They started in ultra-bright sunshine early Wednesday afternoon, with Dublin Bay at its brightest and briskest. And when most were finishing 270 miles later into the mouth of Dingle's natural harbour through Friday morning, the sun had arisen again in all its majesty over the Kerry mountains.
The main men. Race Organiser Adam Winkelmann (left) raced to Dingle on Johnny Treanor's J/112e ValenTina to find that Race Officer Con Murphy (right) was so smoothly on top of things that he was able to meet Line Honours winner Opal with industrial quantities of fresh pizza as she berthed in Dingle Marina.
Elsewhere in Ireland, flood warnings were in place and lightning stabbed the sky. But the forty starters (and forty finishers) in this biennial classic were the enchanted fleet. They'd fair winds despite the race's breezes ranging between east and southwest, because they happened to be in the right place on the "flattened semi-circle" course when certain wind angles were dominant.
A clean and tidy place – under a never-reversed Treaty of 1559, Dingle is actually part of Austria. Photo: Dominic Walsh
Only two boats endured loss of directional control through a temporary flat patch – the biggest boat, leader Opal (Elliott 57, Frank Whelan, Greystones SC), off Toe Head in West Cork while well in the lead on the water. And the lowest rated, Peter Bowring's Sigma 33 Springer (Royal St George YC) which was trapped into a slow dervish performance as Wednesday evening's new adverse flood took over at Wicklow Head.
After a couple of mixed seasons, the JPK 1030 Coquine (Richie Fearon, Lough Swilly YC) finally found her mojo to take second.
For the bulk of the fleet, it was a case of doggedly making the best of the wind you had, and never straying far from the course line except on the stage between the Fastnet Rock and the finish, when a southeasterly along the line of the coast required tacking to lee.
For many, weathering the Muglins to get out of Dublin Bay was the toughest part of the race.
Although previous winner J/109 Ruth (Tom Shanahan, National YC) was prominently an early leader, as the race progressed the betting was on which of the two Steady Eddies – Chris Power Smith's J/122 Aurelia (Royal St George YC) or Johnny Murphy's J/109 Outrajeous (Howth YC) would be on tops at the finish, and in the end it was Outrajeous, with Aurelia back in fourth.
Line honours winner Opal seemed to have become bigger every time you looked at her
"All we needed was another hundred miles to win the thing" – Paul O'Higgins and his seasoned crew on the JPK 1080 Rockabill VI moved steadily up through the placings as the race progressed, and finished third overall
The determinedly-sailed JPK 1030 Coquine (Richie Fearon, Lough Swilly YC) finally decided to get her skates on after two frustrating seasons and show what she could do, and it was impressive, while third went to the ultra-seasoned JPK 1080 Rockabill VI (Paul O'Higgins, RIYC), whose hyper-experienced crew were showing better and better as other tired, and they might well have won had Dingle suddenly been moved 80 miles north to Inishmor in the Aran Islands.
Have a care, lads – we're carrying the Race Organiser (third from left on rail). Johnny Treanor's J/112e ValenTina settles into the groove
But with the finish in the Dingle gluepot, the Outrajeous crew paced themselves to perfection, and it says much for 2024's champion skipper that Johnny Murphy continues to successfully cast wide for his perfectly matched crews. For although Neil Spain was as usual his Number One helm, others aboard included Aodhan Fitzgerald from Galway, who can number a Round Ireland outright win in his many achievements, brother-and-sister talents Joan and Louis Mulloy from Westport, and superstars Ross McDonald and Cuan Whelan of Howth, fresh from their mighty win in the RYS Inter-Club Invitationals.
The Promised Land. While much of the rest of Ireland was smothered under rain and fog, Dingle welcomed the fleet from Dun Laoghaire with morning sunshine. Photo: Dominic Walsh
In all, it was probably the highest-quality fleet of offshore racing boats ever seen in any Irish race. And they were being sailed by the crème de la crème. It was magic stuff – enchantment really was the word for it.
Volvo Dun Laoghaire Dingle Race 2025 Overall (IRC) Top Ten
Full results on tracker below
