#teamracing – A two boat team representing the Royal Cork, and skippered by Frederick Cudmore & George Kingston, finished a credible 4th at last weekend's prestigious Monaco 2K Team Racing Invitational.

The Royal Cork were joined by 7 other 2-boat teams representing their clubs in this new discipline of team racing. '2K' (2 Keelboats) racing is a form of team racing where two boats sail against an opposing set, around a short and exciting course. The event was sailed in J24s and the competition featured America's Cup sailors, as well as experienced match racing teams.

A high pressure system over Monte Carlo ensured blue skies, but not much wind for Day 1. The majority of the action took place on the Sunday with 10-15kts and lots of very close racing.

The sailors completed one full round robin and saw the team from Costa Smeralda Yacht Club (ITA) setting the pace. The Royal Cork got off to a slow start with a narrow loss to the GBR 'Spinnaker Team'. RCYC then managed to defeat the Bavarian Yacht Club, The Yacht Club de Monaco team, and took a great win against Team GBR Serpentine/Royal Thames Yacht Club after an intense 4 boat jibing duel on the final downwind. Royal Cork then had an unfortunate gear breakage while in a race winning combination against the Dutch Match Racing Association entry that cost them a race, and ultimately, a podium position. Team Smeralda were the worthy winners and their experience as a team really paid off.

The event was a great success both on and off the water with Yacht Club de Monaco providing fantastic hospitality. There was champagne sailing, and the stunning backdrop of such an iconic and beautiful part of the world was unforgettable.

Plans are in place to keep in touch with our various club contacts at Y.C de Monaco, and proudly represent the Royal Cork at the 2015 event.

The next stop for the 2K Circuit is Rome, in late May, with the Royal Cork team gunning for a podium position.

The 2014 Royal Cork Team:
Frederick Cudmore (Skipper)
George Kingston (Skipper)
Ian Mcnamee
Sarah O'Leary
Emma Geary
Eimear O'Leary
Seán Cotter
Philip O'Leary

2014 Teams:
Spinnaker Auspicious (GBR)
Costa Smeralda Yacht Club (ITA)
Royal Cork Yacht Club (IRL)
Serpentine Sailing Royal Thames Yacht Club (GBR)
Bavarian Yacht Club (GER/AUS)
Dutch Match Racing Association (DUT)
Yacht Club de Monaco (MON)
Rome Racing Team (ITA

#teamracing – After it was last hosted in Ireland in 2011 but then ditched here the following year, the International Sailing Federation (ISAF) has published guidelines for candidates bidding to host the 2015 ISAF Team Racing World Championship.

Although the team racing worlds was scubbed by ISAF at its November 2012 meeting in Dublin, the world body for sailing now says all bids must be received by the ISAF Secretariat by email  in just a week's time (by 12.00 (UTC) on Friday 14 March 2014).

Great Britain were the first team to lift the ISAF Team Racing Worlds in West Kirby, Great Britain in 1995. Ireland came in second with Australia completing the podium.

From 2003 to 2009 USA dominated the event winning four in a row before the British team broke the trend at the most recent edition held in Schull, Ireland from 27 August - 4 September 2011.

In 2005 an Under 21 competition was introduced in Gandia, Spain and was won by Great Britain who also picked up gold in 2011 in the Under 19 category.

So far there are no indications if Ireland will bid again for the event.

Bid Guidelines: www.sailing.org/37329.php

#teamracing – The Irish University Sailing Association is seeking Jury members for a team racing event on 23 & 24 November next weekend at Mullaghmore Sailing Club. Accommodation and food provided.

Please contact [email protected]

#teamracing – The results of the 2013 Irish Team Racing Association Irish Team Racing Nationals could inspire a strange feeling of déjà vu. Yet again the final was sailed between visitors Wessex Exempt and local team the George Knights. Once again, Wessex Exempt, this year's Wilson Trophy winners, emerged as overall winners, with the George Knights as Irish Champions.

20 teams entered this year's competition, with 4 teams travelling from the UK. Following a first round, teams were split into Gold and Silver groups for the second round. As dusk fell on Saturday evening it was clear that Wessex Exempt and the George Knights were facing a challenge from the other R.St.G.Y.C. team Spindoctors, and from a new team Southern Discomfort.

