The highly anticipated Irish Sailing Champions' Cup, which was set to kick off today at the Royal North of Ireland Yacht Club in Co. Down, has been postponed due to unfavourable weather conditions.

AP over A was flown from the main mast of the Royal North of Ireland YC flagpole this morning as racing was cancelled for the day at Cultra, County Down, by the Race Officer. 

The event, showcasing the talents of Ireland's top sailors in RS400 dinghies, will commence tomorrow, Sunday, 6 October.

Races originally scheduled for today and tomorrow will be held on Sunday instead. Stephen O’Shaughnessy, Irish Sailing’s Racing Manager, cited the forecast of gusts exceeding 35 knots with no expected improvement before this evening as the reason for the postponement. "It's disappointing, but our goal is to run the full series of races tomorrow," O’Shaughnessy stated.

"The decision not to race was simple. A rather poor forecast coupled with a fleet of loaned boats and most importantly, a fundamental goal of having fair sailing for all invitees, rather than some endurance test meant that prudence should prevail", Race Officer Ruan O'Tiarnaigh, told Afloat 

Competitors now have the day for sightseeing and relaxing in Belfast with options of the Titanic Experience, Crazy Golf and Belfast Zoo to keep themselves occupied before the Championship Dinner tonight at RNIYC.

The race management team aims to commence activities at 9:30 am tomorrow, contingent on favourable weather conditions.

"The forecast for Sunday looks very promising and with the start times brought forward an hour", O'Tiarnaigh said.