Fortune favours the brave"!!!! "Ruth", "Jedi", "Adelie" and "Lulla Belle" headed on a reach for Kilcoole beach and possible oblivion. Those boats with symmetric kites felt that heading directly for the Muglins would be better??? For long period of the doldrums around Greystones and Bray head the "four musketeers" could be seen struggling to make progress and at times positively stopped. The outside boats felt the fortune was theirs!!!

As the south going tide increased in strength and the "four musketeers" became two, "Adelie" and "Lula Belle" electing to go out, their risk started to pay off – "Ruth" and "Jedi" shot out the back of Bray Head and disappeared into Killiney Bay, close to the shore and out of the tide. From where the main bunch of the fleet were located, the two boats appeared to be side by side in close contact racing.

By 05.00 the winds started to build again and the remainder of the fleet got in procession along the rhumb line, rounding Muglins and towards the finish.

The finish line was manned by Ian Meldon of the NYC. "Ruth" and Jedi" crossed the line first followed by "Adelie", Tsunami", "Lula Belle" and "First of September".

"Ruth" took Overall and Class 1 while "Adelie" took Class 2. "Lady Rowena" took Sliver Class. Full details here.

After the Night Race and the Day Race run in Pwllheli, the placings for the title of "ISORA lynx metmAsts Offshore Champion" is hotting up. "Mojito" holds a very narrow lead but "Ruth", defending Champion "Sgrech", "Lula Belle" and "Polished Manx" are well within striking distance. "Polished Manx" appear to have the Silver Class well stitched up?

There is much to fight for for some and to be worried about by others over the last three races. The outcome of the two remaining qualifying races will be critical – 24th August Dun Laoghaire to Pwllheli and the 7th September James Eadie Race – Pwllheli to Dun Loaghaire. Between them is the ever popular Dun Laoghaire to M2 day race from Dun Laoghaire.

The trial use of the Predict Wind tracker was a great success. I will be in touch with Predict Wind to see how it can be further used in the promotion of offshore racing and ISORA.

Finally I would like to wish our ISORA boats that will take part in the Fastnet Race on Sunday 11th August a safe and successful race. They are "Mojito", "Jedi", "Lula Belle", "Adelie", "Aquelina", "Desert Star", "Ocean Tango" and "Polished Manx". I am sure there will be mutual support shown by all ISORA boats in the preparation for and during the race. It is great to see so many ISORA boats taking part in such a race.

I hope to see you all back in Dun Laoghaire for the next race on the 24th August. The usual pre-race soiree will take place in the NYC on the 23rd August where at least one of the ISORA skippers that did the Fastnet Race will be showing off his new Rolex watch!

#vdlr2013 – Dun Laoghaire regatta organisers will take a fresh look at the coastal course today in view of this morning's light wind forecast and the fact yesterday's finishers in this new 16-boat division did not get back to harbour until well after 7.30pm, an hour or more after the rest of the 393-boat fleet. 'Even the race office had gone home!', joked one competitor last night.

The coastal series accommodate those offshore sailors and larger cruisers who prefer to take part in races where the distances between marks are greater.

Last night, all times taken were declarations recorded by the competitors themselves at the last mark on the course, a feature of some offshore courses such as the ISORA series.

The first course: Muglins, Killiney, the Volvo Regatta mark, XC60, and the 40 foot mark, off Sandycove point was modest enough but proved a leg too far.

Due to the light conditions the fleet, with a handicap rating span of 15 minutes in the hour, all ended up rafted together, waiting for the time limit to arrive so that times rounding Killiney mark would apply. 

This morning, there are moves afoot to have the regatta's Sailing Instructions changed so any boat retiring would be recorded to their last mark.

The new division is designed to facilitate a large number of standard cruiser designs not suited to prevailing tight inshore courses and who cannot compete on handicap with some of the out and out racing machines but yesterday the longer course just ran out of wind.