One remarkable first round result was that the Knights (essentially the UCD 2009 team) were beaten by UCD 2013. Hopefully this year's team will still be sailing together in 2027.

After dinner in the impressive surroundings of the main club dining room competitors faced a different challenge as they struggled with the intricacies of one-off yacht construction in preparation for a closely fought gutter sailing event. The knock-out final was won by SB20 Master's World Champion Peter Lee representing the combined wisdom of the race officials and umpires!

Several teams failed to realise that the proposed 9.30 start on Sunday morning meant just that. With racing starting on time the second round was completed by mid-morning, just as the wind faded away altogether. The third round was reluctantly abandoned, and as the wind came in from the south the competition moved to the knock-out stage.

Both Wessex Exempt and the Knights won their semi-finals 2-0. The final was decided on the finish line of the deciding third race, as a Knights boat took a penalty for hitting the finish mark. In the petit-final Spindoctors beat Southern Discomfort 2-0 to take third place.

Medals were presented by the Commodore Liam O'Rourke and by Vincent Delaney, member of the R.St.G.Y.C. Team that won the Wilson Trophy in 1973. Vincent was umpiring this year.

The race team of Richard Bruton, Peter Bayly and Mark Henderson ran the event smoothly and, to the surprise of some, punctually. The team of 12 umpires, including visitors from the UK and Germany maintained rule observance both accurately and diplomatically. A special mention should be made of the contribution of John Sheehy to the success of this event. Not only did he manage the R.St.G.Y.C.'s organisation of the Championship, but he was also a member of the Knights team.

The 2014 edition of the Irish Team racing Championships will be sailed in Schull on 8th - 9th November next year.

#teamracing – 2013 is set to be a vintage year for the Irish Team Racing Association Irish Team Racing National Championships at the Royal St. George Yacht Club in Dun Laoghaire on 9th - 10th November 2013

20 teams have entered, with others on the waiting list. Four teams are travelling from the UK, including last year's overall winners Wessex Exempt, and West Kirby. Multiple Irish champions the George Knights will return to defend, yet again, their title. Regrettably, the George Gladiators will not be there to challenge them, as too many of the team were unable to return from economic exile. However, another George team, the Spindoctors, will be competing, together with a strong Munster contingent including Schull and Zephyr.

College teams are also competing in force, with teams from UCD, Trinity, Universities of Limerick and Cork, also Cork IT. Two teams from Manchester University, coached by West Kirby SC will provide interesting competition.

The ITRA Nationals are also an annual gathering for team racing umpires. With 6 umpires travelling from the UK, the event is a unique opportunity fro Irish umpires to compare techniques and interpretations with the aim of achieving consistent umpiring throughout the international umpiring community.

The National Championships is organised by the Royal St. George Yacht Club, the cradle of team racing in Ireland.

For further information please contact :

Gordon Davies

Hon. Sec. ITRA

[email protected]

#London2K - Royal Cork Yacht Club's team finished a respectable fifth in the Royal Thames Invitational 2K Team Racing Regatta over the weekend.

Eight teams from around Europe took part in the event from 25-27 October that featured two-boat keelboat team racing using J80-type boats at the Queen Mary Sailing Club, near Heathrow Airport.

Fred Cudmore and Rob O’Leary led Ireland's first ever entry in the 2K tour, with team members Ross Deasy, Phil O’Leary, Sarah O’Leary, Jamie Donegan, Emma Geary and Eimear O’Leary.

And they distinguished themselves in a challenging field against the likes of current UK dinghy team racing champions Sam Littlejohn and Tom Hebbert of first place Spinnaker Auspicious.

#teamracing – The Irish Team Racing Association National Team Racing Championships will be sailed out of the Royal St. George Yacht Club on 9th - 10th November.

As the Royal St George Yacht Club celebrates 175 years of existence it is appropriate that the Irish National Championships returns to a club that pioneered team racing. Indeed, according to the accepted version of the birth of the sport, the idea of team racing in identical one-design dinghies took form in the bar of the club, as sailors from West Kirby SC relaxed after a days sailing against sailors from the "George". Two Irish teams, including one from the Royal St George YC, then travelled to West Kirby to compete in the inaugural Wilson Trophy in 1949. Teams from the club then went on to win this prestigious trophy in 1956, 1972and 1974. Many of the 1970's generation of team racers are still active in the club, indeed we hope that at least one of them will be umpiring this year.

