There is a new addition to the small but highly competitive J/80 Dublin Bay race fleet. Supported by their club the Royal Saint George in Dun Laoghaire Harbour, the 'Jeorgettes' are an all-female crew competing in their first season in the 2021 DBSC racing series writes Ali Robinson.

"It's exciting for the club," says Sailing Manager Ronan Adams, "it's imperative we ensure an entry pathway for women sailors wanting to develop their racing skills, and we are supporting our female club members and sailors, by providing a J80 for the season".

A competitive group of 16 RStGYC sailors have come together to compete head to head with the other Dublin Bay J80s in the Sportsboat & Dragon class, which is an exciting fleet and growing in size every year.

Training began back in May when the Jeorgettes entered the DBSC race training series, and they have gone from strength to strength training on Wednesdays and racing on Thursdays.

The George is a very successful and active club with many of the sports top sailors competing at junior, national and master's levels across a number of fleets. Last year, the club, along with a few female sailors recognised the number of female members at either beginner or improver levels who had an interest in crewing and developing their skills on the water, so after a few conversations, a plan was put in place to meet this demand and provide a springboard platform from which to encourage and develop female club members into the world of racing.
"Approximately 10% of the entire DBSC series are female skippers" says helm Ali Robinson who feels this initiative is a really great opportunity to get out there and mix it up with the guys.

The J/80 Jeorgette team from the Royal St. George Yacht Club out training in their home waters of Dun Laoghaire Harbour

"The best way to improve as a sailor is to go racing, buts it's also important not to over face anyone and to recognise different skills and abilities needed to balance the boat with a mix of experience and energy. We have a pool of sailors ranging from beginners, cruisers, laser masters and transatlantic offshore sailors! The aim is to build resilience in the group this season. We do this by rotating crew positions each week so no one is stuck on any one job all the time. We already have a core of racing fit crew with more and more getting their racing toes wet each week which is brilliant! "

Team Manager Joanne Shelly was successful in securing additional sponsorship, which was very kindly provided by Grant Thornton, which helps to ensure the costs of managing a racing team are not prohibitive. Joanne says, "this is a gateway for women who want to experience the sport in an inclusive and encouraging environment where it's not just about winning, its about the joy of sailing and spending time on the water, understanding the weather and tides and how a boat works. We are really looking forward to continuing this into next year".

The Royal St. George J/80 fleet is supported by Grant Thornton

Sailing can be perceived as requiring strength and power, but its not just about that, sailing and particularly racing requires intelligent tactics, strategy, teamwork, knowledge of the winds and tides, boat handling, seamanship and most importantly, teamwork that utilises different skills across the boat which makes it a perfect forum to bring together female sailors from all experience levels.

Kate Fogarty, Rear Commodore (Sailing) in the RStGYC, is "delighted to support our female members on the water and are proud to have such an enthusiastic group of fellow members representing the club". Many of the newer members have learnt to sail through the RSGYC USail Programme, the RStGYC dedicated Adult Sailing Programme, which provides an exciting introduction to the sport for beginners and is open to members and non-members alike.

Halfway into the season, the Jeorgettes have had good results and aim to continue improving. With their mid-summer Jeorgettes sailing dinner this Thursday and plans to compete in the Irish J/80 Nationals in Howth later this year, it sounds like champagne sailing all round! Good luck girls.

Royal St George Yacht Club Sailor Tom Higgins put in an impressive performance to win all five races in the ILCA 7 (Laser standard) fleet and lift the winner's trophy at the Connaught championships. The event was hosted by Wexford Harbour Boat and Tennis Club in light breezes and hot and sunny weather.

To manage COVID risk, the event was capped at 100 sailors and was fully subscribed within days of opening. The large number of sailors who then went onto the waiting list in the hope of getting a place in the event attests to the popularity of the ILCA fleet in Ireland. With many high-performance sailors returning from international events, the standard was particularly high and made for exciting racing.

Second and third places in the ILCA7 (Laser standard) fleet were awarded to Jamie McMahon and Ewan McMahon, respectively. The two brothers from Howth Yacht Club managed to squeeze local sailor, Ronan Wallace of WHBTC, into fourth place. The master's category was won by Ross O'Leary of Royal St George, and the first youth sailor in the ILCA 7 was Kei Walker, also from the Royal St George.