#isora – A fleet of 18 ISORA boats left the start line at Holyhead on Friday evening, 5th July, for the Lyver Race to Howth writes Peter Ryan.

Of the 18 boats, 10 of them were ISORA boats. The low attendance of ISORA boats in the Lyver Race is probably due to thee recent participation of ISORA boats in the D2D race, ICRA Championships and the Sovereign's Cup.

The Dun Laoghaire Regatta starting next Thursday is probably another factor.

The course for the race was from the start to a virtual waypoint at 52 50 00 North 05 15 00 West and from there to the finish in Howth. The course was 83 miles. The weather forecast for the race indicated a south or south west wind 5-14 knots. This would produce a beat to the virtual waypoint and a reach to the finish.

The race started in 10-12 knots southerly wind. The tide was north going for another two hours. The fleet set off beating towards the North and South Stacks, rock hopping to get out of the tide. As the fleet left the shore for the last time heading out into the foul tide, Mojito, Ulula and Diva took to the front. Lula Belle took another few tacks along the coast and also looked in a strong position leaving the Welsh coast.

At this stage the fleet was very well bunched. The leg to the virtual waypoint was a short leg / long leg beat. The fleet stayed in very close contact with little in the way of place changes. Sgrech was behind the leading three approaching the virtual waypoint.

Rounding the virtual waypoint the next leg was a very tight reach. This suited the J boats – Sgrech, Mojito and Jetstream. Approaching Dublin bay the fleet was still well bunched but the winds were becoming very fickle. The tide was north going, suiting the bigger boats at the front. However, the wind filled in again from the rear bringing with in the smaller boats as they bunched approaching the finish.

Sgrech managed to pass the three leading boats on the water between the Kish Lighthouse and the finish to take line honours. However, this was not good enough to take the overall race win that went to a non ISORA boat Easi Tiger. Sgrech took ISORA race win with Mojito and Jetstream taking the second and third places overall.

The Class 1 win went to Sgrech while Jetstream took Class 2. The Silver Class was won by Polished Manx. After 6 races the leader for the series in Mojito with Polished Manx leading the Silver Fleet

The Lyver Race was recorded using the Yellowbrick trackers and can be followed on the Liverpool yacht Club website – www.lyc.org.

The ISORA next race will be the Night Race run in conjunction with the Royal Alfred Yacht Club on Friday Evening, 26th July Starting and finishing in Dun Laoghaire. This is normally a well supported race. The first Pwllheli day race takes place on the following day 27th July.

The Dun Laoghaire regatta takes place on Thursday to Sunday 11th -14th July. The innovative Coastal series class has been included. This consists of long day races similar to our ISORA Day Races. There are 15 boats entered in the class to date. I know those boats will be rewarded with great sailing in open uncluttered waters!

There was a slightly disappointing number of twelve boats that left Pwllheli marina for the earlier start of 07.45 on Saturday 1st May for ISORA's race four from Pwllheli to Wicklow writes Peter Ryan.

Those that took part were again rewarded with great sailing conditions if not slightly frustrating at the end.

The previous evening the series Sponsor lynx metmAsts hosted a reception in PSC where the "lynx metmAsts Offshore Perpetual Trophy" for the race was on display. The usual great social activity the ISORA is famous for lasted well into the night and even into the early morning!!!

The forecast was giving 10-12 knots westerly / south westerly going very light in the afternoon and then veering north easterly in the evening. There
appeared to be a differences in forecasts received by some competitors!! The agreed course for the race was direct to Wicklow.

The race was started at the Pwllheli SC Bridge by Richard Tudor in the forecast winds producing a fast reach towards St. Tudwal's. J boats, "Ruth" and "Jetstream" were out of the blocks early and took a commanding lead from the start. Exiting the Tudwals sound the fleet hardened up to punch into the tide towards Bardsey. As Bardsey Island was not a mark on the course a decision was needed then as to what side to take the island against a strong south going tide.