Last year's winning team, Wessex Exempt, will return to defend their title, whilst the local team George Knights hope to continue a long winning streak, broken only once in recent year by a team of upstarts - the Gladiators, also from the Royal St George YC. On the other hand the Youth Championship in recent years has been dominated by teams from Schull.

Entries are invited from teams of six sailors from Ireland or elsewhere.

The entry fee is €360, which includes dinner on Saturday night in the club. Teams wishing to enter should contact the Irish Team Racing Association. A pre-entry deposit should be sent to arrive on or before Monday 21st October.

This is the major event on the Irish team racing calendar, both for the sailors and for the umpires. As usual for this event local umpires will be joined by umpires from the UK, and, this year, from Germany.
Associating colleagues from the UK ensures consistency in the application of the rules and in umpire technique. This is essential for teams who hope to compete in the UK and elsewhere. As team racing develops in Europe (albeit in a slightly different form) the prospects for Iirsih team racing have never been better.

To enter, or for further details: [email protected]

#teamracing – At the ISAF Conference last November the Team Racing sub-committee recommended that: no ISAF Team Racing World Championship be held in 2013; that team racing be an event at the Youth World Sailing Championships.

The general tone of the meeting was that 3v3 dinghy team racing was dominated by a few nations, and would not develop outside these countries. The future for the development of team racing was seen to be in the youth classes and small keelboats.

At the recent Wilson Trophy, the 64th edition of West Kirby S.C.'s prestigious event, a group of sailors and umpires, each having some responsibility for developing team racing in their home nation met to discuss the future of team racing. Nations represented were UK, USA, Ireland, Norway, and Australia. Before the meeting contact had also been made with New Zealand and Canada.

The consensus amongst those present was that:

3 boat dinghy team racing was a core activity in the team racing tradition;

there is no conflict of interest between different forms of team racing – 4v4 in Optimists, 3v3 for adolescents and young adults and 2v2 keel-boats for more mature sailors; team racing needs a pinnacle event in all forms of the discipline;

existing well established events could not provide this pinnacle event, largely because they are national championships with limits on international entry; understanding that ISAF may no longer wish to run a World Championships, sailors, umpires and their organisations may wish to organise their own international events;

Finally, it was agreed that the development of international team racing requires the emergence of an international grouping of team racers to promote the interests of the sport and to facilitate the organisation of international events. The working title of this organisation is the International Team Racing Association.

As a a first step a Facebook page has been set up. Friends of team racing can support this initiative by "liking" the page. All those volunteering to contribute actively in the development of international team racing should leave a message giving contact details

Alternatively contact me, I am acting as secretary for the moment:

Gordon Davies

Hon Sec Irish Team Racing Association

[email protected]

.

#teamracing – Keelboat team racing is developing fast. With events throughout Europe, most conveniently situated near an airport offering direct flights to Dublin, an inaugural European Championships in the Netherlands, 2K TR offers an international challenge to team racers.

Howth 2K will be sailed next weekend, 1st-2nd June. The event will be sailed in the Sailfleet J80s. 2K is sailed without spinnakers. Teams of
eight sailors will compete. See NOR to download below.

Teams entered include a Howth YC team, teams from various Irish universities and a visiting team from Edinburgh. Any team wishing to
compete should contact the Irish Team Racing Association immediately, as there are one or two places still available.

Please contact: [email protected] 0861501220

The 2013 British Open Team Racing Championship for the Wilson Trophy was won by Wessex Exempt on Sunday in a thrilling best of five final sailed on West Kirby's marine lake. The six sailors overcame stiff competition from 34 teams from as far afield as America, Ireland and across the UK, eventually meeting Grafham Gorillas in the tense final round of the three-day event.

The top Irish team of four competing after 19 rounds was Dun Laoghaire's Royal St. George Knights in 12th place. Next was Howth in 17th, Royal Cork in 18th and Schull Youth 19th.

Wessex Exempt (Ben Ainsworth, Rachel Williamson, Jonathon Pinner, Kerry Capps, Tom Heywood, Catherine Friend) put in a consistent performance throughout the 323-race Swiss League preliminary rounds to qualify for the quarter-finals in second place, having won 14 of their 19 races.