In the ILCA 6 (Radial) fleet, the young Michael Crosbie of RCYC put in an impressive performance to lift the winner's trophy. Crosbie has recently returned from European Youth Radial Championships in Croatia, where he placed 32nd. Irish Academy sailor, Aoife Hopkins of Howth YC, finished second with young rising star, also of Howth Yacht Club, Eve McMahon finishing in 3rd. Eve also recently returned from the European Radial Youth Championships in Croatia where she finished with silver.

The scene at Wexford Harbour Boat Club's dinghy park for the Laser 'Connaught' Championships

The first master in the ILCA 6 (Radial) fleet went to Sean Craig, who finished 9th overall. Craig, of the Royal St George, has had a fantastic season so far, being recently awarded the Afloat.ie "Sailor of the month for June 2021". He has been on top form, winning the Masters champs and the Ulster Champs within the last couple of months.

First prize for Lady Master in the ILCA 6 went to Shirley Gilmore of the Royal St George, who finished 15th overall, facing off strong competition from Alison Pigot of the National YC and placing impressively in a very strong fleet.

In the ILCA 4 (Laser 4.7 Fleet), the top 2 positions went to RCYC sailors, with James Dwyer finishing in first place and Darragh Collins taking silver. Krzysztof Ciborowski of Royal St George finished with Bronze.

The winner of the ILCA 4 fleet for the girls was Eimer McMorrow Moriarty of TBSC, with Isabel McCarthy of RCYC taking the second position and Hannah Dadley Young of Ballyhnolme YC placed the third girl.

Full results can be seen here

The Dublin Bay Laser fleet based in Dun Laoghaire Harbour are celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Laser class with a novel one-day sprint regatta on July 25th.

The single-handed Laser remains one of the most popular one-design dinghies since it was officially unveiled at the New York Boat Show in 1971. Since then nearly 220,000 Lasers have been produced with ILCA class associations in 120 countries globally including Ireland.

The Dublin Bay Laser fleet is the largest in Ireland with over 100 boats sailed out of the RStGYC alone this season and many more launching from across the NYC, RIYC, DMYC, INSC clubs in addition to the Coal Harbour.

A limit of 100 boats can attend the Laser 50th celebrations on Dublin Bay

To mark the 50th anniversary, the RStGYC is hosting a special sprint regatta event, sponsored by Grant Thornton on Sunday, July 25th. The event is open to all Laser sailors across Dun Laoghaire both junior and adult and in all rigs.

With the first gun at 2 pm, there will be a minimum of five sprint races in quick succession for each fleet, with each race lasting between 20-30 minutes. Prizes will be awarded for the top three positions in each fleet with males and females ranked separately in 4.7s and Radials.

Racing will take place in Dublin Bay, which means that this will be a great practice event for local 4.7 sailors who are taking part in the ILCA 4.7 World Championship which is hosted in Dun Laoghaire between August 7-14.

50th anniversary Laser racing will take place on Dublin Bay

The Laser has been an Olympic class boat since 1996 and this year Ireland is being represented once again by Dun Laoghaire sailor Annalise Murphy in the Radial rig. This Dublin Bay event will coincide with the first Laser race in the Tokyo Olympics.

All activities will take place in accordance with government Covid-19 guidelines with briefing and other communications taking place virtually. A socially distanced closing ceremony will take place in the forecourt of the Royal St. George Yacht Club from 7 pm.

A socially distanced closing ceremony will take place in the forecourt of the Royal St. George Yacht Club

Early bird entry fee for the  Grant Thornton sponsored event is €20 with entry limited to 100 boats. Entry and further details are available on the Rstgyc website.

West Cork Dragon sailors dominated the podium of the Irish East Coast Dragon Championships 2021 at the Royal St. George Yacht Club today with Kinsale Yacht Club crews claiming first second and third overall in the 13-boat fleet.

Overall winner Cameron Good's 'Little Fella' ended the six-race series with three race wins and a five-point margin over clubmate James Matthews on 14 points.