"Raging Bull" was the first to head south outside the island while most of the fleet stayed close to the shore. The leaders "Ruth" and "Jetstream" did not get close enough to the north shore of Bardsey Sound and soon found themselves being pushed south across the sound by the tide. "Mojito" followed by "Sgrech" hugged the shore but "Mojito" tacked out too early and lost some of the advantage. Most of the fleet observing the advantage gained by "Sgrech" followed along and close to the north shore of the sound.

This was the stage that the accuracy of the forecast was critical. "Raging Bull", "Ruth", "Mojito" and "Jetstream" found themselves heading south on the beat to Wicklow. "Sgrech", "Lula Belle", Yachtzee" and "Predator" took the northerly tack. "Sgrech" was positioning itself for the North westerly wind that was due. Other forecasts spoke of the winds backing south!!!. Who was to be right?

Initially the tack south shot those boats far south with the tide. Very soon there was a significant split in the fleet. It looked that the south going boats had the advantage as the winds went light in the afternoon and rose again with no signs of the north westerly. South boats "Ruth", Mojito" and "Jetstream" were powering into the finish when Wicklow struct back!!! Not only did the winds drop in the fast going south tide but veered north westerly.

"Ruth" managed to beat against the tide and get across the line but "Mojito" was pushed south past Wicklow Head before managing the get moving again.

Similarly "Jetstream" had the beat north against the tide. "Sgrech", noticing what was happening and who had been at that time desperately trying to get south after thinking the north westerly would never come, headed again north and managed to get infront of "Mojito" and Jetstream" to cross the line second. "Predator" and "Raging Bull" followed behind.

After the Class 1 boats struggled into Wicklow, the wind dropped even further causing grief for the Class 2 boats. "Ruth" was the first to cross the finish line at 19.18 while the last boat finished at 01.00. The finisher in Wicklow was President of WSC, Sadie Phelan.

"Ruth" took line honours, Overall and Class 1 while "Sgrech" took 2nd place Overall and Class 1. The four J109 boats took the first four places overall reinforcing their dominance offshore. "Ruth" also wins the "lynx metmAsts Offshore Perpetual Trophy" and keeps the replica.

The usual great welcome was received in Wicklow and it allowed the crews to chat about the race over a glass of sherry and a large slice of Pizza, compliments of Liam Shanahan "Ruth".

The next race is the D2D race to Dingle on the 7th June. With the Series wide open this race could be a decider.

The Isle of Man is back on the ISORA calendar after an extraordinary race at the weekend.

.A fleet of 17 boats left the Isle of Man at 08.30 on Sunday morning heading for Dun Laoghaire in the third race of the ISORA offshore series.

The Silver Class took 1st, 2nd and 3rd place Overall, Class and Silver  in this incredible, exciting and unique result.  Results below.

The entire fleet finished the course in light winds by 07.00 Monday morning. The time gap between the first and last boat was only 2 hours 15 minutes.

The next ISORA race is the Pwllheli to Wicklow on the 1st June. Details of the race and the SI's will be issued shortly.

#isora – The recent ISORA race from Dun Laoghaire to Holyhead provided a novel development for one of the lesser known sailing clubs based on the Dun Laoghaire waterfront, Sailing in Dublin Club. The club entered their Sigma 33 'Obsession' and the skipper,  Hungarian born, Attila Védő and the four crew, all relatively new to sailing, were happy with their placing at 14th position in what was their first competitive Offshore race.

Amongst the crew on Obsession was artist Claidhbh O Ghibne from Newgrange Currachs  who joined SID to improve his seaman skills and, in particular, his knowledge of maritime navigation.  Claidhbh is in the process of recreating a 7 bench, (36 ft) currach made from wicker and leather, a craft that would have been in existence around the 3,500 BC or the period when Newgrange was being built. 

