#ISA ALL IRELAND - Howth Yacht Club will be rallying behind Robin Hegarty as he represents the Puppeteer class as the club's 2012 champion at the ISA Senior All Ireland Sailing Championship in Tipperary this weekend.
As previously reported on Afloat.ie, Ireland’s 'most prestigious' annual national sailing event will take place from Friday 5 to Sunday 7 October at Lough Derg Yacht Club in Nenagh.
The invitational championship, which began in 1947, will see 21 of Ireland’s leading sailors compete over the three days in the ISA’s fleet of J80 keelboats for the title of 2012 champion and the ISA Helmsman’s Trophy.
Following a review of the event earlier this year, the championship qualification process has undergone some changes. A total of 16 boats will compete across two fleets of eight on Saturday. 13 of these places are allocated prior to the event; one to the reigning champion, two wild cards and 10 to particular classes based on their attendance figures at national championships.
The remaining places will be filled following an eight boat qualifier on the Friday. There the top three boats will earn their place in Saturday racing. And the top three boats from each fleet on Saturday will progress to Sunday’s final fleet with two places remaining for the top two boats from a two race repechage on Sunday morning.
