Some key end of summer Dublin sailing events have been cancelled with immediate effect this weekend as a result of the Government's level three restrictions announced this evening.

The announcement led the country's largest yacht racing club, Dublin Bay Sailing Club, in South Dublin to suspend racing, not due to finish until October.

This weekend, Sunday's DMYC Kish Race has been postponed and the Irish Laser Master Championships at the Royal St. George Yacht Club, also at Dun Laoghaire, has been cancelled.

Also in Dun Laoghaire, the Flying Fifteen East Coasts Championships was also hit.

Racing at Howth Yacht Club in north Dublin has been suspended for three weeks.

Initially, (on Thursday, September 17 Irish Sailing advised that under Level 3 it is permissible for the following to go ahead:

• Any existing Regional or National Championships published in the Irish Sailing Calendar
• Any existing scheduled instructor training, or coaching for regional or national squads
• Any existing club race series that has not completed its final race

However, it subsequently transpired that Level 3 restrictions meant all sailing activity should now adhere to social distancing and that means only single-handed, same household crew or where the boat is large enough to accommodate multiple households is now permitted.

In an update this afternoon (September 18), Irish Sailing said here that it now understands that ‘pod’ terminology used in the Government plan 'does not allow for a compromise of social distancing in Level 3'.

As a result, this does not permit double-handed sailing (unless from the same household) on dinghies, or small keelboats like Flying Fifteens, one of Dublin's most popular one-design classes.

Early information on the restrictions is short on sailing specifics. For example, where multiple households are involved, there is no information on what crew numbers are permitted, unlike the situation in the UK, where restrictions on crew numbers are made relative to the size of boats. Such measures for maintaining social distancing for keelboat racing were proposed in Afloat back in May.

Today's Dublin restrictions had an immediate effect with, ironically, the Laser Masters Championships (an event that could arguably have complied with the new regulations due to its solo nature) being the first to be scrubbed.