Claidhbh's eventual aim is to retrace the journey thought to be made by early settlers across the Atlantic from Spain to Ireland but first he has to build up his sailing skills – and that is where club sailing has met his need.  Sailing in Dublin (SID) Club was founded in the 80's by sailors dwelling in the capital who had completed summer sailing courses at the Les Glenans Sailing School in the wilds of the Western seafront.

The basic founding objective of the club remains to offer regular sailing for a low cost in a club environment, all the benefits of club sailing such as skill development, racing and cruising with little of the difficulties associated with boat ownership such as maintenance cost and finding crew.

In 2011, on completing yacht sailing courses with Sailing West, Claidhbh found he still wasn't confident about determining the wind direction. He was advised to take up dinghy sailing to get a better feel for the wind and since he wasn't at sufficient standard to crew for a racing dinghy and wanted to build up his skills with a safety boat close at hand, he joined SID dinghy sessions for regular Dublin Bay sailing.

In the meantime, back in his studio and workshop, the artist and boatbuilder was continuing to produce different prototypes of seagoing currachs and also writing a book on the Boyne currachs, the last remaining wicker craft. The book 'The Boyne Currach: from Beneath the shadows of Newgrange' was published last year and provides the fascinating story of Ireland's smallest currach with prehistoric origins.The book also gives an account of the methods used by Claidhbh to recreate the 7 bench currach of the Dal Riada, an ocean-going craft with the capabilities to withstand the wrath of the Atlantic.

While the craft is near completion, financial constraints have meant that the maiden test voyages have been put on hold for the moment and Claidhbh has been using the time to brush upon his navigation skills on board SID's slightly more modern Sigma 33. While the boats taking part in the ISORA race  series may seem a long way from hazel and cowhind boats, the opportunity to practise 'course made good' will be imperative for the arduous journey envisaged by the Newgrange Currach project from the western Atlantic coast of Europe to the Boyne Valley.

#isora – After a magnificent race from Dun Laoghaire on Dublin Bay to Holyhead on the Welsh coast under sun and blue skies, the J109 Sgrech, Stephen Tudor, the reigning ISORA Champion, crossed the line after seven hours hard sailing to take line honours, first Overall and first in Class 1 too.

Of the 24 boats entered for the race, the 15 boats that came to the start line in Scottman's Bay were rewarded with another spectacular days sailing from both a race and weather point of view.

The weather forecast for the race was as had been predicted for some days previously, westerly at the start, backing south westerly. The wind strength at the start was 22-25k and dropped slightly to 10-12k when the fleet was at the M2 but increased again back to 22-25k for the finish. The tide had only just turned south against the progress of the fleet.

Despite the best efforts of the Race Committee to provide a beat, even using the "virtual" marks, it was not possible with the westerly winds while being mindful of getting the fleet to Holyhead. Instead they back to option of a more tactical race involving tight reaches against strong tides. The course selected on the day was as per the sailing instructions – Dun Laoghaire – M2(S) – Holyhead – 62 miles.

The testing conditions at the start line did not prevent Larry Power, Vice Commodore of the NYC from sending the fleet off towards the M2 on time at 08.00. Almost immediately there was a split in the fleet as they reached out of the bay, against the tide, towards M2. Only three boats managed to hold spinnakers at the start, "Sgrech", "Mojito" and "Lula Belle". The remainder of the fleet took a more northerly course to attempt to get a better wind angle to hoist their spinnakers. This ability to hold the kites gave the two "J boats" the edge. However, the hoisting of kites in those conditions was not without casualty – "Mojito" and "Lula Belle" will now require the assistance of a good sailmaker!!

The split in the fleet, those going north and those heading towards M2, caused concern on the reigning champion "Sgrech" as to why the other boats were taking such a northerly course. Very soon "Sgrech", the only boat to uneventfully hold their kite were at front but at the extreme leeward side of the course.