Securing its position as the new force for Dragon sailing in Ireland, Kinsale yachts led from Friday's first day of racing with Matthews edged out by Good after Saturday's fourth race in 15-20 knot south easterlies on Dublin Bay.

From left - Joey Mason Dublin Bay Dragon Class Captain, Winning skipper Cameron Good with crew Henry Kingston and Matthias Hellstern and Royal St. George YC Commodore Richard O'Connor

One time leader James Matthews finished second overall Photo: Afloat

Third place was Tomas O'Brien's Scarlet Ribbons two points further back on 17 points. 

Tomas O'Brien's Scarlet Ribbons

The top Dublin boat was Peter Bowring and David Williams' Phantom of the host club in fourth place on 19 points. 

Peter Bowring and David Williams' Phantom of the host club

Kinsale will host the prestigious 2024 Dragon Gold Cup, a high point on the calendar after the disappointing cancellation of the 2020 Cup at that venue due to COVID. 

Results are here

Dragon East Coast Championships Photo Gallery

Kinsale entries continue to lead after five races sailed at the 2021 Irish East Coast Dragon Championships at the Royal St. George Yacht Club.

Friday's overall leader James Matthews from Kinsale Yacht Club has however been replaced at the top of the leaderboard by clubmate Cameron Good.

Good, who topped the first major Irish Dragon Championships since 2019 in June, now leads the 13-boat Dun Laoghaire event by three points. 

Cameron Good's Dragon 'Little Fella' leads on Dublin Bay Photo: Afloat

Good's scoresheet includes two race wins secured in yesterday's 12 to 18-knot breezes from the southeast with a mist and fine drizzle.

Testing championship conditions for the fleet were completed with a good chop in the north of the Bay. 

Racing continues on Sunday. 

Results are here.

Kinsale Yacht Club sailors dominate the top three places overall at the Irish East Coast Dragon Championships 2021 at the Royal St. George Yacht Club at Dun Laoghaire Harbour this evening. 

James Matthews leads by three points having scored 3,1 in sea breeze conditions on Dublin Bay. The Kinsale ace is followed by clubmate Tomas O'Brien in Scarlet Ribbons on seven points with Cameron Good's Little Fella in third place on 11 points.

The south-easterly breeze built from ten knots for the opening race up to 16-18 knots for the second race of the day.

IRL 201 Titan in her first race since refit wins the opening race of the Dragon East coast Championships. Photo: Adam Winkelmann

Host club hopes were high when former Royal St George Yacht Club Commodore Martin Byrne took the gun in the first race but retired in the stronger breeze of the second race.

Byrne, a former Edinburgh Cup winner, was sailing IRL 201 Titan in her first race since refit. Byrne is sailing with Ben Cooke and Rui Ferreira.

Racing continues over the weekend. Provisional results below.

The inaugural Kindergarten Laser Race Series was run for the Dun Laoghaire Harbour 'Kindergarten' fleet by the Royal St George Yacht Club over three Friday evening in June.

Attracting a total entry of 13 boats the fleet largely is comprised of beginner/improving sailors looking to learn more about sailing and improve their skills.

There were six races in total for the two desperate rigs (full and radial) on triangular courses inside the harbour. Safety and comfort were paramount with no racing attempted in wind over 15kts.

As Afloat reported in February, the whole idea was to give less experienced dinghy sailors a fun but competitive environment. The sailors also received some on-course coaching from some of the clubs 4.7 and Radial sailors who were in the patrol boats on the water.

The RSTGYC Laser 'Kindergarten'

They also received really valuable feedback from the race management team which included Sean Craig, newly crowned Irish Radial Masters Champion, Judy O'Beirne newly crowned Irish Ladies Radial Champion and Shirley Gilmore one of Ireland's most successful Masters sailors in recent years.

Laser Kindergarten Series at Royal St. George Yacht Club

Laser Kindergarten Series at Royal St. George Yacht Club

The video (below) by Darina Loakman also shows the competitors had a great dinner after the event where the Kindergaten groups driving force Rachel Crowley thanked all the competitors, helpers, organisers and club staff.

Also pictured is Commodore Richard O'Connor maintaining social distancing requirements with everyone except his wife Lorraine who finished in third place behind David Bolger and Heather Craig in the Radial while George Misstear won the full rig fleet.