Home-team favourites and current World Team Racing Champions, West Kirby Hawks, qualified at the top of the Swiss League, subsequently beating Royal Thames Yacht Club 2-0 in the quarters. But a shock 2-1 defeat in the semi-finals saw the home team favourites knocked out of the event by Grafham Gorillas.

After a solid performance in this morning's races, Grafham Gorillas found their form when it mattered, storming their way into the final having already beaten RF Hoosiers - over-night leaders who had been hotly tipped for the Trophy final – in the quarter final.

American team, Rhode Island Pistols, also sailed a determined series, making it to the semi-final only to find their boat handling skills coming under pressure in a 2-0 defeat by eventual winners, Wessex Exempt, who had previously dispensed with Spinnaker Auspicious in their 2-1 quarter-final match.

So it was Grafham Gorillas who faced Wessex Exempt in the best-of-five final.

As the teams took to the boats sailing a brand new flight of equally matched Fireflies - thanks to support from sponsor DHL – the cheers and shouts of support came from the crowds of spectators gathered in the grandstand and lining the shore of the marine lake. Sunshine and good breeze had the recipe for champagne team racing conditions, and the spectators were not disappointed.

Race one saw a win to Grafham following a penalty on the finish line, but Wessex came back with a stronger start to finish in a 1,3 winning combination in race two. The third race was closely contested, with boats from both teams taking penalty turns on the second leg, but Wessex gained the advantage on the run and held it to the finish.

The fourth race saw Grafham start strong; taking an early 1,2 combination, they consolidated their win with some text book team racing manoeuvres.

And so it came down to the final fifth race decider to determine who would be the new Wilson Trophy Champions. With a Grafham boat over the line, Wessex quickly took control, rounding the first mark in a solid 1,2 position which they never relinquished.

After crossing the finish line, both teams returned to the start area for the traditional sail past of the grandstand in front of the cheering crowds, with runners up, Grafham Gorillas, stopping their boats to applaud the winners in a true show of sportsmanship.

Speaking at the prize-giving, Commodore of West Kirby Sailing Club, David Taylor, who was also an umpire at this weekend's event, congratulated the competitors and said: "That was certainly one of the most sporting finals at the Wilson Trophy in a long time; it was fantastic to watch.

He added: "A huge thanks goes to all our sponsors - DHL, Carlsberg, GJW Direct, MI Finance, Speed Medical and Musto – and to the organisers and the volunteers of West Kirby Sailing Club for making the event possible."

Accepting the prestigious Wilson Trophy, Wessex Exempt team-member, Jon Pinner, said: "This is my tenth year at the Wilson Trophy, an event with an incredible history. Thank you not just to everyone at the event this year, but for the last ten years, and all the years before that. This event is a real institution. We have been smiling all weekend; it's been fantastic and we are delighted to have won. The cheering from the crowds on the last beat was amazing, and thank you to our friends, Grafham Gorillas, for a really fantastic final."

Winners of the Under 21 Trophy was Bristol University, who finished a credible 11th place overall. The Wilson Plate awarded to the first team not to make the quarter-final cut, West Kirby Sailing Club.

Of the 34 teams from USA, Ireland and across the UK, perhaps the team facing the steepest learning curve of all was the British Sailing Team, fronted by 2012 Olympic silver medallists, Luke Patience and Stuart Bithell. Although disappointed not to make the quarter-final cut, the duo found themselves inspired by this, their first ever team racing event.

Speaking after racing today, Stuart Bithell said: "The event has been unbelievable; we have had an amazing three days here. We may not have had such a great time results-wise ourselves, but today it has been an absolute pleasure to watch the world's best team racers here in action, and to watch our friends in the final. If only we had been able to see them show us how it's done beforehand, we could have brought a notebook! But there has been a brilliant atmosphere, and it's easy to see why this event just keeps getting bigger and better. We hope to be back next year!"

Visiting the event earlier in the weekend was John Derbyshire, RYA Performance Manager, who works closely with the British Sailing Team. He said: "This has been great opportunity for the British Sailing Team members to gain some exposure to team racing, which uses many of the skills needed for medal racing at the Olympics. It adds a whole new dimension which we hope will help these guys on their way to Rio 2016. We hope to encourage more members of the British Sailing Team to attend this event in future."