Approaching M2 the winds became fickle and the usual "difficulties" of rounding M2 arose due to the strong tide. "Sgrech" rounded first followed by "Team Kingspan". As the passage to M2 was fast, the tide was still going
south when the first boat rounded. "Sgrech" took advantage of this and headed fast south to be in the best position for the approach into Holyhead in the following north going tide. The fleet followed a similar line.

On approaching Holyhead the winds increased, as forecast and backed to a more southerly direction causing spinnakers to be dropped and jibs to be hoisted. The approach into Holyhead had the usual tactical issues, making sure not to "plug" the strong tide at the North Stacks.

After a magnificent race conditions under sun and blue skies, "Sgrech", Stephen Tudor, the reigning ISORA Champion crossed the line at 15:28 to take line honours, 1st Overall and 1st in Class 1. The ISORA Champion for 2011, "Team Kingspan", Matt davis, came next some 6 minutes behind to only take 3rd in Class 1 and 4th Overall. The other boats that "risked all" and hoisted their kites in Dublin Bay were rewarded when "Lula belle" took 2nd place Overall and 1st in Class 2 and "Mojito" took 3rd place Overall and 2nd in Class 1.

The dark horse "Yahtzee" relished the conditions and snatched 2nd place Class 2 and 1st Overall in the Sliver Fleet – watch this boat!!! "Adelie" took 3rd place Class 2. "Windshift" took 2nd place Silver fleet while "Mistral of St Helier" took 3rd place in Silver Fleet. The last boat to cross the line did so at 17:35. The finish was provided by Dawn Russell of HSC.

The fast race under excellent conditions allowed the entire fleet to pull into Holyhead Sailing Club for a great social get together where the events of the day were exchanged between boats with great hilarity and mirth.

It was a great and rewarding days offshore racing followed by a superb social gathering that is a fundamental part of ISORA and those who race offshore.

The next event is the race from the IOM (Douglas) to Dun Laoghaire on Sunday 19th May. This promises to be another great race as ISORA has not been to the IOM for many years. A social event has been arranged on the Saturday night for all those taking part. More about this later.

From an entry list of 22 boats 19 boats came the start line on Saturday in Dun Laoghaire for the first day race of the ISORA lynx metmAsts Offshore Series 2013 run in conjunction with the Royal Alfred Yacht Club's Offshore Series wites Peter Ryan.

As well as the "regular" ISORA boats there were many new faces and some faces we had not see for some time. Our double ISORA Offshore Champion Matt Davis with his reformed "Raging Bull" now called "Team Kingspan" was there after a whole season missing from the fleet. A new comer to the ISORA J109 family but by no means a new comer to ISORA is Liam Shanahan Jnr and his J109 "Ruth". Liam sailed in ISORA for many years with his father Liam on "Emircedes", "Lightning" and "Emer Herr". It is great to have him back.

"Mojito", Peter Dunlop's J109 from Pwllheli was there. Peter, although a regular ISORA sailor had changed "Midnight Mojito" for a J109. "Lady Rownea", David Bolger's Sadler 34 was there for the first time and I hope will race again.

The original course was the head south to round North Arklow. However, taking into account the recent strong northerly winds and exceptionally strong spring tides that could combine to produce "unpleasant" conditions over the banks, the Sailing Committee agreed to head north to Rockabill.

The course was from the start to round Rockabill and back to the finish. Lambay Island was not a mark on the course. The weather forecast was for the winds
to be 24k northerly at the start and drop to 3k in the afternoon!! North Arklow was never going to happen.

Commodore of the Royal Alfred YC, Barry MacNeaney sent the large fleet beating north with the strong tide towards Rockabill. The wind at the start was slightly less than forecast. The fleet split leaving the bay but the J109's remained close to each other inshore. The leader was hard to call as there were many boats on the leading line heading north. A further split came just north of Howth when "Tsunami" tacked to go inside Lambay Island and get out of the lumpy seas. At that stage the winds were starting to slacken and before long boats were changing to the No1's.