The Royal St George Yacht Club have agreed to hold the Irish 12 Foot Championships in 2021. In a remarkable development, The Bray Droleen 12 Foot Class will join the International 12 Foot Dinghies and their sisters the Dublin Bay 12 Foot Dinghies for the first time.

For the Bray Droleens, this will be their first-ever Irish Championships, and the first time they have sailed in Dun Laoghaire since it changed its name from Kingstown.

From 1897, Droleens used to be regular attendees at the Kingstown Township Regatta (The predecessor of today's Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta), and sailed up from Bray across beautiful Killiney Bay in order to compete. Several new Bray Droleens have been built since the year 2000, (many of which were featured on this website) and are now located around the country, including those in Counties Donegal, Galway, Dublin and at the home port of Bray, Co. Wicklow.

International 12 Foot Dinghies (above) and (below) their sisters the Dublin Bay 12 Foot Dinghies (same hull shape but with mainsail and jib)

For the International 12 Foot Dinghies and their sisters the Dublin Bay 12 Foot Dinghies (same hull shape but with mainsail and jib) they have been holding their annual Irish Championships at the Royal St George Yacht Club since 2011.

With all three classes sharing an overall length of 12 feet (3.65m.) and a sail area of about 100sq.ft (9.29m2) all should have a similar performance and will race together as a single fleet. It will be interesting to compare their speeds, and in particular, it will be interesting to see if it is an advantage to the Droleens to fly their spinnakers (the only one of the three classes to permit the use of a spinnaker).

The event takes place on Sunday, 29 August 2021 at the Royal St George Yacht Club, Dun Laoghaire

Anybody interested in finding out about this event or 12 Foot Dinghies should contact [email protected] or [email protected] for more information.

Following the AGM at the Royal St. George Yacht Club in Dun Laoghaire Harbour earlier this week, a new team of flag-officers led by Commodore Richard O’Connor is preparing for a busy season once Covid restrictions are eased.

Like many sporting bodies, the Dun Laoghaire club has faced a potentially severe impact due to the pandemic but there were also signs for optimism reported as well.

The club has managed to sustain its 1,500-strong membership base and the virtual AGM held via Zoom heard that a combination of loyalty by members and staff alike have left the club in a stable position and ready for the 2021 season.

In addition to the new Commodore, Mark Hennessy was elected Vice-Commodore, Kate Fogarty as Rear Commodore (Sailing) and Derek Ryan continues as Rear-Commodore (Social). Robbie Walker and Brian D’Arcy were also appointed to the club’s operational board.

Tributes to Outgoing Commodore Peter Bowring

Paying tribute to outgoing Commodore Peter Bowring, Richard O'Connor said: "Peter Bowring has brought our club through, especially turbulent times to a point of resilience. Covid has seen people rediscover Dublin Bay's potential for leisure and interest in membership of our club is up, thanks to Peter's guidance and efforts to keep Sailing and watersports our priority."

Depending on final guidance from Government and Irish Sailing, the club has prepared plans to resume training, coaching and racing activities and anticipates Junior sailing courses for the Summer in accordance with guidelines.

The club will also relaunch its outdoor Bar & Catering services when permitted and looks forward to resuming its full range of social 'clubs within a club' later in the year when pandemic counter-measures are eventually eased.

There was a turnout of 181 sailors for Royal St George Yacht Club's North Sails 'Winning Races' In Dublin Bay' last Wednesday. 

As Afloat reported previously, The top tips session by North Sails' Maurice O'Connell was co-hosted by the Dun Laoghaire club's rear commodore, Mark Hennessy.

It was a successful evening, full of inside information about competing and winning on the capital's waters.

The night was very educational with speed tips (see video below) and there was plenty of humour thrown in, not only from Prof and Mark Hennessey but also from the audience who were able to ask questions and comments via an online chat box.

We understand during these difficult times how important interaction with others is, we feel as a club this is a great way to have that safely. We at the RSGYC look forward to welcoming Prof in the future and thank him again.

The club looks forward to welcoming future speakers over the coming weeks to its online webinars.