The all-conquering North Wales-based Mojito is one of five highly competitive J109 offshore cruiser racers that will contest June 7th's Volvo Dun Laoghaire Dingle Race organised by the National Yacht Club.
Two of the J109s entered are West Cork based, with Finbarr O'Regan's Artful DodJer from Kinsale Yacht Club and Tony O'Brien's Tighey Boy from Schull Harbour.
As regular Afloat readers will recall O'Regan's Artful DodJer was one of five boats to controversially suffer a 20 per cent time penalty after being judged to have entered the Tuskar Shipping Traffic Separation Scheme in the 2021 race.
The other two are drawn from the Dublin ISORA fleet, with Simon Knowles Indian from Howth entered and the Shanahan family's Ruth coming from the host club who took third overall in an arduous 22-mile ISORA last Saturday.
As regular Afloat readers know, 2022 was a stand-out season for the Pwllheli crew. Skippered by Vicky Cox and Peter Dunlop, they won July's inaugural 260-mile K2Q Dun Laoghaire to Cork via Fastnet Race, followed by an overall win of the IRC Coastal Division of Volvo Cork Week and the overall ISORA Wolf's Head Trophy. More on the Mojito 2022 campaign here
The five J109s are part of a red-hot Class One D2D fleet of nine boats, including the defending champion in the 270-milers, Denis Murphy's Grand Soleil 40, Nieulargo.
Organisers have 35 entries for the race so far and expect a fleet of over 40, a highlight of the 2023 Irish offshore sailing calendar.