The fleet converged on Rochabill from both sides. "Team Kinspan" lead the attack from the east while "Tsunami" manoeuvred from the west. At this stage it became apparent that the tide had changed early and the fleet were punching into a strong tide with ever decreasing winds. "Team Kinspan" was the first to round Rockabill followed closely by "Mojito". A procession of boats then rounded the rock and set sail for a very tight reach back to Dun Laoghaire. Fortunately the winds held long enough to get the fleet finished.

The leg from Rockabill, although with the tide, required constant trimming of sails to keep the boats going as fast as possible. As the winds decreased the J109's came into their own but not sufficient to catch the Sigma 400 "Team Kingspan". Matt Davis took line honours, and won the overall and class 1. Then three of the J109's crossed the line in close procession "Jedi", Andrew Sarratt was the first J109 over the line to take 2nd place Overall and Class 1. Next over with only 4 seconds between them were "Ruth" and "Mojito". However, the ratings favoured "Mojito" who took 3rd place Overall and Class 1.

Peter Hall's "Adelie" won Class 2 with Jerry Whiston's "First of September" taking 2nd in Class 2 and two-handed "Lula Belle", Liam Coyne and Brian Flahive, taking 3rd Class 2.

In the Silver Fleet Ronan O'Siochru's "Desert Star" won overall while Dirk Van Breda's "African Challenge" took 2nd with new comer David Bolger's "Lady Rowena" taking 3rd place.

The après sail took place as usual in the National Yacht Club where many of the crews met and exchanged "pleasantries" while imbibing a glass of sherry!!!

It was encouraging to have such a fleet out so early in the season after such a poor winter where many boats had not the opportunity to get prepared.

The next race takes place from Dun Laoghaire to Holyhead and is a traditional offshore. It is hoped that the numbers of boats taking part will remain strong as they prepare for the Dun Laoghaire to Dingle Race and the Fastnet race.

#isora – Irish offshore sailing chief Peter Ryan from Dun Laoghaire is calling for a strong turnout of cruisers for the first day race of the 2013 ISORA lynx metmAsts Offshore Racing Series series this Saturday (April 27th) (Notice of Race downloadable below).

The first race of a nine race series (that includes June's Dun Laoghaire to Dingle race) starts at 0955 from Dun Laoghaire over a course to Arklow and back,  distance of some 50 miles. A briefing is planned in Dun Laoghaire Marina prior to the race start.

Saturday's ISORA race will be run with the Royal Alfred Yacht Club 2013 Coastal Series race using the same start, course and finish line.

The start line shall be located in Scotsman's Bay in the vicinity of DBSC 'Pier' mark between the mast of a committee boat flying the RAYC burgee and a start mark at the port end. A boat shall not start later than 15 minutes after her Starting signal.

Prior to the start of each race boats are requested to obtain acknowledgement from the Race Committee.

The course will be confirmed at a briefing at 08.45 at the Marina offices and afloat to the competitors on channel 72 before the start.

The course will be text to all entrants immediately after the briefing.

The course may include "Virtual" marks. These are coordinates of a position that each yacht must round. Evidence of rounding the "virtual" mark must be taken and may be requested by the Race Officer.

This evidence may include: Photographic (iPhone or similar) evidence of the yacht's GPS showing its position at the mark. Yacht's chart plotter track showing the yacht rounding the "virtual" mark.

The onus of proof of having rounded the "virtual" mark will be with each yacht.

THE COURSE
The course may be as follows:
1. STARTING LINE
2. Muglins to starboard
3. Arklow North to Port
4. Muglins to port
5. FINISH LINE

The rekindled offshore racing fleet of more than 20 boats with interest  on both sides of the Irish Sea  is enjoying an active programme of offshore racing each summer. ISORA organise offshore races that include cross channel, coastal and overnight races for a mix of skills.